AllFreeNovel
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“Thank you. Hey, give me two seconds.” I stand and remove my work shirt because I need to grab a shower in a minute before dinner. That and it’s boiling in here, even with the air conditioning on.
I pick my phone back up and see Jess’ beautiful face again. “Hi,” I say, as her eyes dilate and her throat swallows heavily.
“Hi,” she squeaks back and then giggles.
“Sorry, it’s boiling in here and I need to shower soon anyway, ready for dinner.”
Jess tilts her head. “Dinner?”
“Yeah, with the CEO and his wife. They wanted to take me out after signing the contract today.”
She visibly exhales. “Oh, that’s nice.” It’s cute that she looked worried for a second, but the truth is, Jess has filled every spare thought of mine since I saw her again, and I don’t plan on letting that change. I’m desperate to spend more time with her, to see where this goes again. I know we’ve got some things to work through, but there’s this magnetic pull to her that I can’t ignore.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
She nods, so I decide to go for it.
“Do you speak to your mum after all these years?”
I see the moment her whole face lilts at the mention of her mother, her shoulders drop, and she immediately nibbles her lip. “I… um…”
Her hesitation speaks volumes. Maybe she’s not ready to talk about that yet. Fear seeps into my subconscious as I think about how she hated talking about things with her mum before she moved. What if she still won’t let me in? “Hey, we don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to.”
Her eyes flit around her room as she bites the corner of her nail. “It’s not that. I’d rather talk about that when we’re together, you know, face to face.”
I nod my head. “Will you let me take you out on a date when I’m home?”
When her eyes snap back to mine, they’re wide and surprised, but I see the moment they soften as a smile creeps over her face again. “I’d like that.”
“Friday night?”
“Friday night,” she replies.
We stare at each other for a beat. I take in her soft pink cheeks, her full lips, her chestnut brown hair, and the way it’s shoved on the top of her head just makes her all the more appealing.
“Jess?”
“Hm?”
I want to tell her that I miss her. That even though we’re talking on the phone, I still miss her. I’ve spent longer than I care to admit missing Jessica Scott and I’m having a hard time processing all the feelings for her again. I want to share more with her, but she isn’t ready yet, so I decide to keep it to myself.
“Do you like pizza?” I ask.
She scoffs lightly, “Uh, is the Pope catholic?”
I smile. “I’m taking you out for pizza for our date, then.”
Her grin broadens, and her dimple pops, stealing my breath.
I exhale, resting my chin on my hand as I stare at her. “That dimple of yours… it’s the sweetest thing.”
I watch her head bow and her cheeks flame, my favourite colour creeping across her perfect skin. I can’t help my dopey smile as I settle in to stare at her a little longer.
21
Jessica
Istandinthehallway of our town house, focusing entirely on a tiny corner of the wall that paint has chipped from it. I can’t stop staring. The chipped paint is grounding me, giving me something to focus on, aside from my beating organ that is currently bouncing around my ribcage. My palms are sweating, my chest is tight, and I can’t help that feeling of fight or flight. I’m pretty sure I would fly really far away from this feeling I have right now. I can’t remember a time I’ve ever been this nervous, especially not with Liam.
