Page 30 of Protect My Heart
‘I think I’ve got it,’ I say, laughing at his formal tone. It’s not at all him, which is why it’s so funny.
Still holding my hand, Jason leads me out of the room. It feels natural to hold his hand, like it’s what we always do. It’s another one of those things that feels familiar about him, even though it shouldn’t.
‘And this is the bathroom.’ He stands at the door to it, turning the light on so I can see. It’s a large bathroom with two sinks, a shower-tub combo, and built-in shelves for towels.
‘It’s really clean,’ I tell him. ‘Your whole apartment is.’
‘I might’ve cleaned last night,’ he confesses. ‘In case you came over. But it’s usually not a mess. I don’t like tripping over stuff so I keep it picked up. Anyway, that’s the tour.’
‘It’s nice, and bigger than my place. I have a one-bedroom but it’s really tiny.’
We walk back down the hall to the kitchen. He lets go of my hand and I find myself missing it. It has to be hormones making me this way. I’m feeling clingy, emotional, and extremely aroused, not a good combo when you’re staying with a guy who’s off limits.
‘You want a drink?’ he asks, opening the fridge.
‘What do you have?’
‘Pop. Sport drinks. Beer.’
‘I’m fine for now.’
He shuts the fridge. ‘We could run to the store. Get something you like.’
‘Really, I don’t need anything.’ I walk over to the window. The apartment’s on the third floor and looks out at a small neighborhood lined with trees. ‘You have some nice houses here,’ I say, noticing a craftsman-style house with a large porch.
‘Yeah, I need to start looking again.’
I turn back to him. ‘You’re buying a house?’
‘I would’ve already had one by now, but I used all of my savings to help out Brody last year. He paid me back so now I need to start looking again.’
‘You don’t want to wait? Until you get married, or engaged?’
‘I don’t see that happening anytime soon, maybe not ever if I’m limited to girls in town. I’ve dated almost every girl my age and the ones I haven’t dated I’m not interested in. I’m not going to put my life on hold waiting for the right girl to come along.’
‘Maybe she’s close and you just haven’t found her yet.’
‘Yeah, maybe,’ he says, his voice trailing off.
I turn back to the window. ‘It’s really beautiful here.’
‘It’s even better at the orchard. It’s up on a hill. You can see for miles.’
I feel him beside me, his arm brushing against mine.
‘Are we going there in the morning?’ I ask, trying to ignore how close he is to me.
‘We can. My mom makes these really great pastries every morning. If we go there, you’ve gotta try one.’
‘She sounds like a great mom.’ I turn to Jason, my heart beating faster.
‘She is.’ He faces me, gently moving my hair behind my shoulder. ‘I like having you here, Mia.’ His hand lowers to my arm as his eyes go to mine. ‘I know I shouldn’t say this, but I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night.’
‘Why do you think you shouldn’t say that?’
‘Because we were supposed to move on. Not think about each other. Find someone else.’
‘Sometimes our minds do things we don’t want.’
