Page 33 of As Long As You Kiss Me

But Jackson wasn’t ready to tell her. Maybe he would never be ready. What good would it do? It wasn’t like it would fix anything. But could he allow himself to be in a relationship with someone when he was keeping something huge from her? It was one thing to be in a fake relationship, but the more time he spent around her, the more real it was beginning to feel.

Jackson sat on the couch and opened one of the boxes that had a camera in it. “Let’s just say that I’m no saint.” That was all he was willing to tell her now.

“No one’s perfect, Jackson.”

He pulled out a camera and pointed it at Sully. “Ready to be watched at all times?”

“Way to make it feel creepy.”

“You never know who might be able to hack into these things. The government, terrorists.”

“Well, I have nothing to hide, to be honest. Whoever watches me, if that’s really a thing, will be awfully bored.”

“Well, at least you’ll know Mason won’t have access to it.”

“I don’t think I’m interesting enough for anyone to want to hack into my boring life.”

“It’s not boring to me. But I’m privileged enough to come over here and witness what’s going on with you. I don’t need the cameras. Not that I’d be a creeper like that anyway.”

“Oh yeah? You sure you’re not secretly a peeping Tom?” she teased.

She had a bowl of popcorn sitting out on the table. He reached in and grabbed a piece and tossed it at her. “Did you just call me a peeping Tom?”

“Are you trying to start a food fight?” She tossed a handful of popcorn at him, and he flung his hands up to block the assault.

“I’m pretty sure. I don’t need to be a peeping Tom. If I want a woman, I’ll get her the regular way.” He grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed it in her direction, the white fluffy kernels flying everywhere.

One bounced off her forehead and landed in her lap. “So are you saying you go through a lot of women then?”

“Are you calling me a player now? Those are fighting words. I’m not afraid to throw more popcorn at you. Be careful what you say.”

She laughed and snatched the bowl from the table. “You can’t throw popcorn at me if you don’t have access to it.”

“You think I can’t just take it from you?”

“Is that a threat?”

“No. It’s a promise.” He launched himself at her, and she screamed like a banshee. He tried peeling her fingers from the bowl, but her grip was locked on the bowl like super glue. He didn’t want to hurt her, so he relented. “Okay, you win.”

“You’re just going to give up that easily?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you back later.”

She grinned triumphantly. “It doesn’t matter. Because I won this one. You don’t think I can’t win the next one too?”

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

“I guess I will.” She was so adorable over there with her arms wrapped protectively around the popcorn bowl. “What about in college? Did you date anyone then?” Sully asked.

He fiddled with the camera in front of him. “I dated a few people. Nothing too serious. Mostly I was focused on homework.”

“A guy as attractive as you? I’d think you could have any woman you wanted.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“You sure seemed to get plenty of girls swarming you in high school.”

Was there really a correct response to that? It felt like a trap. If he agreed, he’d look like he was full of himself. If he said no, he’d be lying. The truth was, there were a lot of girls after him in high school. He’d been well liked, into sports. That was before he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. War had changed him. He liked who he’d used to be. Now he wasn’t so sure he could stand himself.

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