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He studied her face. Damn, this one was a handful. He shook his head, bent down, picked up her shorts, and tossed them at her.
“Hardly.
Out on the beach, Jess collapsed into the sand, panting harder than she had in a very long time. Myles had worked her over until there was nothing left to give. Her lungs burned, her head throbbed, and her body ached. He’d promised to go easy on her the first time she threatened to quit and they’d started out walking along the shore until Myles suggested a slow jog, only he kept picking up his pace and expected Jess to follow.
Now spent, she spread out in the sand and stared at the sky, trying to catch her breath. Light had just barely begun to peek over the horizon, and as she studied the colors of the sky, Jess tried to remember how long it had been since she’d been outside at this hour.
Myles stood over her, blocking her view, possibly waiting to see if she would get back up. When she didn’t, he sat down beside her. Unable to breathe very well lying down, Jess propped herself up on her elbows and stared at the expanse of the ocean. Myles opened a bottle of water, took a swig, and then thrust it in her direction. Jess eyed the bottle and then him before she eventually reluctantly took it. Clearly, she was still pissed about the kitchen incident.
The two of them sat in silence for some time watching as the sun rose above the water and climbed higher in the sky.
Jess inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out, her pulse finally returning to normal. “Hey, Myles.”
He turned to look at her then and raised a brow.
“Don’t ever fucking do that to me again. If you aren’t going to finish what you start, don’t bother starting it.”
Myles sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. “Fair enough. So long as you understand my point.”
“Yeah. I think I got it. And there’s something else... just so you know… I think this is a really bad idea.”
He smiled. “How so?”
“You being in love with me and me feeling like I might be in love with you.”
Myles face didn’t register the surprise she’d expected. “Well, then we’ll just have to let it be bad until it turns good.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then we know.”
Jess swallowed. Then we know.
Myles turned his attention back toward the water. “Just let it be what it is, Jessica. Stop over-thinking it.”
“I’m not sure I know how to do that.”
He turned back to her. “Practice.”
She searched his eyes. “I am.”
Myles stood, dusted himself off, and extended his hand to her. “Come on, let’s go finish what I started.”
A smile spread across her face as she placed her hand in his. They walked back to the house, hand in hand, and then spent the remainder of the day in bed, learning about each other. About everything bad, everything good, and all the stuff in between.
Chapter Twenty
Myles shook Jess’s shoulder. “Jessica. Jessica… Jessica!” he called through gritted teeth.
He watched as she slowly aroused, awaking with an expression that was halfway between panic and confusion.
“Your husband is in the living room.”
She rubbed her eyes. “My who?”
He sighed and pulled the duvet back. “Jessica, get up.”
Myles had been anxious to wake her all afternoon. He missed her when she wasn’t around, and the house felt so empty when she was asleep. Even if she were quiet or reading, something about her presence filled the silence. He was becoming too attached, he knew. He had to pull back, but the timing wasn’t right. Especially, not now when she needed him the most. She had laid down for an afternoon nap three hours ago and Myles let her sleep. He knew she still felt a lot of malaise, and most days, could barely make it through lunch before she got that sleepy look on her face, and it wasn’t long after that when she’d retire to her room saying she couldn’t fight sleep any longer.
