“Hey,” he said.
“Did you sleep well?”
He nodded. “Yes. I just got up. Still haven’t finished my first cup of coffee.”
She reached up and put her hand on his face. “Thank you for last night.”
“I should be thanking you. That was amazing. I know that helped me sleep.”
“I’m glad you had a good night. Let me get some coffee then I’ll fix breakfast.”
“Get some coffee then sit and relax. We don’t have to eat right away.”
“Sure.”
She poured some coffee, and he stayed in the kitchen, knowing he had to tell her about reading the pages.
“So I opened the tablet. I didn’t know you were writing anything. I read some of it.”
She turned, worry wrinkling her forehead. “Oh, I…Willa and Pen said I should write some of it down.”
“It’s good.”
She cocked her head to the side, a line developing between her eyebrows. “Do you really think so?”
“Absolutely. I think it’s really good. I liked what I’ve read. I can feel the emotions.”
She took a sip then added creamer. “Let’s go sit.”
“Sure.”
He followed her to the couch and sat so he could grab his coffee and drink. She pulled her legs up and was cross-legged on the couch as she sipped her coffee, looking contemplative.
“I want to help people. I don’t have any idea what I want to do. I don’t want a job where I wait tables or I’m in the public all day. I like the idea of writing, but I just don’t know if anyone will be interested.”
“You don’t have to make a decision right now. You can take some time and figure it out.”
She took another sip of coffee and then met his gaze. “Do you really think what you read was good?”
He nodded. “I do. There was one thing you wrote that stuck with me. Can I?” He grabbed the tablet, and she nodded. He scrolled through the document until he found what he wanted. “When you’ve never experienced freedom, it’s hard to know you’re trapped. You’re like a fish in a bowl. You swim around thinking everything is great, but you’re in a tiny bowl and know nothing of the world outside the bowl. You might see glimpses of the real world from time to time, but the things you see are warped to the point you don’t see them clearly. You’ll neverexperience truth until you break free. Don’t settle for life inside the fishbowl, find your escape and get out.”
She set her mug on the coffee table and pulled her legs up to her chest. “That wasn’t too harsh, was it?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“I don’t want to come off as an asshole. It took a lot to get out, and I know it will take others a lot to get out. I don’t want to be a jerk or discourage anyone.”
“What I’ve read is good. You weren’t coming off like a jerk.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
From what little he knew about her past, it had been difficult. The writing showed him a deeper look into what made her. He wanted to know more about her, and he hoped she stuck around long enough for him to get to know her better.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
At first Blakely had been angry Jump had read what she’d written, then fear rose. Would he reject her over what was in that file?
He seemed genuine in his praise. She didn’t need to fear him taking things the wrong way or blowing her thoughts out of proportion.
