Page 84 of Unspoken Confessions
30
Jameson
I was packing up my stuff.
Normally this would take me not even ten minutes, but I hesitated with every shirt I grabbed.
The job was over. Nick was safe. At least safe from this threat. That thought alone had me wanting to cram every article of clothing back into the dresser. But I had to go. I had work calling me and he had to get his life back to.
Things had been a little… strained, I guess you could say, since we’d left the hospital and returned back to the house two days ago. Austin and I stuck around just to make sure Nick and Jen were alright. It became clear that we weren’t needed. Nick hadn’t left Jen’s side from more than five minutes, which meant, he hadn’t come crawling in the bed with me. I wasn’t mad, not really, because I could see the guilt over what had happened to Jen constantly in his eyes. But it hurt, even if I should have seen it coming. It had been a nice little fantasy while we were inside the walls. Except now that was ending and he was pulling away because he was unsure.
This distance Nick had been putting between us was so obvious that even Austin had thrown a few pity looks in my direction.
“Hey,” Nick said as he pushed the cracked door open until he could see all of me.
“Hey,” I said back and tried to smile a little.
“Austin wanted me to tell you that he’s waiting in the SUV for you.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I held his gaze as I waited for what was to come next.
“So…”
“Yeah?” I breathed out with hope filling that one word.
He swallowed hard and then took a hesitant step over the threshold but stayed right in the doorway.
Whatever he was going to say must have gotten stuck in his throat. Suddenly, he snapped his mouth closed as his gaze dropped to the floor.
“Thanks,” he said with disappointment in his tone. “I really can’t tell you how much it all means to me.”
All I could do was give him a firm nod because I didn’t trust myself to open my mouth.
Trying my hardest to choke back a disappointed sigh, I finished cramming the rest of my clothes into the bag.
I wanted him to beg me not to go. To tell me that we had something real between us and he wished I would stay.
That was all I needed, then I’d make damn sure he’d never want to get rid of me.
But what did I really expect to happen? I knew he wasn’t ready.
I was angry and hurt, though I had no right to be.
I snatched up my bag and went to brush by him. The air was stifling and I need to get out quick.
I knew I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help but stop and stare down at him one last time. Those deep brown eyes slowly moved to meet mine. Damn. They pulled me in the same as they always did and I knew it was going to kill me not to see them every day.
Then his hand wrapped around my wrist, a move I’d done to him a few times. That wasn’t lost on me at all. And like two magnets close to each other, our lips crashed together in a brutal, desperate kiss. This kiss, it would be the one I held on to the most.
Just one last one.
Then I’d walk away.
Because that was what he was asking me to do.
I broke away and headed out of the room.
“Jamie.” My name from his lips had me frozen in place, I couldn’t even turn to look at him. When he didn’t say anything else, I titled my head and spoke over my shoulder.
