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But then Julian pushed open the door that led to our room, and I froze.
There was only one bed.
And not just that…it was one double bed.
What were we going to do?
9
Julian
“We have dinner plans in an hour. I’ll leave you two to unpack and get dressed. Let me know if you need anything,” Connie said. Her eyebrows rose as she looked at her daughter. “Jennifer, we should talk later.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
Connie pulled the door closed behind her, leaving me and Jen all alone in a room with only one small bed. A double bed. I hadn’t slept on a double bed since I was a kid. Definitely not with another person in it. I hadn’t considered this option about our subterfuge. I actually hadn’t known we were even staying in a house until we pulled up. I’d figured a hotel with multiple beds. That was what I got for assuming.
As much as I wanted to get in that bed with Jennifer, that wasn’t what she wanted.
“I’ll take the couch,” I told her immediately.
“Oh,” she whispered. “No. I don’t know. I wouldn’t know how to explain that.”
“I’ll say that I wasn’t comfortable.”
She eyed me skeptically. “You’re a Wright.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your family reputation precedes you.” Jennifer shrugged when I moved to object. “Sutton had a shotgun wedding. My parents have never forgotten that. I put money on my mom asking if I’m being careful.” Her cheeks brightened as the words left her mouth.
“Ah,” I said. “Then I’ll take the floor.”
“Yeah…we could alternate if you want.”
“No way. You take the bed. I’ll make a pillow fort.”
“I’m sorry, Julian. I didn’t think about it.”
“Don’t even worry. I want you to be comfortable.”
She smiled shyly. “Then, uh…I’ll just…change in the bathroom.”
My eyes roamed her body. Fuck. Right. She’d change in the bathroom. Where she wouldn’t be naked in front of me. My cock swelled at the thought. This weekend was going to be…hard. In more ways than one.
Jennifer grabbed clothes out of her duffel and shuffled into the connected bathroom. I adjusted myself in her absence. When I’d suggested that we do this, I’d thought it would be a good way for us to be around each other a lot. I couldn’t deny that I would be interested in trying with Jennifer.
When I’d first moved here, I’d been in the wrong place for us to have a relationship. With my mom’s cancer, it felt like too much to concentrate on anything else. Then I lifted my head from the clouds, and Ashleigh was there. She had been so into me. Look where that had gotten me.
I wasn’t going to push Jennifer for something she didn’t want, but I wasn’t going to resist my flirtations. If she was my girlfriend this weekend, maybe, just maybe, I could find out if my affections were reciprocated.
* * *
I changed into fitted khakis with a thick brown belt, a bright blue button-up, rolled to my elbows, and a fresh pair of white tennis shoes. Jennifer’s eyes rounded slightly as they trailed down my body. I smiled confidently. At least she wasn’t completely immune to me.
“I like your dress.”
She flushed and rubbed her hands down the front of the yellow floral number. She’d paired it with a dusty-blue cardigan and brown sandals. I decided that I liked her blush.
“Oh, uh…thanks. I like your outfit too. You’re dressed up.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Too dressed up?”
“No. It’s very you.”
True. I’d always been into fashion. When I was growing up, other guys wore baggy cargo pants and oversize T-shirts. I never felt like myself in that kind of outfit. I wanted sharp lines, tailored cuts, and bright colors. I’d been made fun of for it in middle school. Jordan had stopped that with his fists. He used to take all of his anger issues out by fighting. I was so glad that he had Annie now to quell that response.
“What?” Jennifer asked.
That was when I realized that I had been staring at her. At the shine in her light brown bob, the strands brushing against her collarbone. It was the longest I’d ever seen it. She had on almost no discernible makeup, except some pink gloss on her lips that made me consider licking it off, and kohl lining her eyes. The eyeliner made her eyes almost impossibly large. The hazel turned a soft green in the slanted light coming in from the shutters, revealing the gold flecks that surrounded her pupils. Her pale skin was lightly freckled across the bridge of her nose. I couldn’t stop staring. Not when I had an uninterrupted view.
“You look beautiful,” I admitted.
She drew her bottom lip into her mouth. “There’s no one here for you to impress right now.”
“Yes, there is.”
Her cheeks heated. “You’re such a flirt.”
A deflection if I’d ever heard one. I was a flirt, but it hadn’t even crossed my mind. I couldn’t stop looking at her. But I had to.
