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Chapter Fourteen
Marisol
Morning comes too soon. My form of protects is rolling onto my back and stretching out but refusing to open my eyes. I hate mornings. I’m just drifting off to sleep again when a soft snore brings me back to consciousness. My eyes snap open when I remember where I am and who I’m with. Opening my eyes to him every morning would definitely cure my loathing of dawn.
He’s lying haphazard across the bed, blankets twisted around his waist, and his mouth wide open. A giggle slips free as I attempt to muffle the noise with my hand. He’s such a little boy when he sleeps. I snuggle down deeper, rubbing my feet together, not ready to start the day. That’s when I notice I’m still wearing my clothes, except for my shoes and socks. How the hell did I get here?
I sigh, glancing at Jace again. My heart gallops, pounding in my chest, as if it were trying to jump right over to him. He’s the sweetest person I know, even if he pretends to be Mr. Macho. I’ll miss him when I leave for college.
The thought has my heart sinking to my toes. Not only am I leaving my brother and Jasmine behind, but now Jace has wormed his way deep inside my heart and become… more. The way my body and soul react to him can only lead in one direction. The realization rocks me. I’m in love with him. I’m in love with my best friend’s brother.
“Why are you smiling like a crazy person?” Jace’s gruff voice scares the ever loving crap out of me.
“Nothing… college… things.” Tongue tied does not come close to covering the bullshit leaving my mouth.
He untangles himself and stands, stretching to his full height. My eyes zero in on his abs like laser beams, and now my mouth is hanging open for an entirely different reason. At some point, as I’m tracing the contours of his lean and very toned body, I may have moaned. Not my finest moment and it could have been more of a heavy breath… no. No. It was definitely a moan. Jace smashes any hope of him not hearing out of the water when he fixes on me, closing the distance between us quickly, and stopping a breath away.
His words brush softly against my ear, “You keep looking at me like that, Mare, and I’ll forget that friendship promise I made.”
He leans back enough that my eyes snap to his, transfixed, reflecting promises of a future. Of pleasure. Of love. I want those promises. That pleasure. That love. I want them desperately.
But the scariest part is I think he knows it. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Don’t ever be sorry.”
This, whatever this is, is thickening in the room. It’s warm like a blanket, an electric pulse tugging me in his direction. I fight with everything I am, not to jump off this bed and climb him like a monkey.
But Jace, being true to his word, changes the subject. “What time do you meet the girls?”
“One. They’re taking me somewhere for lunch. What about you?”
He shrugs. “Don’t have any plans.”
I almost whine because I want to be his plan. Before I can think much about it, I ask. “You want to come with me? I mean, I’m going to be checking things out, and it may not be fun, but…”
“Mare?” Jace cuts me off.
“Yes.”
“I would love to,” he says with a sincere smile.
My heart expands to exploding proportions. It’d be amazing to spend the day with him. Even though I’ll be leaving behind so much, I’m excited to see where my next adventure will take me.
~~~~~
A few minutes later, we’re pulling up to the destination the girls gave us directions to. Nerves were eating at me earlier, even though a couple of the girl’s on the team were seniors at our school last year, but those have almost vanished now that Jace is tagging along.
Lunch goes well, laughing, and stories about the school year. After we finish, the real tour begins. They show us all the major hangouts, the principal buildings, and the gym where all the action takes place. Some of the girls take Jace under their wing, explaining the basketball aspect of the University, hanging on his arms, and cooing at him. I want to scratch all their eyes out with my bare hands.
Apart from that, University has quite the setup going for themselves. No wonder they’re so selective with their scholarship positions. By the time we finish with the tour, I’m confident that this is where I want to attend college. My stomach rolls with excitement. One year from now, this is where I’ll be living, and beginning my adult life.
With that, I glance over at Jace, who’s trying to pry one girl off his arm. Would he want to come to University when he graduates? By the way he’s talking, it sounds like he’s planning to attend. If he did, we’d only be apart for a year.
I internally roll my eyes. We’re not a couple, and yet, I’m already planning our future together. It’s getting harder to ignore my growing feelings. The biggest risk is the fallout if our relationship if it doesn’t work between us? Losing his friendship because of a relationship gamble is something I’ve contemplated since the beginning. Now those emotions have morphed into a giant fire-breathing dragon. The idea of giving him up, when I haven’t even had him, is already tearing me apart.
“What’s up?” Somehow, he’s extracted himself from the leech who was connected to him earlier without me noticing.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Nothing.”
