I’d drooled on Jack’s chest while I slept. My arm felt heavy when I wiped at the drool, smearing it in his chest hair.
Jack caught my hand, bringing it up to his lips for a kiss. “Leave it. I consider it a badge of honor.”
I let out a startled snort, lifting my head so I could look into his eyes. They were a warm brown, with crinkles at the edges as he gave me a lopsided smile. “Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” Jack said back, his hand shifting on mine, thumb grazing my palm. “Sleep good?”
“Pretty sure I passed out from…” My body hummed as I remembered what had made me too tired to fight sleep anymore.
“From coming so hard?” Jack asked, his smile turning a little wicked. It made me want to mouth his nose. “Yeah. I’m proud of that, too,” he said.
My breath caught as I stared back at him.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.
“If feeling braindead is okay.” I laid my head on his chest again. “I’m pretty sure you melted my mind.”
Jack’s hand paused where it rested on the back of my head. “I may have gotten a little carried away.”
“I liked it,” I admitted. The depth of how much I’d liked it was still clenching my stomach. “How did you know to say all that?”
“Testing a theory. I did press against you bare. I wouldn’t have—” He cleared his throat, his hand that rested on me becoming a little heavier. “I’d never do that to you, but the idea of it got me even more excited. After what you’d said about wanting a family, I was pretty sure it’d do the same to you.”
It had. I’d been out of my head with wanting him to come inside me.
“Don’t worry. I won’t try to fill you with my baby until after we’re married.” His arms wrapped around me while my head continued to spin. It swirled even more when he lifted me from the bed, carrying me toward the bathroom. “We only just started dating. I don’t want to skip any part ofbeing with you. But I might tease you with the idea again, since you liked it so much.”
“Okay,” I said, resting my head on his shoulder and feeling almost giddy inside. He sounded like he wanted to marry me already, and the idea of that fluttered in my chest.
“I figured you wanted a shower, but you still look tired. You okay if I take one with you so I can help?”
There was an ache between my thighs from the night before. “Oh, um, I don’t want to have any more sex. Not right now.”
“No sex,” Jack agreed. “It’s not all going to be about sex with us, Hailey, though we’re very compatible there.” He set me on my feet, his arms slipping around me as he kissed my forehead. “I want to take care of you. After, maybe we can spend the day together?”
“Yes,” I agreed softly. I leaned forward, kissing his nose like I’d been wanting to. “I want to be with you today.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. But soon, I’m going to take you on a proper date.”
It’d been a long time since I’d been on an actual date. The random meetups at the bar didn’t count. “I can’t wait,” I said.
We grinned at each other, then he released me to turn on the shower.
Chapter 28
The Fourteenth Friday
Iopened the door to my apartment almost too quickly. Jack was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show off his tattoos. Giddiness filled me to see him there, and I smiled, bouncing a bit on my feet before moving forward and kissing him.
Jack’s hand came up to cup my face as he kissed me back, our lips lingering.
“Sorry, that’s meant for the end of the date, isn’t it?” I laughed as I pulled back. “I guess I’m excited.”
“It was just right,” Jack said, letting his hand fall back to his side. “I’m glad to see you, too.”
After our weekend together—I hung out at the bar Saturday night just to be around him more, and we went record shopping on Sunday like usual—we hadn’t seen each other all week. I got up early in the morning for my financial job, and Jack workedlate nights at his bar. It wasn’t unusual not to see each other until Friday. We’d been doing that all along, but the past week had felt different.
Guilt twisted in my stomach as I turned to lock the door. It was Friday, but we weren’t headed to The Muse. “Are you sure tonight is okay?” I asked, the hand on my key in the deadbolt lock growing still. “I could have waited until you’re off on Sunday.”
