Page 37 of Big Dill

“Right,” she responds, steadying herself.

I step away, go back to some paperwork and give her space, and when her time is finally up, I return to the machine, slide the dial down slowly before switching it off. I peel the pads off, and help her roll to her back.

“Good.”

“Tingles linger,” she jokes, rubbing her neck.

“Perfect,” I say, smirking. “Means it worked.”

And for a heartbeat, we just look at each other. Too aware of the space between us. I reach for her, my hand settling on her side as I lean in.

“Jami…”

9

Jami

“Here’s the thing,” I begin, breathless, my body thrumming like a live wire, as his fingers tighten on his grip.

He sucks in a breath, pausing. “There’s a thing?”

“When we hooked up last month. I was clearly going through something.”

“A lot,” he agrees, a soft understanding in his voice that curls around my heart.

“Right. You too. I didn’t know about your ex and how badly she hurt you.”

“Uh huh.”

“So the sex,” I continue. “I was needy. Desperate for something, anything to make me feel good, even if for one night.”

“Yeah.”

“I bet it wasn’t even good.” He cocks his head and I shrug. “I had alcohol.” Two glasses of wine, but still. “You also had alcohol.”

“I had a pint,” he clarifies.

“Exactly.” I tap my temple. “We weren’t exactly operating at peak brain function?” His gaze shifts, his eyes moving from my mouth to my eyes, because he’s clearly confused. I want the kiss as much as he wants to give it to me.

“What are you getting at, Jami?”

“I think we should kiss again. I think I might have had that night built up to something it wasn’t, just because I was feeling so low. Heck, I’m sure if I rubbed up against a bar stool, it could have made me feel good.”

He snorts. “That’s an…image.”

“You get my point.” I push on. “We kiss. Once. Sober. Fully aware. When it’s awkward and weird and terrible⁠—”

“Which, obviously, it will be.”

“Yes, and then this tension dies. We prove to ourselves it was just bad decisions and alcohol.”

He goes quiet, thoughtful for a second before, “Okay, so just to clarify. You’re saying we should kiss again.”

My gaze drops as he slides his tongue over his bottom lip in preparation. “Yes,” I manage to push out. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a good idea, Birdie.”

Birdie.