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It’s hilarious, sweet, and endearing.
I can’t say I’ve ever felt more taken care of in my life, and I find myself wishing I could bottle up this moment and hold onto it forever.
Jesse looks up after a while, notices the look on my face, and does a double take. “What?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I say, smiling and covering my yawn.
He smiles, and that smile pretty much threatens to undo me. It’s a lot like the smile we shared in the truck before he drove me here. It’s a conspiratorial smile. A smile that says we’re in on the secret together, but it’s our secret. Nobody else’s.
And wow. I apparently like being Jesse’s secret partner way, way more than I should.
I cover another yawn, watching them work through eyes that are getting heavy.
25
JESSE
For the second time in one day, I find myself carrying Andi. I could tell Jake was wondering the obvious as I scooped her up: “Why are you the one taking charge of all this shit?” Honestly, I’m guessing he heavily suspects something approximating the truth, by now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he confronts me soon. Problems for later.
By the time we got her ice skate off, she was fast asleep. Apparently, she’s a heavy ass sleeper, too. Carter fell, spilled the remains of his popcorn, swore loudly, and nearly knocked over the coffee table. She only snorted a little in her sleep and stirred.
I carry her outside, through the snowy path of cobble stones I can just barely make out, and shoulder the door to the guest cabin open.
Andi isn’t exactly the tidiest houseguest. There is a small pile of shopping bags with clothes in them, tags still attached. There’s a CVS bag full of toiletries, most of which are scattered around the sink. The bed is unmade and there’s a pair of panties dangling from the headboard.
Nice, I think. For some reason, I picture Andi living a little more of a neat and tidy life. But then again, seeing that she’s a bit of a slob doesn’t surprise me, either.
I smile as I carefully set her down on the bed. I take a look at her ankle. Seeing the way it is dark blue on one side makes my heart twinge and my stomach clench. I feel like such an asshole for not just approaching like a normal person when she was out there. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have scared her so suddenly to make her fall and get hurt.
I’m also pissed for a completely selfish reason. I’ve barely managed to make it through today with my sanity. Waiting to get my hands on Andi again has been pure, sweet torture. But I knew the payoff would come once the sun set. I knew she’d be mine. All night, if I wanted.
Then again, I’m not sure how she’ll feel toward me after a day of trying to ignore her. Sure, the ignoring Andi thing kind of went up in smoke when she hurt her ankle, but I doubt that kind of attention counts. Anybody would’ve taken care of her if they were in my position tonight.
My grand plans of letting myself into her guest house tonight to claim her are apparently going to stay in the realm of fantasy for now. She’s out cold, and my hard-on is going to be about as useful as a nail gun on a rubber life raft.
I sigh and pull the covers up to her chin, then flick off the light. “Night, Andi,” I mutter. I check to make sure the heat is on to keep it nice and warm for her. Then I double check the whole guest house, just in the event that some intruder happened to sneak in here, waiting to surprise her. They didn’t.
I make a few more excuses to hang around. I check the windows. All locked. I even look at the air filter and make sure the heater is running properly. Everything is just as good as it was a few weeks ago when I came out here to look it over.
I finally give her one last look, then pull the door shut as quietly as I can.
I make the trek back to the house and find Jake in the kitchen, waiting for me.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound casual. “Where is everyone?”
“Karaoke. Liam invited everyone.”
“You weren’t interested?” I ask.
He folds his arms, muscles straining against his black t-shirt. “I’m keeping an eye on you.”
Frankly, I want to blurt the truth to Jake right now. I want to get this protective older brother bullshit out of the way and tell him I do like his sister. I like her, but I’m currently involved in some weird ass, confusing secret relationship that isn’t actually a relationship–a relationship that is supposed to be all about sex, even though getting a chance to sleep with his little sister is proving to be more of a logistical challenge than I pictured.
Coming clean to Andi’s brother isn’t something I’m going to do without making sure Andi is on board first, though. Even if the secrecy was my idea in the first place.
“Alright,” I say.
“Alright?” he asks. “Mind telling me your intentions? Can we at least be open about that?”
