Page 47 of Four Simple Rules
“You’re right,” I murmur, talking to ghosts who don’t exist.
Not here, anyway.
Somehow, though. I feel him embracing me with joy and asking me to take those steps toward the happiness I deserve. With Jesse, of all people. How can something so wild, free, and dangerous make my heart flip with anxiety? Yet, fill me with joy. It’s the unknown of it all, sending me into a whirlwind.
Stepping out into the forest again, I say goodbye to my tree and head home. If Jesse is awake, he’s probably feeling an ounce of what I did that morning ten years ago. What a bitter pill that was to swallow, waking up to cold sheets and an empty bed with no sign that someone had been there.
I take a deep breath while walking through the front door, slightly panting from the run back. I’ve never been a runner. I hated any sort of physical activity. Recently, though, I’ve decided to invest in my health and step outside.
When I close the door behind me and lock it, the smell of breakfast sizzling on the stove hits my nose. My stomach grumbles in anticipation, drawing me to the kitchen.
The smile that lights up my face when I rest in the doorway chases away any doubts and sadness resting in me.
Jesse floats around the kitchen, shoving cooked bacon into his mouth. Soft hums emit from his throat as he wiggles his bare ass, strutting through the kitchen completely naked.
Who cooks bacon naked, anyway? Apparently, him. There’s nothing to protect his bits. Frick. I avert my eyes from his waving sausage and focus on the happiness emanating from him.
“I feel overdressed.”
Jesse whips around with a stunned expression, nearly slipping and falling. He grins, picking up a plate covered with a paper towel and bacon, offering it to me.
“Then, by all means, Tulip.” A tiny smirk pulls at his lips when I swipe a piece of bacon and shove it into my mouth.
“Thanks,” I say, taking another piece.
“Did you have a nice walk? I’m beginning to think this is something you do every morning?” He raises his brow, flipping a piece of egg over the stove. His muscles bunch with every movement he makes—my mouth waters at the sight of him.
“It was…” I shove more bacon into my mouth, plopping in a chair at the round kitchen table.
“That face tells me something happened. You good? You…” He pauses his words as a pained expression twists his face. “Did you hear rule number four?” Every muscle in his body tightens rigidly, almost as if he’s expecting the worst.
Ah. So that’s why he looks like I kicked his puppy but isn’t trying to show it. He said he’d have no hard feelings—fat chance on that. Jesse is the kind of guy who feels with his whole heart, jumping into things quickly.
“The one you whispered last night about if I regret this, there won’t be any hard feelings?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “That one,” he says, clearing his throat. “This… You and me. We don’t…” his voice trails off with unease.
“I lost my job this morning.” There. I said it. His eyes widen. “I went for a run like I try to do every morning, and I called my boss to get more time off for the reunion you’re dragging me to. Then she dropped that bomb.” I shake my head, tearing into the egg he put before me. “She was going to wait until I went back to tell me in person but couldn’t since I would be away longer.”
“Wow. Well, that sucks, Tulip. I’m sorry. That was your dream.”
“It was,” I say, lifting one shoulder.
“Was?” he asks, sitting opposite me with his own breakfast plate.
“I don’t know anymore. I loved the greenhouse and the university.”
But there’s nothing there for me. Not anymore. Jared dumped me. Thank God. I would have spiraled into his orbit and stuck to him like glue. Our relationship would have gone nowhere and been a dead end. I would have settled for him, seeking nothing better. Now I see there are bigger and better fish in the sea. He did me a favor.
Speaking of, he’s been awfully silent these past few hours. I furrow my brows and pull my phone from my pocket, opening our text exchange. My heart drops when a picture of Jesse and me lying together appears on the screen with Jesse’s possessive words. My gaze whips to him, and I blink several times, blushing when I flash the screen toward him.
“You…” My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
Jesse rubs the back of his neck. “He seemed to be bothering you. I kind of figured…” he trails off with a shrug. “Sorry, Tulip. Honestly, though, I’m not sorry I did that. He was aggressive, and if you scroll up, he got drunk and sent you his dick. I saved you the trouble,” he mumbles, grimacing. “Sorry if I overstepped.”
I swallow hard. I wanted Jared to leave me the heck alone, and Jesse accomplished that for me with one simple text. Now, I’m free from Jared’s harassment. But this jerk bag took things into his own hands, fighting my battles for me.
I narrow my eyes, ready to chastise him. But when I look at his face, blushing from his actions, I let it go. I could yell at him for invading my privacy and walk away again. But I do know where his heart was. I blow out a breath.
