Despite the rest of the house being modern and spacious, the living room is cozy. There’s a low, dark green corduroy sofa that takes up most of the space, a video game controller on the plush ottoman, and a pile of cozy blankets in a basket by the fireplace.
Judging by the outside of the house, I thought I’d feel out of place in my comfortable leggings and Christmas socks that I’m still wearing despite the holidays being over and done with. But in here, in Jett’s personal space, I’m right at home.
“How did you imagine it?” Jett pulls a beer out of the fridge and offers me one, but I shake my head no.
“I guess… I didn’t,” I lie.
I have imagined Jett’s house. After the Friendsmas dinner at Grady’s I tried to imagine all kinds of things about Jett. He’s a bit of a mystery to me. He’s always been around, but he keeps his personal life close to his chest.
Jett is this untouchable, highly talented athlete. But that night in Grady’s kitchen, there was a vulnerability behind his eyes that raised even more questions. It roused my curiosity.
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink?”
“I should go soon. Cordelia’s been home alone all day,” I explain, gesturing towards the door.
“You might want to check the roads. They were talking about cancelling the event today because there’s a snowstorm making its way up the valley from Heartwood.”
Jett’s beer bottle makes apfftnoise as he cracks the lid on the moose head bottle opener on his fridge.
“Oh,” I say, pulling out my phone quickly to check. The highway on my maps app is red, and a warning pops up when I enter my destination.
Traffic advisory: stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary, it reads.
I turn my phone around to show Jett.
“That answers that question. I guess you’re bunking here.” Jett winks at me and it does something funny to my chest.
It makes me feel things I shouldn’t be.
Jett and I are so incompatible it’s almost comical, and the event today only proved that to me more. I’m like his dorky little sister following him around, not someone who would be well-matched for him. Not someone who could be hiswife.
“Don’t you think we’re moving a little fast?” I joke, leaning my hip against the kitchen island and staring at him as he takes a sip of beer.
His eyes never leave mine.
“If this is what you consider fast, we better rethink the whole marriage part of the deal,” he says after he swallows, his Adams apple bobbing in his throat. “You’re not having doubts about this, are you?”
I let out a soft chuckle. I’m having a lot of doubts, and I thought he had been, too. But there’s a confidence in his voice that almost sounds like a challenge.
“No, it’s just…” My voice trails off and I flick my gaze down to the floor. “It’s a lot to wrap my head around. This is the most serious relationship I’ve ever had.”
Jett laughs. The irony of the situation isn’t lost on me, either.
It’s theonlyrelationship I’ve ever had. And it isn’t even real.
“What did you think of the event today?” He asks, giving me an opportunity to steer the conversation away from my love life.
My shoulders sag with relief. I wasn’t exactly planning on telling Jett about my lack of relationship experience when we agreed to this. I don’t want to dwell on it.
Although there’s still an unanswered question hanging between us. And as much as I want to avoid the conversation, I still want to know why Jett didn’t kiss me today the way we planned.
“It was fun.” I reply. It was, but it also took a lot out of me. My knees are aching from all the standing around, and my feet froze in my boots which never helps the situation. “It was a lot.”
“I know.” Jett’s teasing smirk from earlier is gone now, his expression is soft.
“You do?”
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. You think I don’t know that you struggle sometimes, Poppy?”
