“You know you are.”
I did. It wasn’t the same as being seen, though. Travis, Ken, all of them—they’d liked the way I looked, but even five months in, Travis had kept forgetting how I took my coffee, and Ken had needed half a year to stop dragging me to surprise horror movies when I hated gore. Jesse and I weren’t even really dating, and yet he’d picked exactly what I’d needed to clear my head and feel like I could breathe again. He’d brought lemon bars, so fresh and soft they’d melted on my tongue, when I’d never actually told him they were my favorite.
“Thank you for today,” I said. It must have seemed like a non-sequitur outside my head because Jesse shot me a surprised glance before he smiled—just a tiny thing that sat mostly around his eyes.
“Thank you for saying yes.”
I’m in love with you.
Yeah, no. Not about to trip over my tongue when all he’d offered was a resounding “maybe” after my rotation, unclear what that even meant. Repeat hookups without a side of guilt? Friends with benefits? Let’s just see what happens? He’d told me that he wasn’t the relationship type—it hadn’t seemed like a warning, just…information. Still, point taken.
I shoved the words back into some dark corner where they belonged and reached for a chuckle instead. It felt a little clunky in my throat. “Okay, wow. If we get any more polite, we should grab some ties.”
His mouth crooked sideways. “All the better to restrain you with?”
“I’d let you,” I said, low. “Not—you know. Not exactly something I’ve done before. But I’d let you. I know you’d make it good.”
He exhaled a harsh breath. “Still driving.”
“I’m just finishing what you started.”
“Okay, fair.”
We turned onto my road. A sagging chain-link fence blocked off a vacant lot slotted for redevelopment, overflowing trash cans spilling takeout containers onto the sidewalk even though pickup day was not until tomorrow. While Jesse’s area wasn’t posh, this was… Well. Quite a step down compared to his place.
“Here we are,” he said right into that thought.
“Metaphorically?” I asked, and he huffed out a small laugh as he pulled up next to the curb. The engine fell quiet.
“Literally, for now.”
I didn’t move just yet, watching him in the fading light. He met my eyes with a slight raise of his brows—not challenging but curious, waiting for me to put voice to thoughts I struggled to grasp.
“I think…” I trailed off, then tried again. “Today, getting out like that—it felt really good. Kind of confirmed that I’m not cut out for big-city living. Not in the long run.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” He leaned back, hands falling off the wheel and to his thighs. “It’s an amazing place to learn—Devon. One of the best. But it’s not my forever choice.” His mouth curved up. “Just don’t tell Dr. Novak.”
Ha. “That’s gonna be difficult, what with my daily heart-to-hearts with her.”
“Do you talk about boys and all the ways your parents failed you?”
“We mostly exchange eyeliner tips.”
Jesse’s grin crinkled the corners of his eyes. “I seem to remember you have some skills.”
“Mad skills,” I agreed with a solemn nod.
“I bet.”
A moment of silence stretched as we smiled at each other, light as a feather, while the city flowed around us. I reached outto touch the back of his hand, and he turned it over so our fingers brushed, his thumb swiping over my knuckles.
“He’s at least half in love with you.”
Maybe. But he wouldn’t be the first guy to fall for me quickly and lose interest soon after.
I pulled back and grabbed my daypack, then nudged the passenger door open. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow?”
“Bright and early.” If Jesse had noticed my slightly abrupt retreat, his tone didn’t show it.
