Page 47 of (La)Crosse My Heart

“What was your favorite part about today?” she asks.

“Definitely when you swooped in and saved me from acting out at least two of those clips,” I say without hesitation.

“What was even better was seeing the director’s face when you answered like you had designed the sticks yourself.”

I grin and lean back against the bed. This is one of those moments where I’m so grateful for the people in my life, most of all Jessa right now. She could’ve let our issues from the past take over, but she dove right into helping me.

We finish up our food and settle onto the large king bed. There’s space between us, which almost feels like the danger zone to cross. It isn’t until she brings it up that I remember the kiss from this morning. A lot has happened since then, okay?

“Did you mean to kiss me in the green room?” she asks while staring at the TV. Luckily, this hotel is equipped with smart TVs, so we can sign into our own streaming services.

My chest constricts for a moment, and I can’t believe I forgot.

“Yes,” I say, the word just above a whisper.

She says nothing for a bit and the suspense is killing me.

“I won’t do it again if you don’t want that to happen. I’m sorry. It was a line I probably crossed and?—”

She reaches over and covers my mouth with her hand. “I just wanted to check that you hadn’t done it because you were nervous or anything.”

Shaking my head, I tug her hand down enough that I can say, “I might’ve been thinking about it since the park.”

Laughing, she says, “I thought you were going to kiss me on my couch.”

“There was some debate at that point, too.”

There’s a moment of hesitation and I lean over, pressing my lips to hers. Her fingers run through my hair as she presses closer.

My brain is both jumping for joy and freaking out that I’m kissing my best friend’s older sister.

A phone rings and we break apart for just a moment before joining lips again. Is this what I’ve been missing out on in my life? Because I will gladly hang out here for days, just to enjoy this.

The phone rings again, and Jessa leans back to look at the screen.

“Oh, no! It’s Daphne.”

“Who’s Daphne?” I ask.

“My boss. The one who hired me to work for Stockton Media.”

I shrug, not sure why she looks as guilty as a kid who’s been in the cookie jar. I don’t mind her stealing cookie kisses.

“Hey Daphne.” She tries to make her voice bright, and then I watch as the smile slips from her face.

“I haven’t seen anything. I was there to help Clark with his endorsements, just like you asked.”

Another long pause and I see her lip tremble.

“Understood. Okay, I’ll be in tomorrow when we fly back.”

She hangs up the phone and silent tears streak down her cheeks.

I scoot over and wrap my arms around her, wishing we could go back to moments ago and not answer the call.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. She turns, so she’s buried her face in my chest, and I increase my hold on her, hoping to take whatever pain she’s feeling and lessen it somewhat.

She finally blows out a long breath and says, “I just got fired. I’m supposed to go in and pick up my final papers tomorrow.”

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