Page 42 of Wanna Bet?

“Me!” Jace squawked.

“Yes, you. Because you are a weirdo and it’s confusing.” She got up, back to her feet and dusted off her knees. “Like, who doesn’t want a blow job?”

“I do! I mean I did!” Jace put both his hands over his face and groaned.

This was embarrassing.

Myah was staring at him, eyes no longer wet thankfully.

“Come here,” Jace demanded and wrapped both of his arms around her.

He held her tight, squeezing as if that could portray how much he really did like her. As if it could make the last few minutes disappear. He really couldn’t tell what was going on in her head but he didn’t want her to feel rejected. He only wanted her to be comfortable and not pressured.

How does he say any of this outloud?

“Myah, I really, really like you. So much. I will take a rain check on any returned sexual favors. Maybe in a cleaner spot or something, ok?”

Myah sighed and her whole body went limp, swaying forwards in his hold. “Fine, I believe you. I’m sorry, I’m crazy.”

“You are not crazy.”

Chapter Ten

From: J <3

​Wanna come by the record store when I close?

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

The bell above the record store door chimed as Myah stepped inside. It had been raining on and off for several days now, but warmer weather was coming–thank God.

The shop was quiet, the late afternoon rush apparently nonexistent. Music drifted softly from the speakers overhead, something mellow and melancholy that felt aggressively on-brand for Jace. Her chest did a stupid little flutter when she spotted him behind the counter. Which was annoying because she was twenty-four years old, because she'd spent most of the day texting him, because none of those things should make her feel like she was twelve and seeing her crush in the hallway.

Yet there she was, fluttering like an idiot.

Jace looked up from whatever he was doing and his face immediately softened. And there it was again, that stupid flutter.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." He smiled.

Myah leaned against a display rack, trying very hard to look normal. Trying and failing.

Jace had asked her to stop by after work. Just casually, like it wasn't a big deal. Like he hadn't completely derailed her ability to function like a reasonable human being.

The bell chimed again before he could say anything more, as a woman entered. She was pretty and blonde, and probably had more confidence in her big toe then Myah had in her entire body. She looked like the kind of woman who probably didn't spend three hours dissecting a text message before replying.

Myah picked up a vinyl layered in dust to keep from staring at the beautiful, yet irritating woman. She ignored her at first. Until the woman walked directly to the counter and smiled sweetly at Jace. Until Jace smiled back. Then suddenly Myah was paying very close attention.

The woman leaned forward and laughed at something he said before touching her hair. And Myah immediately recognized what was happening. Because she flirted for a living. Not literally, but close enough. The woman was flirting, hard.

Jace, meanwhile, looked completely unaware. Answering questions, being polite, being helpful, being Jace. Which somehow made everything worse because he wasn't encouraging it, he was just naturally kind.

The woman eventually left with a record tucked under her arm, but not before giving him one last smile. One that definitely meant she'd like to see him again.

Myah's stomach twisted as she watched the door swing shut behind the blonde before forcing herself to look away. It shouldn't have bothered her. People flirted with attractive men all the time. Jace was attractive, even if he didn't seem to realize it. He was kind, patient, and funny in that quiet way that caught her off guard every single time. He listened when people spoke. He remembered things. He paid attention. Of course women flirted with him.

The fact that her stomach felt strangely hollow afterward was her own problem.