Still grinning, he lifted from his seat, and his strong, long legs casually carried him to the bar.
My mind reeled as I stared out at the dark ocean.
Was I dreaming? Did I hit my head and black out on the ice? Or was Jameson Patrick really in front of me, asking for a no-strings-attached vacation?And was I actually considering it?
I mean, I hadn’t been with a man in any capacity since…
Since my ex-husband.
And not because I didn’t want to. JP hit the nail on the head when he asked if I was afraid. I was. But I didn’t want to be. Not anymore.
“So,” JP said, making me slightly jump. He smoothed back ontohis chair and handed me another drink. “What do you say, Ali?” He gave me an expectant grin.
5. JP – TRUTH OR DARE?
If Ali flinched one more time, I was getting on a plane back to Michigan just to slug her ex in the face one more time.
It pained me to know that the touchiest girl I knew was now afraid of touch. Her ex-husband took that from her, among other things, but I was determined to help her get it back. Even if we only had this week together, I knew we’d be able to help each other. That’s how it’d always been between us—we jumped in the foxhole together, helped one another heal, then went back out to face the world.
I’d use this vacation to help ease away that lingering fear I could sense lurking beneath the surface in her, and in return, maybe she could release me in a sense. After this week, I’d know in my mind that I tried my hardest for a relationship with her, and if we couldn’t make it work, then I’d have to finally let go of this goal and move on.
“So, being together…” she trailed off. “What does this entail?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip.
I grinned at the girl I’d been in love with since I was a teen. “Whatever you want it to, Al.”
She squinted at me. “So, like, friends with benefits?”
A laugh flew out of me. “If you want, sure. I just want us to be together.” I shrugged.
She still looked skeptical. “But just for this week?”
“Sure.” And yeah, maybe in the back of my mind I was hoping I'd be able to convince her to be in a real relationship with me by the end of the week, but I’d have to ignore that for now.
“Well, how do we start this? I’m…” Her eyes darted around. “I’m nervous.” She let out a little laugh.
“Why? It’s just me.” I grinned. “I’d be happy just eating together. My waitress made fun of me for being alone tonight.”
She bit out a laugh. “Aw, are you serious?”
“Dead,” I said, taking another sip of beer.
She rolled her lips together to contain a shy grin. “Okay, so, eating together, we can do that.”
“And filling each other in on what we’ve missed, and maybe cuddling at night if I’m lucky,” I tested, wagging my eyebrows.
“Cuddling,” she deadpanned, looking amused. “That’s all you want to do?” She arched an eyebrow.
I laughed. “I mean, I’d love to do more with you, but we don’t have to.” I breathed out a sigh. “What I'm saying is, I just want to be with you in whatever wayyouwant for this week. You’re in charge, Al.”
She chewed her bottom lip. “Okay, so…when do we start?”
Relief flooded my body, but I tried not to show it. “It’s up to you.” I checked my watch to see that it was already 9 p.m. “It’s kind of late.”
Her face lit up with a delighted laugh. “We’re on a cruise ship, JP. We stay up late around here.”
“Yeah?” A thrill of excitement rocked into me.
She gave me a conspiratorial grin. “Oh yeah.”
