“He’s in the shower. You should leave.”
“Could I ask you something?”
“What?” she snaps.
“Are you and Jackson dating? It seems like you are, but he keeps saying you’re not.”
“It’s complicated,” she says.
“Complicated, how? Because he goes to Legion and you go to Twisted Pine? Are you—”
“We’re not,” she blurts out.
“You’re not dating?”
“I have to go.”
She comes out of the house, shutting the door behind her, then hurries to her car.
As she drives away, I turn back to the door just as it swings open.
“Kristen, we need to—” Jackson stops when he sees it’s me at the door.
“She had to go,” I say, my eyes going to his shirtless chest, then his abs. He’s wearing workout shorts that hang low on his hips.
“Shit,” he mutters, looking down as he rubs his hand over his face.
“What? Is it me? Is she mad I showed up here?”
“It’s not that.” He steps aside. “Come in.”
When I’m inside, I say, “You should tell her about the lessons. That way she’ll know there’s nothing going on between us.”
He looks at me, not saying anything.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shakes his head. “Sorry. I spaced out.” He walks to the living room. “So is that why you’re here? For a lesson?”
“Yeah. Nobody’s home right now so I thought it’d be a good time to sneak out. And later I’m going out with Shayla, so this is really the only time I have free.”
“I’ll go change. I only have an hour and then I have to leave for the gym.”
He goes to his room and returns wearing white shorts and a navy polo shirt. It’d look ridiculous on Axl, but on Jackson? Damn, he looks good. He looks good in everything he wears.
“Ready to go?” he asks with a smile. He has a movie star smile. And the body of an athlete. Being around him all week is making me want to do things, but with Axl, of course, not Jackson.
“I’m ready,” I say, racing ahead of him to open the door.
We get in the Range Rover, and he drives out of the neighborhood, then pulls over on the side of the road.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“You’ve mastered the parking lot. It’s time to try an actual road.”
“Are you serious? I just started.”
“You’re a fast learner. And you’ve memorized that damn driver’s manual, which means you know the rules of the road.”
