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“I can’t wait to get some sleep before the flight tomorrow. It was a long day,” I said, hoping to distract the curiosity written all over her face.
“I’d say that it’s been a long night. What happened outside with Jackson?” Bella whispered.
I glanced forward and remained quiet. She seemed to understand and waited until we were in our room before she pounced.
“Spill.”
“I… we,” I wanted to tell her that nothing happened between us, but Willow wasn’t here, and I had to tell somebody what was going on. “You have to keep this between us, Bella. I don’t want to be part of the team gossip.”
“I can’t guarantee that someone else didn’t notice you leaving with him after he went all caveman on you. I know there was the fight when you two came back in, but honestly? You were glowing, and he looked like the cat that ate the canary.”
“Well, he didn’t,” I assured her as I walked to the bed and sat down. I played back the night and my body tingled with the memory. I licked my lips. “You know that I’ve known Jackson since I was a kid. His best friend is my overprotective older brother.”
Bella sat beside me and nodded with understanding eyes.
“I had a crush on him as a kid, but every girl did. I knew that he was off limits and at that point completely out of my league. Now, I moved here and we’re both older. I think he’s hot. But my brother will never accept this. I think the only reason that my ex and I managed to be together is because it was so brief and meaningless, and Greg and Jackson were too busy to notice. But this won’t go unnoticed and that fight at the bar might look like child’s play once my brother finds out.”
“Are you sure? It looks like this is more than casual sex to me. Maybe they’d understand that,” Bella suggested.
I stared at her for a moment.
“We didn’t have sex. He said that he wanted it to be right when we did. We just… it was amazing, Bella. I’ve never felt this way about anybody before.”
A tear slid down my cheek and she hugged me.
“What if I get my heart ripped out?”
“I like to think more about what if you don’t?” She held me tighter.
I smiled, remembering how much his kiss affected my body. That was because of Jackson and how I felt about him, not the fact that a man was kissing me. We crossed a line tonight that I’d never come back from, but I couldn’t regret anything. Not yet.
We washed off all the make-up and changed into clothes to sleep in, turning on the TV before settling in our beds. I looked at Bella and knew that I could trust her with this, just like I did Willow. I’d be talking to her soon and admitting all this as well.
I just wouldn’t mention it to my family.
We slept in as late as possible and took showers before meeting everyone for breakfast. I pulled on worn jeans and a Trojans T-shirt to wear and headed to the lobby with Bella. Nick was at the buffet with Jackson, talking closely as they waited for some of the guys to fix their plates. Seeing him again made me tingle inside, and I looked away to regain my composure.
This had to go unnoticed by the team and those close to it.
We got in line and fixed small plates compared to some of the guys, taking a seat with the other girls. There seemed to be a line of professionalism at times in this job, and the girls stayed off to the side. I was certain that line had been crossed many times but perhaps it wasn’t worth it in the end. I looked across the room to see Jackson looking at me with a smile. He was so gorgeous, and I smiled back.
I blushed as I remembered what happened last night and what else lay in store for me. I looked down as the fantasy continued to play and stabbed a few pieces of fruit.
I didn’t know what might happen now. We would go home, and he’d be with the team a lot for practice. We wouldn’t have a lot of time together, particularly with starting school soon.
We ate and talked amongst ourselves before everyone went to get their stuff for the bus. I packed hurriedly this morning and helped Bella finish, laughing at her panic. I watched as Jackson disappeared onto his own bus, just wanting to be able to hold him.
When I got home, Jackson wasn’t there, and I called out through the dark, empty apartment with a frown. I had no idea what he had going on with the team or him personally at this moment, and I accepted that as I locked the door and took my bag to my room.
