Before You

“Sweetheart, it’s eleven in the morning. Why wouldn’t everything be okay?”

Eleven?

I pressed the button for the Home screen where it showed the time and saw that he was right.

Jared had lowered his blackout shades before we went to bed, but I never thought I’d ever sleep this late again. Not when, most mornings, I was up long before the sun. Eleven was the time my father called every morning when he was on his way home from the gym.

“How’s Peter?” I asked, referring to his trainer.

While my father answered, telling me the latest bit of gossip circulating the gym, I paced between Jared’s shower and toilet. During each trip, I saw my reflection in the mirrors above the sink. Ally would be so proud. I looked freshly fucked. And I certainly was.

“Are you going to be able to come home?”

And then that thought completely drained from my head, the sound of my father’s question causing me to pause in front of the shower.

Home.

“Dad …” I shook my head, holding the handle of the shower door, knowing what he was really asking. He just didn’t need to say all the words. “Of course I’ll be there.”

He sighed. “We just didn’t want to put too much pressure on you to visit after everything that happened.”

I moved over to the sinks and put my butt against the counter. “It’s not pressure at all.”

“I can come pick you up if that makes things easier.”

“No, Dad.” I wrapped an arm around my bare stomach. The last thing I wanted was for him to go out of his way, and coming to get me would be just that. “I don’t need a ride. Please don’t worry about me.”

“All right, baby girl. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I smiled. “I know.”

We said good-bye, and I used the bathroom, washing out my mouth before I returned to Jared’s bed. He stirred when I climbed in, and I pressed my face into his back, hugging my arm around his chest.

“Don’t get up.”

He laughed a deep morning chuckle. “It’s too late for that.”

“You’re going to die when I tell you what time it is.”

He didn’t have a clock in his room. It was one of the things I’d noticed when I got in his bed. And with the shades drawn, unless he checked his phone, there was no way of him knowing.

“It’s eleven.”

“Jesus Christ.”

I laughed, kissing between his shoulder blades. “That should be a, Hell yes.”

His hand went to mine, and he turned onto his back. He pressed something on the nightstand. A small overhead light came on, giving the perfect amount of glow for us to see each other.

“Everything okay?”

I nodded. “It was just my dad.”

His finger went to my chin and slowly dropped down my breast until it rested on my hip. “What are your thoughts on breakfast?”

Goose bumps covered my skin, and I found it hard to inhale. “Would it require leaving?”

He traced lower, going down to my thigh. “It doesn’t have to.”

“Then, how about we find something in your fridge to make, so neither of us has to get dressed?”

“I like that idea.”

I smiled and started to get up from the bed.

His hand tightened around me, pulling me onto his chest. “Not yet.” His lips were on top of my head. “I need a minute of you just like this.”

I was lying across his pecs and the patch of hair that covered them, and I smelled nothing but his scent. My eyes closed. “I could fall asleep again.”

“Me too.”

I knew you were supposed to take new relationships slow, keeping certain things to yourself until it was the right time to say them. But when you had been in a plane that crashed and it was a miracle you and the man you were cuddling had survived, those rules no longer applied.

“Jared,” I said, glancing up so my eyes were on his, “I could stay like this forever.”

His hands surrounded my sides, and he pulled me up his body until my lips were on his.

And his kiss was better than any answer he could have given me.

FIFTY-FOUR

JARED

WATCHING BILLIE HEAL WAS A JOURNEY, one I refused to rush, so I took my time in getting to know this gorgeous woman. I learned the different curves of her smile and the way she reacted when I kissed all the spots on her body. I learned the things that saddened her, the topics that really got her to eat.