Wanted.
And finally loved.
3
Finally, I think tiredly as the movie ends.
Jori swings his legs off my lap and goes over to the entertainment center to shut the PlayStation off, then comes back to the couch with a grin on his handsome face.
“What are you up to?” I ask through narrowing eyes.
He rolls his in response, but not in a dismissive way, sucks his teeth and shrugs. I wait while he leans back against the couch, crosses an arm behind his head and turns his face toward mine.
Ah.
I can see it in the way he’s looking at me.
I know what Jori wants.
He wants what any man wants from the woman that they love, but I’m not exactly in the mood for that right now, and he sees it in my eyes.
I know it when he blows out his breath, makes a face at me, then gets to his feet. Jori stretches his toned and colorful arms over his head and glances back down at me through the small gap between his neck and shoulder and I chuckle.
He drops his arms at his sides as he begins to chew on his lower lip thoughtfully, his eyes on Hoyt again.
“Wanna do something today, Red?” he asks.
“We just did,” I reply dryly.
Jori laughs and turns around, extending a hand out toward me. I take it, letting him lift me off the couch and slide an arm around his waist.
“That’s not what I meant,” he begins as he starts to chew his lip again. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out and do something. I don’t think we’ve really had a day out since we came back from Ossining. Not that I care if that’s what makes you happy, I don’t know. I just think it would be fun to go out and get into some trouble.”
I pull away from him slightly and meet his now mischievous gaze with narrow eyes. Jori Davidson could be the king of getting into trouble, so I’m not entirely sure what to say right now. It’s obvious by the way his lower lip is beginning to twitch that this is the proverbial trick up his sleeve, but now I’m wondering if I ever want to go outside again.
While he’s a master of getting himself into deep water, he’s also very patient with me, and if I don’t go out today, there’s always tomorrow or the tomorrow after that.
“Come on, Red!” he pleads with a hopeful smile as he turns to face me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “I promise it’ll be a good time.”
I laugh and shake my head, looking up at him affectionately. Some days, Jori reminds me of that boy that took me to Canada on a whim after having had his fill of Millie for the day. That’s the Jori that I love the most because we did something dangerous, daring, and it’s when he gave me my first kiss.
It’s when his hardened exterior softened just enough to allow me to crawl into his heart.
“Alright,” I finally agree, letting out a sigh. “What’s the worst that could happen anyway? It’s not like anyone even knows who we are around this place.”
With that boyish grin that I love so damn much, I decide to let Jori lead the way for the rest of the day.
4
I’ve been standing on the front stoop for about ten minutes after Jori decided that we needed to actually go somewhere and not just outside like I was hoping for. He ran in to get his keys, wallet, and God knows what else, because our house isn’t big at all for this to be taking so long.
“Sorry, Red,” he says with a laugh when he finally emerges from inside, “There was something I had to check before we could start our adventure.”
I raise an eyebrow curiously at him.
The last time we had an adventure that we both kind of enjoyed, we almost ended up in another country.
“What kind are you talking about?” I inquire cautiously.