Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Once the bathroom is good and steamy, I step into the shower, letting the hot water pour over me.
“Allison,” Jesse thunders, pounding on the door, causing me to jolt. “Open the fucking door.”
I don’t answer, and the pounding stops for a minute before I hear it coming from the other side. “Goddammit, Allie.”
If I was going to cry, now, with the water to conceal my tears, would be the time. But they don’t fall. Just when I think he’s given up, I hear a loud noise followed by the sound of wood splintering. The shower curtain is yanked open, revealing Jess, his eyes hard, chest rising and falling quickly.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest in a futile attempt at modesty considering I just gave him my virginity.
Ignoring my question, he steps into the shower, his hands reaching out to cup my face, forcing me to look into his eyes.
“I don’t regret you,” he says vehemently. My nose starts to sting with the promise of tears, my chin wobbling. I try to turn away from his grasp, but he holds me in place. “It’s you who should regret me.”
I frown, confused. “Why?”
“Because I’ll fuck this up.”
“What are you talking about?” I shake my head, not understanding where he’s going with his. The shower beats down on my back, the water sliding from my hair onto his hands that still cup my face, running down his forearms. He rubs his thumb across my bottom lip, his eyes zeroing in on my mouth.
“I should walk away now, before it’s too late.”
“Or you could just…stay.” I swallow hard, searching his eyes for any clue as to what’s going on inside that head of his. I know it’s only a matter of time before he leaves again. Then Lo and Dare will be back soon, and we’ll have to go back to stolen moments when no one is looking. Our time together is fleeting, and I want to hold onto whatever this is for a little while longer.
“Or I could stay.”
* * *
“DO YOU REMEMBER THE DAY we met?” I ask, gathering my hair into a high ponytail before sinking into the hot tub. Jess smirks at me from the opposite side, eyes raking over my body. After he hulked out on the bathroom door the other night, he took us back to bed as if nothing happened. I was too sore for another round so soon, so he settled for licking me until I came with my thighs plastered to either side of his face.
I haven’t had school and I’ve only worked a couple of shifts this week, and surprisingly enough, Jess hasn’t pulled a vanishing act. We’ve spent the last few days together talking, laughing, fucking. Being with him like this is bittersweet. I feel like I’m on top of the world when we’re in our own little bubble, but what happens when that bubble bursts? I can tell he’s still on edge. I see his demeanor change every time his phone rings—though he hasn’t answered it. Something is plaguing his thoughts. I just don’t know what.
“Mhm,” he says, tugging me closer by my legs until I’m straddling him. “When I told Sierra that you were my girlfriend.”
“That wasn’t the first time,” I say, batting his hand away when he peels the black triangle of my bikini top away from my chest.
“Yes it was,” he argues, his voice adamant.
“Nope.” I smile, shaking my head. “My dad taught guitar at the high school.”
Jess settles back, hands grasping my waist, waiting for me to continue.
“I used to hang out under the bleachers to pass the time whenever he had to work.” I think back to the first time I saw Jess, sweaty and panting at lacrosse practice as he jogged off the field to grab his water bottle. Halston caught me staring and told me everything she knew about him, which wasn’t much. He had just moved there and was the shiny new toy every girl wanted to play with. I played it off, like he wasn’t the hottest boy I’d ever seen, and eventually, she changed the subject. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that we actually met.
“I lost track of time one day, and I knew my dad would be looking for me. I shot out from under the bleachers like a bat out of hell and ran right into you.”
Jess frowns. “I would have remembered you.”
“Well, you didn’t.” I laugh. “I dropped my journal at the same time you dropped your book. An old, worn paperback copy of The Outsiders.” That wasn’t the last time I’d seen him with it either.
“I vaguely remember this,” he says, his thumbs rubbing my hips.
“You bent down to pick them up and then handed my journal to me.”