“I was supposed to wait.” He raked a hand through his unruly brown hair, letting it fall haphazardly around his face. “Had it all planned out and everything. But I was lying in bed, trying to ignore the pain, and I couldn’t wait another second longer. I had to see you now.”
“You did?”
I’d spent all weekend fretting over him, greedily absorbing any minute details Hailee would feed me.
Jason nodded, a small uncertain smile lifting the corner of his mouth. He winced at the involuntary action.
“It hurts?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. But not as much as it hurts knowing I might have screwed things up between us.”
Us.
He thought there was an us still?
Maybe I was still dreaming, stuck in some beautiful nightmare.
“Is this real?” I asked quietly. He leaned in, cupping my face, brushing his thumb over my lips. Raw desire blazing in the depths of his eyes. “Does this feel real?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” I could barely think straight with the way my heart was galloping in my chest, crashing against my ribs looking for a way out.
“What about this?” Jason moved closer, his lips touching mine.
“I’m still not sure, you should probably do it again. Just so I can be certain.” I fought a smile and he chuckled, the sound like a salve to my battered heart.
Slowly, he threaded his fingers into my hair, tilting my face ever so slightly to align our mouths at the perfect angle. “Jason,” I pleaded, desperate for him to kiss me, to show me this was real. But he hovered there, staring at me with such inte
nsity I thought my heart might explode. His eyes were dark and hooded and filled with so much emotion, I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t do anything but wait.
“You are the single most important thing in my life, and I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry,” he said with complete conviction.
Then he kissed me.
But it wasn’t just a kiss at all.
It was Jason willingly handing over his heart. With every press of his lips, every stroke of his tongue, he silently told me everything I’d so desperately craved to hear from him as his mouth moved over mine. He might have been the one in control, setting the pace, but I was the one with the power. It simmered between us. An unspoken admonition. He was apologizing to me through actions, not words, but the ball was in my court regarding what happened next.
“Jason, wait,” I said, physically forcing myself to break the kiss.
He dropped his forehead to mine, letting out a pained groan. “Hey,” I said, sliding my hands gently against his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. “I’m here, I’m right here, but you’re right, we should talk.”
There was so much we needed to figure out. Things I needed to know before I let him off the hook.
“I can come back later,” he started to pull away, “when it’s—”
“Jase?”
“Yeah, Giles?”
“Shut the hell up and lie down with me.” I shuffled over to make room for him and threw back the cover. His brow went up but his expression quickly softened.
“You’re sure?”
“Get over here before I change my mind.” My parents were sleeping right down the hall, and I didn’t want to think about what my dad would do if he found me with a boy in my bed, let alone a Raider, but I wasn’t about to give up the chance to have Jason here like this. In my bed, heart on his sleeve and ready to talk.
He kicked off his sneakers, his hoodie going next, before slipping in beside me. We lay on our sides, facing one another. “What did you mean, you did it for me?” I asked.