“Thank you for the walk home,” I said, walking straight toward my room as the day wore on me. I was tired.
“Let me know when you work late again. I can always study there and walk back with you.” He took off his shoes and placed them neatly on the doormat before staring at me. “Deal?”
“Yeah, sure.” I gulped and hated the shift in the air. I never got nervous around guys, not like this, and suddenly, I had no idea what to do or say. “Well, good night.”
“Good night, Ryann.” He gave me another half-smile before heading into his room and shutting the door. I should’ve been thankful that he made the decision to go to bed before I did because thesweetside of Jonah made my brain funny. I sighed and went to the fridge for a water when his door flew open.
“Do you want to hang out with me and my dad tomorrow?”
“Wait, what?”
“He wants to stop by, and we usually get pizza or something. He’s looking forward to meeting you, so I figured you could come with us.” He spoke too fast, and his eyes were intense again, like he was watching an old game and taking notes.
“Yeah, pizza sounds great.”
He gave me the biggest smile I’d ever seen. “He’s going to like you.”
Well shit. This wasn’t a feelings-free zone anymore.
16
Jonah
The smell of cooking woke me from a dream that involved Ryann’s naked body. I yawned and adjusted myself in my shorts before getting out of bed and heading into the kitchen. Ryann wore tiny blue boxer shorts and a thin gray tank top—sans bra—and had a plate full of French toast and scrambled eggs on the counter.
Her hair was in two braids, and she swayed her hips back and forth as a pop song played on her phone. I stared as she danced and hummed way off-key.
She was so pretty, and I must’ve made a noise or something because she turned around and her lips parted in a perfect O shape. “Hey, morning.”
“Hi,” I said, moving to sit in the chair I always did. “Do you need help?”
“Nope. Almost done.” She sucked in a breath and ran her gaze down my bare chest. “Well, you could help me by putting a shirt on.”
“Nope,” I said, back, my mouth almost watering when her nipples hardened into points. Her chest heaved as she wet her bottom lip, and the room seemed three times smaller than it was a second before. I couldn’t remember why I went into my room last night instead of kissing her, and my body tightened with a frightening desperation.
She pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. Ryann studied me with a look that made my lower belly hum with excitement. “You seem hungry.”
“I am.”
“You should eat.”
“I plan to,” I said, swallowing so hard it hurt. She cleared her throat and grabbed two plates from the shelf before filling each one with three pieces of French toast and scrambled eggs. Syrup sat in the middle of the table, and she took her time setting the dish in front of me.
“Thank you. This looks great.”
She shrugged. “No big deal.”
I took a bite and groaned at the sweetness of the syrup. She ate her breakfast too, and we fell into a comfortable silence. Our gazes met every few seconds. There were so many things I wanted to ask her, but none of them came out. A bit of syrup dripped on her lip, and she used her thumb to wipe it, putting her finger into her mouth.
Any chance at getting my morning wood to settle down evaporated, and my pulse pounded with need. I shoved the food into my mouth, barely swallowing before finishing my plate and waiting for her to stop eating.
She pushed her plate to the center of the table and put a hand on her stomach with a grin. “You ate that so fast, Jonah.”
“Yeah. I’m motivated,” I said, my voice huskier than intended.
“Oh,” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “For what?”
“Are you done eating?”
