I barked out a laugh, couldn’t help it, and whatever tension had been building faded into nothing. “No, it wasn’t a pity kiss. And I’m not sorry we did it.”
“But?” He let his hands fall to his sides. I missed them already.
“But I don’t know what it means or where we go from here.”
Jasper snagged my belt buckle and tugged me closer. I went willingly. “Can’t it just be a kiss and leave it at that?”
“I guess.”
“We don’t have to have a plan, Finn. We kissed. It was good.Really good.” He smiled, his eyes dark with a heat that made my heart race. “If it happens again, it’ll be just as good. But if it doesn’t, then that’s okay too. We don’t have to make it athing.”
He was so confident, so sure of himself, I struggled to believe he was five years younger than me. It sounded so simple, such a non-issue, so I nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“Good.” Sliding past me, he picked up the recipe card and waved it in the air. “Can we cook now? Because after all that excitement, I’m starving.”
And with an ease that we shouldn’t have had after only a week together, we moved from making out against the kitchen worktop to cooking dinner side by side.
Chapter 6
Jasper
Finn tookover making dinner like I knew he would, and it gave me a moment to catch my breath and get my racing heart under control. Under the guise of getting a drink of water, I leant against the sink, letting the cold liquid soothe my dry mouth.
That kiss...Christ.
I still felt the ghost of his lips on mine, and it took all my effort not to run a finger over them. The kiss had been unexpected, but so fucking hot, and I’d wanted to do it all night, bollocks to the food.
But I wasn’t stupid.
Finn had been as surprised at what he’d done as I was, and as soon as he pulled away, I’d sensed the doubt and regret seep in, so I did the only thing I could think of.
Take the pressure off.
If we didn’t make into some huge new development between us—which I actually thought it was—then there was nothing to get worked up over. Right?
Finn struggled to see me as an adult, and my dad and his stupid fucking comments hadn’t helped the situation, but I was going to do everything I could to change that. And if that meant giving him space to get used to the idea that maybe I was someone he was allowed to be interested in, then that was what he’d get.
And if it didn’t work out, then I still wanted to be his friend. I’d lost touch with a few of mine after being away so long, so it wouldn’t hurt to have one more. Not forgetting he was Cole’s brother, I needed to tread carefully. Cole was the nicest guy ever and my best friend, but if I caused his brother any grief, especially after what he’d been through the last few months, I suspected we’d be having words.
And that wasn’t something I ever wanted to happen.
So, I’d keep my hands to myself, allow Finn to set the pace, and see what happened.
If anything.
Dinner was delicious,as usual.
Finn said it was nothing to do with him since the spices and sauces were already prepared, but I’d bet money he could make things from scratch too.
Afterwards we sat on the sofa watching TV. Amazing kiss aside, I still felt off after my dad’s visit. I always told people I didn’t care what he thought, but of course, that was bollocks. He was my dad, and I wanted him to be proud of me, not look at me like I was the biggest disappointment.
The sigh I let out must’ve given me away, because Finn turned away from the TV to face me. “All right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled, but his frown told me it wasn’t convincing.
“Thinking about your dad?”
“A bit.” In a move I wasn’t expecting and tried desperately not to read too much into, Finn put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.
