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BRYNN
By the time thegirls drop me off at the apartment, it’s after seven.
My palms grow damp as I try the door and find it unlocked. I don’t know what I expect to when I step inside, but the living room is empty and the place quiet. I see no signs of Jace, and for a moment, I feel a pang of disappointment, thinking he’s changed his mind in the twenty minutes it took me to get here.
I hang my purse on the hook by the door and place my shoes neatly on the rug beside it. When I straighten, it’s to the sight of a bare-chested Jace sauntering into the room. My eyes make quick work of his chiseled pecs, washboard abs, and the perfect V that leads into his joggers, and I swallow.
Get a hold of yourself, Brynn.
It’s not like I’ve never seen him without a shirt on before. Back home, I’d seen him and Teagan throwing a ball in the yard, playing basketball, and doing any number of activities outside and shirtless far too many times to count.
Yet I don’t ever recall wanting to trace the ridges and groves of his abdominals like a blind person reading braille until now.
My gaze lifts, quickly noting the damp hair and realize he must’ve just gotten out of the shower. It serves as a reminder of my own skin, sticky with sweat.
“Hey.” Jace grins as he meets my eyes. I can’t tell if it’s on account of my gawking or if he’s just happy to see me. Maybe both. “You ready?”
“Actually, can I just jump in the shower really quick?”
“Sure.” He crosses the room for the kitchen. “You want popcorn? I can make us some while you’re showering.”
“Uh, yeah. That’d be great,” I say, thinking how weird this is, me and Jace conversing like two normal people.Again.Here, at our shared apartment.Alone.Getting ready to watch a movie. It’s almost like we’re . . .
I don’t finish that thought as I scurry off to his bedroom where I quickly grab a pair of sleep shorts and a soft cotton T-shirt, then make a beeline for the bathroom. Once I’m under the hot spray, I sigh as I wash the sweat and grime from my skin, taking extra care to shave my legs and shampoo my hair with my favorite coconut shampoo and conditioner. By the time I turn the water off and get out of the shower, I feel refreshed and relaxed enough that I’m no longer freaked out about the prospect of hanging out with Jace alone.
I towel dry my hair the best I can, then quickly lotion my legs, which is definitely not on account of Jace, and slide on my pajamas.
When I open the door to the bathroom and step out, Jace is still in the kitchen, his back turned to me and thankfully, he’s now wearing a shirt. When he hears me, he spins around. His gaze slides down my body, making a round trip back to my face.
I wonder what he thinks about me like this, with damp hair and no makeup. I’m a far cry from the girls he usually goes for.Not that I care. Of course I don’t. But he and I have been at odds for so long, I realize I don’t know how to read him as well as I’d like.
A flush creeps up my neck, aware of the fact that I’m standing here like a mute.
He winks at me and my stomach bottoms out.
Turning, he grabs a plastic bag and a massive bowl of buttery popcorn, then heads to the fridge. “You want a Coke?” he asks. “I have lemon.”
“You do?” I fight a stab of surprise as I step closer, peeking into the depths of the fridge.
He nods. “I bought some the other day,” he says like it’s nothing. Meanwhile, my heart is thundering inside my chest, like Thumper fromBambipounding his little furry foot.
Somehow, Jace manages to juggle everything in his arms as he turns and heads for the couch. “What movie are we watching?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Do you have anything in mind?” I ask, following him.
I take a seat on the firm cushions while he sets our snacks on the coffee table, then drops down, his weight causing me to tip into him.
“There’s a new thriller on Netflix, but I’m open if you’d rather watch a chick flick,” he says.
I wrinkle my nose at the thought of a thriller, but then I think about the prospect of watching a budding romance on screen while sitting next to Jace after the tense weeks we’ve had, and think better of it.
Jace laughs. “Okay, so no thriller.
“No. A thriller is fine.”
“Uh huh. Sure. You look like you want to watch a movie about a psycho murderer about as much as I want a punch to the nuts. So, chick flick it is.” He lifts the remote.
“Jace, we don’t have to—”
