Page 72 of Home in Nevada

I feel my face heat up again. Damn it.

Jamie picks the paper back up, holding it like some sacred text. "That night felt like it honestly didn’t even happen. Like I dreamt it or something. I never, ever thought you’d actually kiss me. And then you did it by accident again. And again. Andagain."

My blush deepens, and before Jamie can add more fuel to the fire, I finally snatch the paper out of his hands.

"Hey! Don’t you dare crumple that up!" he yells, practically throwing himself onto my chest as he tries to grab it back.

I hold it just out of reach. "I kept doing it because you wanted me to. You kept giving me that weird face when we hung out in private."

Jamie props himself up on his elbows, staring down at me with that smug look of his. "Yeah, okay... What about sophomore year of high school, under the bleachers?"

I freeze. Shit. That one was definitely me.

After the game, Jamie had been walking around shirtless, just in his football leggings, like it was the most casual thing in the world. And maybe it was for him. But for me? It was torture. I’d spent the better part of an hour trying to act normal while fighting the urge to drag him somewhere private.

It took three tries—three painfully awkward attempts to get him alone—before I finally managed to pull him under the bleachers. The second we were out of sight, I couldn’t stop myself. I pressed him against one of the posts and kissed him like I’d been holding my breath all night.

We were so caught up in it, we didn’t even realize half the team had started looking for us. I still remember the sound of their voices calling our names, echoing through the field, while we stayed hidden, tangled up in each other.

"And what about that time after the pool," Jamie says, his grin widening. "When we were in swim trunks, and you pulled me onto your lap—"

"No, no, no. We’re not talking about that one," I cut him off, heart pounding.

Jamie’s grin morphs into a full-on laugh, and my stomach drops. Crap. Hedoesremember. Of course, he does. The way he’s looking at me says it all—smug and amused, like he’s been sitting on this memory for years, just waiting for the perfect moment to use it against me.

I should’ve known. In hindsight, how could henothave noticed that I’d come in my swim trunks? God, I was such an idiot.

"What’s your point, Jamie?" I ask, trying to steer this conversation into less humiliating territory.

Jamie’s smile softens. "My point is that you’ve always been..." He pauses, looking at me in a way that makes my chest ache. "...the best thing."

I don’t know what to say to that.

"That piece of paper," Jamie continues, glancing at it in my hand, "made me feel better about everything when I read it... after we argued."

"Why?" I ask, the word slipping out before I can stop it. I’ve been asking "why" a lot tonight, like a kid trying to get to the bottom of some mystery.

Jamie shrugs, his gaze flickering down for a moment. "Sometimes I felt like you were just messing around with me. Even... back at your place in LA. I wasn’t sure what was happening. I was scared you were still playing games, and I just... I couldn’t handle it anymore, Jeff. I went through all that back in school, and I didn’t want to do it again."

Crap. Jamie’s face falls, and the sight of it feels like a punch to the gut.

"But Jamie," I say quickly, holding up the paper, "that stuff you just read was all over the place. There’s nothing here."

"Yeah, there is," Jamie says, looking back at me. His voice softens again. "I think it was the ‘on accident’ kiss part... I like that part. It’s adorable."

I stifle a laugh at my own expense.

"It made me remember when I was still figuring things out too," Jamie adds. "All this stuff. My sexuality. It made it real."

I glance at the paper, then back at him, my chest tightening. "You know," I say with a small smile, "I hate to break this to you, but... it really wasn’t an accident."

Jamie bursts into laughter, his head tipping back.

"Oh, yeah?" he says sarcastically.

"Yeah," I reply, grinning now. "Yeah, I know this sounds crazy, but… I kissed you on purpose," I say, watching Jamie’s grin spread even wider.

God, his smile. He’s got really nice teeth, and when he grins like that, it’s distracting as hell. He’s fucking gorgeous, and it’s almost unfair.

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