Page 45 of Before You
Marley exhales, her lips parting slightly as I drag my knuckles gently over her cheek, unable to resist the temptation of touching her. There was a reason I stayed on the other side of the table before. “You don’t. I shouldn’t have asked when it’s none of my business. I’m sorry, JJ.”
“Wait—why are you apologizing?” I ask, unsure of what’s happening now.
“Because you already carry enough weight on your shoulders, and I never meant to add to it by being upset with you for not telling me about Trent cheating. You were in a difficult position, and I understand now. I should have heard you out, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“I mean this respectfully, but please shut up,” I say, and her eyebrows jump in surprise. “I don’t want you to apologize, because you have nothing to say sorry for. I was wrong. I should have talked to you about it when I took you home that first day. You did nothing wrong.”
Marley does the last thing I expect by smiling at me. I will literally never understand women. She holds her hand out in front of me, and I stare at it, trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do next. “JJ, take my hand,” she whispers. I slip my hand into hers, her fingertips surprisingly rough to match the calluses on my palms. “Hi, my name is Marley Benson.”
“Hi? I’m JJ Walker?”
“Is that a question or a fact?” she asks, shaking my hand.
What the hell is happening?“Fact,” I answer, but when she smiles brightly at me, goosebumps prickle over my skin.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Sweetheart, what the hell are you doing?” I ask, causing her to sigh.
“We’re starting fresh, which means this is the first time we’ve met. Do me a favor and play along, okay?” Marley looks so damn hopeful, I’m unable to help smiling at her. She is something else, better than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams.
“Okay,” I whisper back, agreeing to her nonsensical idea.
“So, JJ, what do you like to do?” Marley asks, spinning the ring on her thumb.
“I like to talk to you, look at you, spend time with you, jump in fountains with you—all my favorite things are with you. What do you like to do?”
“I like to play my guitar, watch the sun set at the end of the day while the stars wake up, and I love to learn languages.” She shakes her head, and a small laugh slips from her, clearly not believing me. No matter how corny my answer may be, it’s the truth. I don’t want to lie when I’m with Marley. “Be serious, please. I feel like we need a fresh start to move past everything, so tell me what you like to do.”
“I am being dead serious. Marley, you make me feel like I’ve caught a life preserver after treading water in the middle of the ocean for days. What I like to do is be around you in any manner I can in whatever way you’ll have me,” I say, reaching for my bottle to take a drink, feeling her eyes on me after the little bomb I dropped.
“We’re friends,” she says, but I’m not sure who she’s saying it for. I’m aware we’re just friends, but the way Marley’s looking at my lips doesn’t feel like we’re just friends.
“I wasn’t hitting on you.”
Marley scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Okay, then what exactly do you call it? Because I’m pretty sure someone who’s a friend wouldn’t call me sweetheart and sayAll my favorite things are with you.” Marley deepens her voice to try and imitate me, but I just find it cute.
“I call it a fact,” I say, smiling cheekily. “I could turn the same question around on you, though.”
“Oh really?” she asks, and I nod. “How?”
I lean in toward Marley, close enough I can smell the intoxicating citrus hints of her perfume as her chest hitches. Her gaze falls once more to my lips, her eyes growing hazy with lust as my heart explodes into fireworks because I knew I wasn’t imagining it.
“Because I’m pretty sure someone who’s just a friend wouldn’t be looking at me like they want me to kiss them.”
“What?” she asks, blinking in surprise.
“You keep staring at my mouth. I’ll kiss you if you want, but only if you ask me to.”
Marley pulls her lower lip into her mouth as she stares at me. I want to know her thoughts, but it doesn’t feel right to ask for them if I’m not willing to share mine.
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, because I’m terrified of scaring you off, but I care about you. I’m a patient man, Marley, and I’ll wait as long as you need, but I hope you’re going to ask me to kiss you,” I admit, knowing how pathetic I sound right now.I simply don’t care.
“I care about you too,” she says, just loud enough for me to hear over the music playing in the background.
“Guys, I have an idea!” Charlie pops up out of nowhere, startling both of us. She looks back and forth between Marley and me, a smile forming. “Am I interrupting something?”
I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, forcing a chuckle. “What’s your idea?” I ask skeptically, dragging a hand through my hair. I’ve heard Asher’s stories about her ideas before, and I’m pretty sure nothing good is going to come from it.
