Jillian and AJ were too enthralled in each other’s reaction to give Jackson’s gibberish much attention.
“I thought you jogged at night.”
She shrugged. “I do. This wasn’t a jog. It was one sibling dragging the other around the block a few times by her hair.”
AJ nodded with his usual stoic expression. Jillian’s sarcastic personality was always received with rotten tomatoes when AJ was her audience.
“I’m off work for a week.”
“Oh …” It was hard for her to process the meaning behind his statement. It could have been an offer for more sex, but that was too risky of an assumption to make without more to go on. “Well, what are your plans for your time off?”
He stepped closer until she was forced to strain her neck to look at him. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“You might as well know, I suck at beat around the bush. So where are you at with this this morning? Are you wanting to pretend that nothing happened? Are you getting ready to have the ‘it was a mistake’ speech? Or are you entertaining the idea of doing it again, in which case the answer would be no because …” Jillian hated herself for not having a good reason and for wanting to tackle him right then and there.
“Because?”
“Because … because you don’t even like me! You’re always so damn grumpy and implying that I’m a whore because I’m confident in my own skin and I sell PPDs for a living and not even by choice. And I’m trying to be happy and feel settled here, and I know you’re going to screw that up for me—”
She didn’t even realize what had happened. Her face was in his hands and his lips were pressed to hers. He tasted like mint gum while she couldn’t even remember if she’d brushed her teeth, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I apologize for being grumpy,” he whispered over her lips.
Jillian covered his hands that were still framing her face, just to keep her balance before he literally swept her off her feet. She knew she’d never remember the words he said, but she’d never forget the way he said them. The heart never forgets skipping a beat.
She smiled. “I apologize for being too sexy for this neighborhood.”
AJ hugged her to his chest so she couldn’t see his face, but Jillian knew he was smiling. She just … knew.
*
Jillian was infuriating. She was also strong, sexy, playful, and compassionate. AJ thought of her as Wonder Woman, Judge Judy, Mother Teresa, and Ellen Degeneres molded into a wet dream. She was seriously flawed and had a fucking larger-than-life attitude. But what drew him in was her vulnerability; it was fleeting like a shooting star. It was there and gone in a blink, but he’d caught a glimpse of it and he recognized it—it was his reflection.
“You are too sexy for this neighborhood … any neighborhood, really.” He started walking toward home, chastising himself for making what was a true compliment sound like a grumpy complaint.
“But …” Jillian followed a step behind.
“But what?”
“Compliments like that usually come with a but.”
“No but, it’s just a fact.”
“Oh.”
Jillian at a loss for words wasn’t something AJ ever imagined he’d witness. The irony was her silence left him speechless too.
“Can I make you breakfast?” AJ spoke the first words that popped into his head as they neared his house. He hadn’t set out to shock her, but the wide-eyed look she gave him made it clear that’s what he had done, yet again.
“I’m a veg—”
“I know. I’ll keep my big sausage to myself. Oatmeal fine?”
She laughed. He made an attempt to smile, but it was difficult. Anger, pain, and resentment had hardened him over the years. He felt undeserving of those rare moments of pleasure and happiness. They felt stolen, as if around the corner someone was waiting with their hand out demanding he give them back.
“Oatmeal sounds perfect.” She followed him inside.
“I’m going to take a quick shower first.”
“Want some company?” Jillian offered before she gulped down the glass of water he’d handed her.
Confusion impaired his ability to find actual words, so he just stared at her. “Uh—”
“I’m kidding. Go do your thing, but hurry up because I’m starving.”
After a slow nod, he pivoted and walked toward his bathroom, hands fisted while he released the breath he’d been holding. Of course he wanted to shower with Jillian. The aching need he had to feel her body against his was almost unbearable. But whatever was going on between them had not been defined and was the anti-normal of any relationship he’d ever imagined, possibly of any relationship that had ever existed.
In a blink he was showered and back in the kitchen.
“That was fast. Were you afraid I might rob your hidden treasures?”
AJ pulled a sauce pan out of the cabinet. “No, just kill my fish. Oh, that’s right … you already did that.”