Page 32 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

"Right." He looked down at his plate for a second. "Have you ever thought of transferring back east?"

That's what was going on. He thought there was a chance I was coming back since I told him how much I hated it. Is there a chance? "I don't know. It's probably easier if I just finished at the same school. Transferring credits is a nightmare. Isn't it?" I had heard that it was, but I wasn't actually sure.

"I wouldn't know." He took another bite of his burger. "But how bad could it be?"

I shrugged. He wanted me to stay. I smiled to myself. If I was being honest, I wanted to stay too. It wasn’t just as easy as changing schools and transferring credits, though. I had a scholarship at SMU that would go to waste. And I wasn’t sure what the deadlines were to apply for other schools. But I could look into it. The thought of going back to Cali was certainly less appealing than staying here with J.J. Not that it would be here. I doubted his job was anywhere near the beach. “Where is the job you took located?”

He finished chewing his last bite. It felt like it took forever for him to answer. “It’s in New York City.”

“Oh. New York.” I didn’t have to say NYC wasn’t my favorite, it was probably pretty clear from my voice. New York City was not on my list of places I ever wanted to live. I’d been there once in the summer and it was hot and sticky. And once in the winter and it had been snowy and smelly. In the city’s defense, I think their trashmen had been on a strike or something. But it still left a bad taste in my mouth. Literally. I thought about my mom’s house nearby. She was about three hours from NYC. This had to be at least half an hour more than that. “That’s pretty far from here.”

“Yeah.” He sighed in this adorable disgruntled way. “It’ll definitely take some getting used to. Especially after being here for the summer.” He pulled out his wallet.

I grabbed my purse to get my share of the bill.

He put down some money on the table. "I got it, Jellyfish Girl."

"But..."

"I have a really good job lined up for the fall. I got this."

"Have you ever thought of not doing it? The job, I mean." I locked my eyes with his. He’d asked me if I’d ever consider moving back here. And even though I didn’t specifically word it that way, I was trying to see if he’d ever consider changing his plans. If he’d ever think about moving to Cali. It was ridiculous, I knew that. If I came back to this area, I’d be moving home. If he came to California, he’d be moving there for me. And we barely knew each other.

"I think about it all the time. I know I'll end up doing it though."

"Why?"

"I need to eventually grow up."

The thought of growing up wasn’t at all appealing to me. "Maybe. But why work in an overpopulated city when I’m sure you could get a decent job doing the same thing right here?”

He smiled at me. The sound of thunder made me turn away from his intoxicating stare. A light rain pattered against the window.

"Crap, we have to go." He grabbed his bag of clothes and I grabbed my purse as we slid out of the booth. He took my hand in his and we sprinted through the parking lot, trying to ignore the drizzle. There was a small bag on the back of his motorcycle. He shoved his clothes into it and slammed it shut. He quickly strapped my helmet on and we both climbed onto the motorcycle.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his abs again. His shirt was damp and it made it even easier to feel his six pack. He sped away from the outlets and onto the road. Even though it was only drizzling, the raindrops hurt a little as they hit my bare skin. I held on to him even tighter. I didn’t want to ever have to let go. My thoughts were swirling with credit transfers and NYC. It was possible. I wanted it to be possible. Because as I held on to him speeding through the streets, I knew it wasn’t possible to just be his friend anymore. That wasn’t what I wanted at all.

I held on to him a little tighter, not wanting my day with him to end. But we were back at my place way too soon. He pulled into my driveway, cutting the engine. It was raining a little harder now and we were both completely drenched. He unclipped my helmet and grabbed my hand. We ran up the steps to my apartment door.

"Thank you!" I almost had to yell over the raindrops. I held my breath as he stared at me. Steam was coming off the driveway below. It made it look like we were standing in clouds. "This was the most fun I've had in a really long time.”

We both just stood there, staring

at each other. It was like he was waiting for me to do something.

But I didn’t know what to say. I could tell him that I didn’t know how to just be his friend. That I wished our paths in the fall aligned better. The rain started to fall faster. And all the words stayed lodged in my throat. All that escaped was, “J.J.,” when he took a step closer.

He grabbed both sides of my face and kissed me hard.

Holy shit.

He moved into me, pressing my back against the door. His hands slid to my waist.

I grabbed the back of his neck and deepened the kiss. It was everything I wanted and more. I moved my hands to the scruff on his cheeks. The tiny prickles of his facial hair on my palms made my skin tingle.

I felt his thumb dip beneath my tank top and trace the waistline of my jeans. His touch made my whole body feel alive. His other hand slid to my ass.

"Fuck." He pulled away from me and ran his hand through his hair.

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