Page 43 of This Side of Beautiful

After we returned to thehouse, everyone went to their rooms. I opened the refrigerator to grab a water bottle.

“You hungry?” Janae asked from behind me.

“I thought you went upstairs,” I commented, bracing myself against temptation before I closed the door. She’d changed into a white T-shirt and black shorts, and her hair was brushed back in a ponytail. She looked like the high school cheerleader she’d probably once been.

“I can cook you something quick,” she offered.

“I don’t eat this late or this early.” I twisted off the top of my water, and she pushed up and sat on the kitchen island across from me. “You’re not sleepy? You did a lot today.”

“I get wired when I perform. Takes me a while to calm down. You don’t seem sleepy either.”

I shrugged. “Not comfortable yet in the house.” I really wanted to say that it was hard for me to relax knowing that we were under the same roof.

“So, what do you suggest we do?” She smiled.

“Not that,” I answered.

Janae giggled. “Ain’t nobody checking for you.”

I took a big gulp of water to avoid saying something that would probably get me slapped.

“I was surprised to see you at Café Negril.” Her eyes were bright and expectant.

“You’re meant to perform.” I tilted my bottle toward her. “I couldn’t look away.”

The smile on her face was pure sunshine for those lucky enough to see her entertain. This was the way she’d told me she wanted to perform that night when we were under the stars. She held the small crowd captive, and we were all trapped in her seductive web.

“It was so freeing to get on that stage and know I could get a random group of people to sing with me. They didn’t expect to see me, and I didn’t know I would perform, yet tonight was perfect. Maybe I’m not as hated as I believed.”

“You were clean and you still owned the stage. That was the best part.” I finished my water and threw it in the trash. I belatedly realized that I should’ve kept the bottle to have something in my hand before I did something crazy, like grab her. I pulled my pick out of my pocket and held it like I planned to play my guitar.

She stuck her tongue out at me. “I don’t know if I’m annoyed or not that you keep mentioning that.”

“Do you want me to be your moral compass or not? I didn’t ask for the role, remember?”

“I also thought we were becoming friends.” She reached for my wrist and pulled me between her legs, firmly placing my arms around her waist. “It feels like you’re still putting distance between us.”

“Kinda have to so we can be friends. I can’t afford to fall for you.” My gaze drifted to her mouth.

Janae smiled wider. “Why?”

“You know why,” I replied, dragging my attention back to her alluring brown eyes.

She slipped her hand under my shirt and touched my abs, and I subconsciously recoiled.

Her forehead wrinkled, and she removed it. “Sorry. Guess you really don’t like me like that. Friends it is.”

I’d hurt her, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I entwined our hands without thought. “Sorry. I do like you. More than I want to, and you know that. We wouldn’t have spent hours on the phone this last month when I really hate talking if I didn’t like you. I’m not used to sudden touches.”

“Why? I noticed you flinched when I touched you the last time that we were together.” She seemed more curious than bothered.

“More of a loner,” I answered. The longer answer was that it’d been months since I’d had sex, and I had always felt some discomfort with people touching me.

She nodded as she opened my hand gently and touched my palm. “Your skin is rough.”

“Hazard of being a guitar player. Callouses are a badge of honor.”

Janae traced my palm with her finger. “Still, I bet if I oiled your hands every night, it would feel smoother.”

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