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I nodded again, swiping at the corner of my eyes. “Okay, great.”
He chuckled. “You don’t have to?—”
“Yes, I do,” I squeaked. “So just listen.”
“Okay, go on.”
“Broken Hill question.” I sucked on my lips. “I haven’t been with anyone since you.” I stopped. In my exhaustion, I’d forgotten about this question. It wasn’t fair to expect that he’d not seen anyone while I’d been gone. Of course, he was allowed to see others. I’d meant to tear it up and toss this postcard.
“Keep going,” he urged, his voice hoarse.
“I shouldn’t?—”
“Ask.”
I nodded and metaphorically pulled up my big girl pants. “It did feel to me like our friendship was more. To have kissed or slept with anyone else felt like … cheating on you.”
We’d never had any expectation at all about us being exclusive. Regret made my stomach lurch. I screwed up the postcard. “I can’t ask this. It’s not right to even expect?—”
Jet reached out and gently peeled back my fingers, smoothing the postcard. “I never slept with anyone while you were gone, Ari. Even after our fight. It felt wrong to me, too.”
A cry of relief escaped my lips. I brushed a tear from my cheek. “Oh.”
Jet had moved closer still, but the only place where we touched was his hand covering mine and the Broken Hill postcard.
“You got one more question?” he asked, his breathing heavier.
I cleared my throat. “Narrabri question. I think I’ve been in love with you the whole time. But I wasn’t ready to face what I was feeling.” I couldn’t look up from the postcard, couldn’t risk seeing his reaction. “Were you really in love with me, too?”
“No.”
My head snapped up. “What? Are you kidding me?”
He chuckled again, his eyes sparkling. “Not ‘were’ in love with you, Ari. Iamin love with you. I never stopped.”
I slapped the postcard against his chest. “I thought you were dumping me!”
He caught me by the wrist and hauled me against him. “You obviously didn’t get my letter.”
“What letter?” My heart was pounding. Was I having a stroke?
“I wrote back to you asking if we could be friends.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I couldn’t be just your friend when you had my heart. And I’d wait for you, if time is what you needed. And if you didn’t love me, I’d let you be, and I’d do my best to be the friend you needed.”
“I need you now. I need all of you.”
He pressed his mouth to mine. I gasped in surprise, and he seized the opportunity to sweep his tongue over mine.
I dropped the postcards and wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.
Our bodies moulded into each other, mine lighting up as his hands slid over my skin, holding me to him. Every call, every video chat, every filthy text: none of it compared to kissing him, touching him, feeling the way his body responded to mine.
I was about to climb him like a tree when someone started clapping and making cooing noises to my right. We broke apart to find my mother bouncing with glee.
“Oh! Have to say, I’m quite the matchmaker!” Debra waved jazz hands at the speed daters, beaming her white teeth to all. “May you all find love tonight!” She gestured to Jet and me just as I was sliding down the front of him in horror. “My speed dating nights are successful in helping people find love!”
