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“What did Teegan have to say?” Jace asks. I don’t miss the uncertainty in his voice.
“Not much. She played it off like she didn’t remember anything about last night, but we both know she wasn’t drunk.”
Jace nods but doesn’t say anything else. The room falls silent, and then both of them are staring at me expectantly. As if I’m supposed to say something about last night. About Teegan. And honestly, I have nothing nice to say, so I just shrug and keep my mouth shut.
After Lennon leaves, Jace and I do exactly as he suggested. We binge a variety of movies until the sun sets and my stomach growls for real food. We’ve been eating chips and drinking soda most of the day.
“I’ll make sandwiches if you want to load up the movie you had to pick for tonight,” I offer, hopping off the couch.
“Sounds like a plan. I was going to make daiquiris to go with whatever snack you had planned. I can still make them if you want me to.”
“You do realize you don’t have to play bartender all the time, right?”
“It’s kind of my thing. Plus, everyone thinks I’m a bartender, so why correct them?”
“I get it, but you could let me make the drinks for a change, ya know. Or don’t you trust me?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder to where Jace is still situated on the couch.
I expected to find him searching for the movie. Instead, I find his eyes locked on me. Watching. Admiring. Loving me with his stare.
“I trust you, Pres, but I also want to take care of you.”
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. Well, at least I’ll be able to in a few months after I find a job.”
Jace claps his hands together, startling me.
“I forgot we were interrupted. I wanted to talk to you about that. How do you feel about Florida?”
“I feel like it’s humid, and hurricanes scare the shit out of me. Why?” I ask, drawing the word out as I turn to face him. Not for dramatic effect. Not because I’m confused about why he’s asking.
I draw the word out because as I’m saying it, it hits me what’s coming next.
“No,” I quickly yell and turn back away from him. I focus my attention on the cold cuts in front of me. I need to make sandwiches right now. There’s nothing more important. We need food.
Date night is starting.
No more serious talk.
No talk of the future.
A million different excuses to avoid having this conversation with Jace run through my mind, but I’m having a hard time breathing let alone speaking. When he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder, I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I get that this is scary. That things are moving really fast. And I’m not saying you need to make a decision right now, or next week, or even next month. I want you to know the option’s out there. That I want you where I am when you’re ready. And since you’re looking for a new job, I wanted to let you know that I can offer you that.”
“Okay,” I manage to squeak out, not sure what else to say.
Gee, thanks. I need a job and I’m willing to take whatever you have to offer.
You’re so sweet. What would I do without you?
Nope. I’m my own woman. I can find myself a job. Will I potentially look in the Miami area? It’s a possibility. I want to see what happens after I get back home first. After we’ve spent some time apart. To see if this lasts once the real world comes crashing down around us.
“Come on,” Jace says, taking the plate with our sandwiches on it in one hand and my hand in the other, tugging me toward the couch. “It’s date night. Not our last one, but the first of many to come.”
“You’re laying it on kind of thick tonight, don’t you think?”
“Well, considering the movie I picked, I figured I should butter you up a little.”
My eyes fall to the TV screen and I cringe. “I’m fairly certain I wrote down how much I hated this movie when I filled out the stupid survey they gave me before I was selected.”
