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“You’re not selfish, Rory. You’ve been a great big brother to me.”
He smirks at my remark but doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t agree. He thinks his lifestyle makes him the most selfish bastard in the world. “Go. Talk to your girl.”
I nod. “Thanks, Rory.”
“For what?”
“For always telling me when I’m being a jackass.”
“Anytime, baby brother. Anytime.”
I opened the door to Zoey’s bedroom. I don’t see her, but I can hear the shower running from her bathroom. Looking around her room, it would be hard to miss how talented she is. Sketches, paintings, and photographs lined nearly every inch of her walls. I’d almost forgot what color her walls actually were if not for the purple splotches on the floor where they’d dripped paint the day we painted her room when she was fourteen.
She’d even painted her white comforter and the cases on her pillows in some abstract design with crazy swirls of purples, blues, and little bits of orange. It seemed like an odd combination to me the day she pulled out the fabric paint, but it looked amazing.
I see the envelope from the letter she received laying on her desk. I didn’t really get a chance to see it earlier. Hell, I didn’t even talk to her about it. I just walked out the door.
I empty the contents of the envelope onto the desk and grab the brochure that was sent with her letter. According to the brochure, artists from around the world have sought to have their work showcased at this place. It is obviously a very big deal to be offered a spot.
I look through the rest of the contents. I see the work that they want to display, and one of them creates a lump in my throat. It’s a series done from a photograph, sketch, and painting called “Hometown Heroes”. Each one is of Zane and I from one of our football wins. Another painting called “Field of Dreams” is of just me leaning against a tree looking at a football field longingly is also chosen. I laugh at her title because it’s cheesy, but my heart clenches at the beauty of the painting. At the way she sees me.
“Jax, what are you doing here?” she asks stepping out of her bathroom in only a towel.
Of course, I’m a guy, so before I can start groveling at her feet, I have to check her out. I mean it would be a crime not to take in the swell of her breast where the towel is knotted. Or her long, sexy legs still dripping with water. How the hell are her legs so damn long when she’s barely five feet tall?
I reach for her by the waist and pull her to me causing her to yelp a little. “Why do you have to be so damn sexy?” I ask huskily. “You make me forget what I came here to say.”
She tries to push me off of her. Tries but fails because I hold her tighter. “I don’t try to be sexy,” she says, her voice tinged with anger. “You’re probably the only one who sees me that way.”
I laugh because that’s fucking hilarious. Not only that she said it because anyone with eyes can see how sexy she is, but that she believes it. “I’m not the only one who sees, baby. I promise you that.”
She lowers her head slightly, shaking, but the slight twitch at the corner of her lips tells me she’s holding back her smile. “What are you doing here?” she asks again.
I drag a finger up her arm, watching in fascination as her skin prickles every where I trail. I reach her collarbone and stop there, letting my hand rest while my thumb strokes the sensitive spot. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for walking out earlier.”
I see her chest heaving as she works to control her breathing. Damn, all I want to do is pull that towel off of her and take her to bed. But I don’t and I won’t. “I also wanted to tell you how goddamned proud I am of you.”
Her face turns an adorable shade of pink. Zoey never has been able to take a compliment regarding her art. “Why did you leave before?” she says changing the subject to something she’s more comfortable with.
“Because I was angry,” I say truthfully.
“Because I didn’t tell you about the application?”
“No because you were accepted. I’m a selfish bastard, as Rory pointed out, and I didn’t want you to leave me.”
She raises her hands to my chest and slides them until her arms are around my neck, giving me a better view of the cleavage being shown from the towel. And making my dick harder than it already is. “I don’t want to leave you,” she admits.
“But you will. You have to, Zoey. You’ll regret it if you don’t, and, honestly, so will I.”
She buries her face in my chest. I feel the worry and tension in her shoulders grow. I move my hands to massage the tightness away. “I didn’t think they’d accept me, Jay. I definitely didn’t think I’d have to be away from you for so long.”
“Of course, they’d want to display your work. It’s amazing, Zoey. You’ve always been so talented. Anyone with half a brain and a pair of eyes can see that. And we weren’t even together when you submitted your application. Being away from me probably wasn’t something you considered.”
She moves her hand to cup my cheek, giving me a soft, warm smile. “Do you really think it mattered to me whether we were together or not? You’ve always been at the forefront of my mind. Since the day I saw you sitting in the cafeteria all alone and pissed when we were kids. If I’d thought for a minute that I’d be accepted, and away from you for two months, do you really think I would’ve applied?”
I lean down and press a soft kiss to her lips. “Good answer,” I say with a smile. “But you are going to New York this fall. Tonight, though, you’re mine. After we have dinner with your mom and Zee, you belong to me.”
“And what is it you plan to do with me, Mr. McCabe?”
