Page 9 of Taste of Surrender
“That one, but I have a lot more.”
3
Jasper
Between what happenedon our hike the day before and in the tent last night, I once again got very little sleep.
Never did I think I would get the chance to kiss Malachi Danvers because until yesterday, I thought he was as straight as they come.
Yet, he kissed me.
Or maybe I kissed him.
It didn’t really matter who leaned in first. All I knew was it had been amazing.
As the morning light drifted into our tent, I lay in my sleeping bag, replaying everything in my head. I remembered him saying how he wanted more. Unfortunately, my brother mumbled something in his sleep, putting an end to our conversation before I could ask Malachi what he’d meant.
While he and Jesse continued to sleep, I decided to get up and start making breakfast. Cooking always helped clear my head whenever I was stressed about school or something elselike a crush on my brother’s best friend. It was also good practice for the job I was starting in a few weeks at a local diner.
Digging through the coolers, I grabbed the ingredients I needed to make French toast and scrambled eggs. I’d helped plan out the menu for the week and picked this specific meal because I knew it was Malachi’s favorite.
I was so wrapped up in getting the food ready, I didn’t realize anyone else was awake until the guy I couldn’t stop thinking about started to speak.
“Something looks good.” He stepped close behind me, and I could feel his body heat wash over me, which sent a shiver down my spine.
“I know you like French toast.”
“I wasn’t talking about?—”
“Is breakfast ready yet?” Jesse called out as he exited the tent. “I’m starving.”
Malachi took a step back as I grumbled, “Not yet.”
“We going fishing again today?” my brother asked his friend as he spooned some instant coffee into a mug.
“Sure,” Malachi replied, and then turned toward me. “Do you want to come with us?”
“You know Jasper hates fishing,” Jesse interjected before I could answer.
He wasn’t wrong, but it was nice for Malachi to want to include me, especially since my friend AJ had to back out of coming with us at the last minute. “Yeah. Sitting around, messing with worms all day isn’t really my idea of a good time, but I’ll be ready to cook whatever you guys catch.”
A little while later, everyone else joined us at the picnic table for breakfast. Gabby took a seat next to Malachi, which wasn’t surprising. When we’d played cards, she wouldn’t stop talking about how cute he was. While I wasn’t happy to hear about her crush, Norah had been annoyed and pleaded with her to not talkabout her brother like that. It made me wonder if Jesse would have the same reaction if he knew what Malachi and I had been up to the night before. Who was I kidding? Jesse would be more than annoyed at his best friend. And maybe me.
“Jasper, I gotta say, your cooking gets better and better every time you make something,” Mr. Danvers said around a bit of French toast, taking my attention away from Gabby and Malachi.
I swallowed a forkful of eggs and smiled. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, this is way better than Mom’s.” Norah chuckled.
“Gee, thanks.” Mrs. Danvers glared playfully at her daughter. “But I don’t disagree. Have you thought about becoming a chef one day?”
I shrugged. “I just got a job as a prep cook, but I don’t know if I’m good enough to run my own kitchen.”
Everyone quickly disagreed with my statement, and I could feel my cheeks heat at their compliments. I wasn’t one who liked to be the center of attention, and their praise was a little overwhelming.
“So, what’s everyone’s plans today?” Malachi asked the others. “Jesse and I are going fishing.”
As everybody began chatting about what they wanted to do, I looked at Malachi. He gave me a sly grin, and I wondered if he’d changed the subject because he could tell I’d been uncomfortable.
