Page 11 of Choose Me

His head shoots up, eyes wide and pinned right on mine. “Hazel.”

It’s almost whispered, so it takes a second to process what he’s said. I cup his face and pretend to examine them closely. “Ahh. Yes, I see that now. A very pretty hazel.”

His lips quirk at the corner. “You said beautiful before, and now I need to know which it is. Because pretty is nice, but it’s not beautiful.”

I throw my head back and laugh. It’s such a Stef thing to say, and I’m not used to comments like that coming from Jules. “Please forgive me. I hadn’t realized there was a scale.”

He nods solemnly, somehow keeping a straight face. “There most definitely is. Stef taught it to me.” Ahh. There it is. I knew Stef was involved somehow. Jules ticks the points off on his fingers. “Nice, pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, stunning.”

“Oh, I see. Well, in that case, allow me to amend my statement. Please, Jules. Will you let me see your stunningly exquisite eyes?”

I mean to tease him, lighten things up a bit, but his cheeks pink again, and his lips part as he gawps at me. It’s obvious I’ve surprised him, but I’m just as shocked at my reaction. Wide-eyed and happy, Julesisstunning, and god help me, I can’t look away. It takes all of my willpower not to reach out and stroke his cheek or pull him against me and kiss him breathless. Instead, I lose myself in his sunny smile and sparkling eyes, and don’t even notice when the rain begins.

“Should we find somewhere to hang out until the weather passes or hike anyway?”

“Oh.” I look up at the sky and blink away the drizzle as it hits my face. “Shit. Sorry, I misjudged things. Guess if I’m moving back, I’ll need to make some adjustments to my rain predictor.” Living in Arizona for so long must have recalibrated my ability to predict Seattle weather. “You have rain gear, right?”

He points to the pack at his feet. “You?”

“Yeah.” I reach for my pack and unhook it from the back of the bike. Jules nervously chews at his lower lip, and it’s equal parts adorable and sexy as hell. I can’t pull my eyes away, though I’m probably creeping him out with all the staring I’m doing.

“Well, why don’t we keep to the plan and hope the rain clears up at some point?” He drops his head forward, staring at the gravel again, and shrugs one shoulder, like he’s sure I’ll hate his idea and it won’t be any big deal if I do.

It’s as heartbreaking as it is infuriating, because his body language screams, ‘Please don’t laugh or make fun of me,’ and that’s not something I can ignore. Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure Jules is comfortable to voice his opinion without fear that I’ll laugh. “Sounds good.” I tamp down my negativity and catch his eye. “I’m not about to let a little rain get in the way of spending time with you.” His blush and soft smile make my heart soar.

We’re both already wearing water resistant hiking pants, so it’s just a matter of putting on gaiters and rain jackets. With our additional weather protection in place, I jerk my head toward the trail. “C’mon. Let’s go explore. It’s been forever since I’ve been here.”

I take the lead as we follow the marked trail into the woods. We keep a moderate pace and cover a lot of ground in the first hour, slipping into a comfortable silence. It’s not something I can achieve with many people. Most people need to fill the quiet moments with noise, but I love being in nature, feeling the connection to everything around me, losing myself in the sights and sounds of my surroundings. Jules gets that. He gets me. It’s something we’ve always had in common, and the silence between us is peaceful, not awkward.

I inhale the fresh air and feel the satisfying burn of the climb in my legs. The rain is a constant drizzle, but since we’re both prepared, it’s more of a nuisance than anything. The fog is beautiful, though. God, I’ve missed this. It blankets the trees in drifting white clouds and seems to soften ambient sounds. I glance over my shoulder at Jules and he rewards me with his sweet grin. My heart flutters wildly. Fuck. I’m in so much trouble.

But I’m glad he’s here with me. It’s nice to have someone to share this with. Stef isn’t into the outdoors, and neither is Astrid. My brothers are more inclined to go on a motorcycle ride through the mountains than hike them. Does Jules have anyone to hike with? Quinn probably goes with him, but not regularly, if he’s as busy as Stef says, so Jules probably does most of his hiking solo.

But what if he doesn’t? I just assumed there isn’t anyone, and isn’t that incredibly shitty of me? Fuck. I’m a horrible person. But I can’t just blurt out, “So, are you seeing someone?” He’ll panic. I need to work around to it. “So, work’s okay?”

“Fuck!”

I spin around, worried by the shock in Jules’ voice, but he’s laughing, though he’s clutching his chest. “Shit, you scared me.”

I’m so relieved he isn’t hurt that I laugh, too. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Yeah, I know.” He grins and starts moving again, so I do too.

“Work’s fine, I guess.”

I glance back at him, my eyebrows raised. “You guess?”

“Yeah. My boss is retiring at the end of the year. The new guy’s supposed to be nice, but office gossip says he’s sort of rah-rah. A few people have met him before, and I guess he’s all about team building, collaborating on projects, and grabbing beers after work as a group.”

Oh shit. None of that sounds good for Jules. “I’m sorry. You hate that kind of stuff. Hopefully it won’t be that bad.” I try to think of ways I can mitigate the stress for him. There’s nothing I can do about the work projects, but if he can collaborate with his boss, or someone he knows, it might not be so terrible. I can definitely help with the beers after work thing. “Do you want me to go with you? To the bar things, I mean.”

I hear Jules trip and turn around in time to see him brace a hand against a tree. “Um, what?”

It takes concerted effort not to chuckle at the shock on his face. “You know, for moral support? Someone to talk to or hang with so you don’t have to socialize with your work group too much. I could run interference if you need it.”

Jules looks hopeful, but then he deflates like a popped balloon. “You mean with Stef. But he can’t always make it. His work schedule is kind of crazy.”

Does he want Stef to come? I guess that would probably be better. He’s closer to Stef, and there would be less chance for me to do something foolish, like kiss Jules, which I’m sorely tempted to do all the time. Still, it’s disappointing.

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