AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Raina stared at Jesse in shock, her steps faltering. Had he believed that about her? She believed Nicole had lied, for sure. Had this been what the other girl was talking about when she apologized? Raina tried to respond, but the words got stuck in the back of her throat.
“I have no idea how to seduce someone,” was what finally came out of her mouth.
Jesse chuckled. “I know. And when I sat down and thought about it, I knew it didn’t sound like you. But I felt like I had to choose a side, and I’d already chosen Nicole’s, so I didn’t know what to do. I’d liked you since the beginning of the year, and since we never talked about that night, my feelings were all mixed up and, well, it sucked. Deep down, I knew you would never do anything like that, but part of me wanted to believe you had so I’d have an excuse to stay away from you. So it kind of came out in a me-mad-at-you, me-ignoring-you, me-avoiding-dealing-with-my-feelings kind of way.”
There was only one section of Jesse’s rambling that Raina could focus on. “You’ve liked me since the beginning of the year?”
Jesse scratched the back of his head, giving her that shy grin she liked so much. “Yeah. Was it obvious?”
“To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure whether you liked me or not. But I thoughtmycrush onyouwas obvious!”
“It was a little,” Jesse confessed. “And I was going to ask you out sometime during the first semester, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Then everything happened and we stopped talking.Then, when we started to get along again, you said that you weren’t planning on dating.”
Raina took a step closer, the backs of their hands brushing. “I’ve come to realize I need to make choices based on what makes me happy. For so long I’ve followed all the rules, all the logic, everything that I’ve been told without question. But there’s so much more to life than that. I want to experience it all, and I want to do it with you.”
Jesse didn’t reply for a bit, and Raina took a second to regain her bearings. Jesse was gripping both of her hands now, and he was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body. Raina took a deep breath, aware that Jesse hadn’t taken his eyes off her. Was she supposed to do something? Was he going to kiss her? Raina wasn’t sure if she wanted him to kiss her or not. If he kissed her, would she pull away? Would she even know what to do?
“Have you kissed anyone before?” she asked abruptly.
A surprised look flitted over Jesse’s face, but he didn’t move away. “I have,” he said slowly. “Why?”
Raina looked down. Her shoes were suddenly very interesting.
“Raina.” Jesse reached out and tilted her chin up so their eyes met once again.
Raina blushed. “I’ve never kissed anyone before.”
“That’s totally okay,” Jesse told her. “Look, we can take this atyourpace. If you want me to kiss you, then I can. But if you don’t, then I’m not going to push you.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” Raina said. “I know you probably want to kiss me, but—”
“Hey, hey,” Jesse cut her off. “Yes, I do want to kiss you very much. Like, as in we should step away from each other, because I want to kiss you so much. But I value you and spending time with you more than I want to kiss you. Point is, it’s all up to you. When you’re ready, but not until then. I will wait as long as you want to. Even if you have to go home and switch schools, phones exist for a reason. You’re not that far from Trinity.”
Raina didn’t remove her hands from his, and Jesse didn’t step away. “That’s a lot to take in,” she said carefully, taking note of how Jesse’s hazel eyes seemed to be darker than usual. Was that because he wanted to kiss her?
“That’s okay. Do you need time?”
Probably. Maybe. I don’t know. You make me very, very confused, but in a good way.
“Yes.”
“Can I walk you to your room? Or do you want to start thinking now?” Jesse asked.
“Or…you can come with me. To my room. But only if you want,” she said hurriedly. “Not to do anything, just to watch a movie? Maybe? We can sit on my bed. It’s comfy. I have soft blankets.”
Jesse laughed. “I would love to come watch a movie with you and your soft blankets. But what if I want to sit on Zara's bed instead? She has super comfy pillows.”
Raina smiled up at him as they finally stepped away from each other. “We could steal her pillows.”
“I am so down for that plan, you don’t even know how much,” Jesse said seriously. “But let’s go the extra mile and short sheet her bed while we’re at it.”
“I’ll hide the teddy bears,” Raina agreed.
Jesse paused, Raina stopping too because of their still linked hands. A smirk spread across his face, and Raina suddenly felt sorry for Zara. “Tell me more about these teddy bears, Raina.”
ChapterTwenty-Seven
“Fuck you.”
