Page 60 of Side Out

“But it was bad enough I was spying on you, I didn’t want to make it worse, by watching some poor unsuspecting student and?—”

“JACKSON BAKER, WOULD YOU STOP TALKING!”

My jaw snaps shut as I stare at him wide-eyed. Breathing heavily through my nose as I try to replenish my lungs of the oxygen they just lost during that rant.

What the fuck was that all about anyway?

“It’s fine.”

“I don’t blame you, it really wasn’t very—Wait, it’s fine?”

Theo slowly moves toward me as he shrugs nonchalantly. “Yeah, it’s fine. I mean, I should probably be more bothered by the fact that you’ve been spying on me for almost a year, but after everything I’ve done to you…” He reaches me but doesn’t touch me. His green eyes just look deep into mine. “I’m choosing not to care.”

“Y-you don’t care?”

Theo shakes his head. “Nope.”

“I’ll take them down. I swear.”

His fingers reach out to grab at the string of my sweatpants. “Well, maybe you could take them down… tomorrow?”

A slow smile spreads across my face. “Tomorrow, huh?”

Both of his hands find their way under my shirt and rest along my waist. “Tomorrow,” he says softly. “I’ve had enough arguing. Enough apologizing. Enough wishing we would have done things differently. I just wantus.You and me. No secret engagement. No being afraid I’m going to get fired. No wanting each other in secret. For once… justus.”

“You really want to do this now? After we just kicked your fiancée out of the house?”

“Ex-fiancée, but, yes,” he says as he leans his face into mine.

“Before we’ve even figured out what we’re really going to do?”

“Mhm,” he replies as his lips ghost mine.

“But—”

He half-sobs, half-laughs against my lips. “Jax, please. We’ll deal with the rest of the questionstomorrow. Just shut up and fucking kiss me.”

Theo pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, and despite how mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted I am, the only thing I can think about is having it between mine. “I think you have yourself a deal, Mr. Young.”

For You - Lithe, Roy Woods

CHAPTER38

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

THEODORE

The feel of Jax’s lips on mine after all of this time has to be what heaven is like.

It’s like a kind of euphoria I’ve never experienced.

Even just being in his presence is enough to feel like the high of a lifetime, and I truly never want to come down.

?*“Do the cameras record?” I murmur breathlessly against his lips. His brows bunch together as he pulls away slightly from our kiss.

“Y-yeah… why?”

“Oh, no reason,” I say before reaching behind me, fisting my shirt between my shoulder blades and pulling it over my head, careful not to rip my glasses off my face. I’ll need them to be able to see his expressions for what I’m about to do.

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