I snatched the phone quickly off the couch cushion. When it was safely in my hands and the screen angled away from Jay, I checked what he’d responded.
TYLER: I can’t wait for our date…
I flushed and quickly put the phone face down on the decorative pillow in my lap.
“Tyler worried about you?” Jay asked, glancing at my phone.
“Something like that, but I can text him in the morning.”I tried to act nonchalant, but he seemed to sense my composure was waning.
“I saw you two go down by the lake together before you got hurt. Was he confessing his feelings for you?” His eyes twinkled with playfulness.
I flushed and glared at him, trying to smother the surprise at his spot-on guess.
“Not that it’s any of your business. But yes, he told me he likes me.” My chin jutted out instinctively. Prickly as a porcupine.
“I wondered when he’d finally get the guts to admit his feelings for you,” Jay chuckled and took a seat next to me on the couch. He leaned back into the cushions, not seeming to have any trouble getting comfortable.
With the way he was positioned, leaning back at an angle, I could see the ridges of his abdomen through his tight-fitted long-sleeved shirt. Memories of how his hard chest felt against my back when going down the zip line together smacked into me, and my teeth ground together.
I shoved aside those images and defaulted to an accusatory tone to defend myself. “How did you know Tyler had feelings for me?”
“Don’t tell me you missed all his obvious attempts to flirt with you?” He gave me a disbelieving look, but when I huffed and turned away from him a bit, he seemed to catch on that I had, in fact, not seen the obvious attempts. “Poor guy. You didn’t even know until tonight, did you?”
“You know what? I think I’m a little tired,” I faked a yawn, and Jay smiled, standing from the couch. He chuckled softly to himself.
“Get some rest. You’ve had a long day. I’ll check back in a few hours.”
“Okay, thank you,” I said, not tired at all, but also not having the capacity to talk to Jay about Tyler any longer.
Unfortunately, I felt like he’d won some invisible battle by getting me to change the subject, but I didn’t have any energy left to care about the invisible tally.
“Goodnight, Hope.” He glanced back once more at the door, and my stomach fluttered.
“Goodnight, Jay,” I replied.
When he disappeared back down the stairs, I blew out a breath. I picked up my phone and responded to Tyler, my fingers shaking slightly.
HOPE: I can’t wait either…
The exhaustion from the day hit not ten minutes later, and I didn’t even make it to my bedroom before I fell asleep on the couch. And there, in the deepest recesses of my mind, I was transported back to the kitchen where Jay had stitched up my cut. The scene unfolded with a dreamlike clarity, every detail just as sharp and vivid as reality.
Jay returned with the suture kit and unexpectedly lifted me onto the counter. I felt the same fluttering in my stomach as I looked into his eyes. He leaned in, examining my cut with careful attention, but this time there was an added intensity in his gaze.
“You’re going to be fine, Hope,” Jay said softly.
I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin as he cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing my skin before traveling down to caress the curve of my neck.
“Jay…” I said, barely able to choke out his name.
His eyes locked onto mine, and I could see a tender determinationin his gaze. Without another word, Jay leaned in, closing the distance between us. His lips met mine.
What felt like a real fire erupted inside me that I didn’t know could be ignited. My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, and my fingers wound into his dark, wavy hair. I let out a little noise when his teeth gently grazed my bottom lip.
One of his hands found the curve of my waist, gripping tightly and sending tingles of electricity through every nerve ending in my body.
He tugged me closer and lifted me off the counter. My legs wrapped around his waist as he carried me over to the couch. My back met the cushions only seconds later, and then the weight of his body was pressing against mine, and I thought maybe I’d died and gone to heaven.
“Jay,” I murmured, my fingers locked into the curls at the nape of his neck. “Jay,” I said again.
