“Yeah. I, uhm…” I scratch the back of my head. “I hope you don’t mind. Mine was a little… used.”
“Don’t mind at all. You lookfiiine.” He waggles his eyebrows.
I groan, tipping my head back. “God, you’re one of those morning people, aren’t you?” He shrugs and leans in to kiss me. When I pull away, he frowns. “I haven’t brushed my teeth,” I explain.
“Dude, I swallowed your cum last night.” He fists the hoodie and pulls me in, slamming his mouth against mine. I melt against him, my legs buckling, and when we break away, I’m all dazed. “You’re cute,” he muses. “And you smell like me.”Busted.“I kinda like it. Shit, did that sound vain?”
He turns back to the pot and picks up a skimming ladle.
“What are you making?”
“Eggs Benedict.” He lifts the egg out of the steaming water and places it carefully on a paper towel.
“You’re making Eggs Benedict? Seriously?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, why not? I was gonna make my famous chorizo and green pepper omelet, but they didn’t have the sweet chorizo at the store, and I didn’t know if you liked spicy food, so I got salmon instead. It’s smoked. I hope you like smoked stuff.”
I gape at him. “You went to the store?”
“Yeah.” He picks up another egg and cracks it against the pot. “Will you get the salmon out of the fridge? Bottom shelf. There are some grapes, too.”
“Uh-huh.” I move to the fridge, feeling like I just landed in the middle of a cooking show. “What time is it?”
“A little after eleven, I think.”
I freeze. “Eleven?! It’seleven?!”
He picks up his phone from the counter. “Eleven fifteen, actually.”
“Why didn’t you wake me? What if I had plans today?” The loss of control hits me out of nowhere.
“Do you?”
“What?” I snap, carding my fingers through my hair.
Wes’ smile is patient. “Do you have plans today, Jett?”
“No.” My heart hammers away in my chest. I don’t even know why I’m panicking. It’s dumb, really.
Wes puts the phone down, then moves toward me and pulls me against him. I fight him at first, my instincts telling me Ineedto go, that I should have left last night. He doesn’t budge, holding me tight, his strong arms locking around my back. I close my eyes and breathe him in, my lungs struggling for air at first.
“Don’t panic,” he says, his voice soft and low.Don’t panic.If it were anyone else telling me that, I would’ve ripped their head clean off their body. It makes no sense that Wes gets a hall pass.What is it about him? He strokes his fingers up and down my back in soothing movements, and I relax against him. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you,” he whispers. “You just looked so peaceful.”
My eyes sting, and I squeeze them tight.Peaceful.“I’m sorry,” I mutter, fisting his shirt. “I don’t know why I freaked out.”
“It’s okay.” He eases me away from him, and I blink my eyes open.
“It’s not. I’m sorry I exploded like that.” Shame courses through me. Here’s Wes, cooking me breakfast, and I flip out over nothing.
“You just panicked,” he says, still holding me. “My uhm… My mom panics sometimes, too. When things get too overwhelming. You don’t have to apologize.” I nod, at a loss for what to say. The way he sees me and acknowledges my feelings is reassuring, yet frightening at the same time. He leans in and rests his forehead against mine. “You hungry?”
“Famished, actually.”
“Good, ’cause I bought tons of goodies!”
“I feel like I should start chipping in if you’re gonna make a habit out of feeding me.”
He waves me off. “Pft, I love cooking. You can pay me back in…” He bites his bottom lip, his eyes roaming my body.
