Page 49 of Before You
“I like you. I can’t explain it, but there is something about you, drawing me to you. Then I can’t help but wonder if maybe there’s a reason why. Maps don’t just glitch, but yours did today at the same time I was sitting in that café,” he says, laughing under his breath before dropping my hand. “I’m sorry. This is all too weird.”
“Destiny,” I whisper, all the dots connecting in my brain.
“What?” JJ asks, but I don’t have an answer for him. I don’t even have an answer for myself. I step closer, pulling his head down to meet mine. The second our lips touch, lightning strikes and I know nothing has ever felt more right than this. I can only assume JJ feels the same as he pulls me closer to him.
~
“Marley,”JJ says, pulling me from my thoughts as we pull into my building’s parking lot.
I turn to look at him, realizing as I replayed the moment I met JJ for the first time, I missed the entire rest of the drive and we’re now sitting in the parking lot for my apartment building.
“Are you okay?”
“I was just thinking,” I admit, wishing I could go back in time and tell JJ my full name. It’s hard not to wonder how different things might be if I had, but I can’t change it now. All we can do is move forward.
His head tilts as he wipes his palms on his thighs. “About?” JJ asks, and I can feel the tension filling the air as his pools of green meet mine, reading my unspoken answer.I was thinking about you.He clears his throat, turning off the car. “Stay in your seat, and I’ll come around to get you. I don’t want you to walk on your ankle.”
He slides out of the driver’s side before I can consider protesting, but I’m not sure I would. It’s nice being held by JJ.
My door opens as I undo my seatbelt, and JJ offers me a hand to help me out of the car. This feels like overkill for a sprained ankle, but selfishly, I want him to hold me again. I take his hand, and once again, it feels just as right as interlocking the last piece of a puzzle.
“I can . . .” I trail off when JJ fixes his heated stare on me, dropping it.Okay then.JJ bends, looping his hands underneath my knees to carry me once more bridal style as my heart flutters in my chest.
We’re halfway up the stairwell before I realize Bria has the keys to our apartment, but I’m also not a thousand percent sure the door is locked. “Do you have the keys?” JJ asks, pausing in front of my door.
“Um, not exactly, but there’s a chance the door is unlocked.”
A choking sound comes from JJ’s throat, startling me. “I’m sorry, I really hope I heard you wrong. You don’t know if you locked the door?”
“Kind of?”
JJ’s jaw tightens in the dim light, and he sets me down, his hands lingering on me until I’m balancing on one leg. He reaches for the doorknob, testing it to see if we locked it, but the door clicks open. “Marley,” he says, and I realize as young women living by ourselves, yeah, we probably should make sure our door is locked.
“It works in our favor, though, because we would have had to go all the way back to get the keys from Bria,” I point out, trying to find the bright side, but he does not appear to be impressed by my logic.
“Wait here,” he instructs, leveling me with a look that silences any argument I want to make. I think I like this side of JJ where he tells me what to do. I hold onto the siding to steady myself as JJ flips all the lights on and clears the apartment. It’s sweet for him to do it, but totally unnecessary. His massive frame fills the doorway again as JJ offers me his hands to limp my way into the apartment. “You’re lucky there was no one here. You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked.”
“I think you’re being a little dramatic,” I say, and JJ rolls his eyes.
“Except I’m not. You’re hurt, coming back to an apartment where you left the door unlocked, and what exactly was your plan if someone broke in?” he asks, shutting the door behind me, making a point to flip the lock.
“I didn’t need a plan because I have a six-foot-something tall guy with me who cleared the apartment of any bad guys who might’ve been waiting for me,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
His mouth twitches, but his frown remains. “Six four. You had a six-foot-four guy with you who will always clear theapartment before letting you walk in,especiallywhen you leave your door unlocked. I’m asking what your plan would have been if I weren’t here.”
“Did you know it takes more effort to frown than to smile?” I ask, changing the subject, but JJ doesn’t stop frowning.
“I asked what your plan was,” he says, taking a step closer to me as I lean against the door.
My plan?The only plan I have presently is to make JJ happy.
I wet my lips, taking a note from his playbook to fight smiling as his emerald gaze flickers to my lips. His mouth parts, and the air between us crackles with electricity. “My plan?” I whisper, hyper aware of how easy it would be for me to reach out and pull JJ closer.
“Yes, sweetheart,” JJ says, the nickname rolling again off his tongue. He braces an arm over my head, and I suck in a sharp breath.I like it when he calls me sweetheart.
“To make you happy,” I admit, and from our close proximity, I hear his breathing hitch.
“What?” His smooth voice has a hoarseness to it, and I stop fighting the urge to touch him.
