CHAPTER 28
JETTE
The old Ford Bronco rattled down the highway as the afternoon Philly traffic gradually slowed to a crawl.
A warm breeze whipped through the open windows, leaving Jette’s hair a windswept mess but she couldn’t be bothered to care.
Not when sunshine was gently warming her face and Reese’s hand was on her leg.
Jette looked to her left and watched Reese bobbing back and forth to the music coming from the stereo.
Her red hair shimmered in the sunlight and tangled around her bare shoulders.
In the spring air, it was almost too chilly for her to only be wearing a plain T-shirt and ripped jeans, but she didn’t seem to mind the temperature at all.
Reese leaned back casually, keeping one wrist loosely draped over the steering wheel and the other holding Jette.
It was as though now that she could finally hold Jette, she had no plans of letting go.
She hadn’t been able to keep her hands off her since she’d pulled Jette into an exuberant hug just outside the airport doors.
Jette was not about to complain. She didn’t think she would ever complain about having Reese’s hands on her.
Jette had planned to take an Uber from the airport to avoid Reese having to drive through sports traffic around the stadiums, but Reese insisted on picking her up.
She smiled and watched Reese for longer this time.
There was no longer any reason for her to avert her eyes or limit her glances to a couple seconds.
Her chest felt so full it seemed like it might burst.
“Can I make you dinner tonight?” Reese jolted her from her daydream. Her green eyes looked expectantly at Jette for a moment as they pulled off the exit.
Jette grinned from ear to ear. “I’ll never say no to that.” She gave Reese’s hand a quick squeeze in her lap. “We can stop at the store on the way,” she offered.
“No need,” Reese said. “I have it covered.” She turned down Jette’s street and lifted their entwined hands to her mouth.
She planted a quick kiss on the back of Jette’s hand before shifting in her seat to parallel park.
Jette bit the corner of her lip as she watched Reese turn to put a single forearm behind the passenger seat to see better.
God, even the way she drove was attractive.
The butterflies in Jette’s stomach fluttered to life all over again; it didn’t take much these days.
They didn’t need to be together for the past few weeks in order for Jette to know that she had already tumbled head over heels.
Reese rolled up the windows and moved to pull the door handle open but Jette stopped her.
“Wait,” she said quickly. She threw her own door open and walked around the front of the car, meeting Reese’s confused gaze through the windshield as she did.
Jette opened the driver’s side door and gestured for Reese to resume getting out of the car.
The cheeky grin on Reese’s face drew Jette’s attention to her soft pink lips and she barely waited for the door to shut behind them before pulling her in for a kiss.
Reese’s hands rested on the back of her neck as Jette pressed forward, backing her against the cold car.
She smiled into the kiss and craned her face even closer, but it was useless; it would never feel close enough.
The quick honk of a neighbor’s car broke their daze and they let out a few embarrassed and breathless laughs.
Reese gestured towards the front door with her chin and Jette couldn’t contain the warmth building in her chest.
Her apartment felt foreign when she walked through the front door.
She’d never been away from her home for this long before.
Everything felt unfamiliar. As though all of the furniture in the houses had been moved six inches to the left.
Jette pushed her suitcases against the stairs and tossed her leather jacket over the hook behind the door.
The shiny black material contrasted drastically against the new soft blue denim jacket hung underneath it.
A different smell lingered in the air that she wasn’t quite able to identify.
It was one of the strangest things she noticed every time she spent more than a few days away from home.
Jette smiled and took a deep breath, excited to finally be home.
. . . .
Hours lazily slipped by as they lounged on the couch wrapped around each other.
Reese’s loose waves draped across her chest and tickled her neck while her hands mindlessly wandered over Jette’s chest. The evening sun faded outside, leaving the apartment slowly descending into darkness around them but neither of them made any moves to get up just yet.
There was too much to catch up on after the past month of long-distance.
Jette kissed the crown of Reese’s head as she recounted a hilariously detailed story about her most recent derby tournament.
She hadn’t thought this kind of moment would’ve been possible even just a few weeks ago.
It didn’t feel real to her yet, but it was.
Reese was in her arms, crushed against her chest and sleepily pressing her lips to Jette’s jaw.
Her heart thudded deep in her chest and Jette didn’t think anything in the world could move her from this spot.
A loud growl came from her stomach, surprising them both. Reese let out a giggle and propped herself up on an elbow. Her eyes sparkled in the dim light. “Hungry?” she asked, biting the corner of her lip.
The rumble in Jette’s stomach transformed into something entirely different as she latched onto the movement.
She leaned forward, pressing their lips together in a hurry.
“In a manner of speaking,” she replied coyly.
Her hands around Reese’s waist tightened and the tiniest gasp escaped Reese’s mouth against hers.
“Easy,” she elongated each syllable. Jette chuckled and released her lips.
“Don’t pretend like I didn’t just hear your stomach growling like a caged animal.
” She traced her fingers over Jette’s lips and the feeling sent goosebumps sprawling down her neck.
If she was trying to make Jette forget about the indecent thoughts flooding her mind, Reese was doing an adorably terrible job.
“So don’t try to distract me,” she interrupted herself by planting a chaste kiss on Jette’s cheek and springing up from the couch. “I’m making you dinner.”
Jette reached out and tried to pull Reese back by the hand but she was too quick.
Reese flashed a playful smile over her shoulder and breezed towards the kitchen.
Groaning, Jette slid off the couch and followed her.
Reese was already hunched in front of the open fridge, tossing ingredients onto the counter as she rifled through.
“What can I do to help?” Jette asked while leaning against the counter.
She spotted a bottle of wine in the corner and moved to grab it when Reese spotted her.
She tutted in a way that made Jette stop in her tracks.
Her wide grin was infectious and Jette’s eyebrows began to furrow as she returned a smile.
“Let me get that,” Reese gestured towards the bottle in Jette’s hands.
With a satisfying pop, she pulled the cork and poured two glasses before handing one to Jette.
Jette nodded appreciatively and tapped their glasses together before taking a sip.
“Okay,” Reese began, “You go hop in the shower. I’ve got it from here.” Jette opened her mouth to protest but she quickly abandoned the thought. In the past twenty-four hours, she’d been on a bus, train, and plane. A shower was exactly what she needed to fully wash the day's travels off her.
Upstairs, Jette dug through her drawers to find a pair of pajamas.
She glanced around her bedroom, looking for anything Reese might’ve left behind.
It was ridiculous, she knew. Reese was just downstairs, quietly clinking around the kitchen.
She had spent the better part of the day firmly pressed against Jette’s side but it wasn’t enough.
Jette wanted that soft smell to linger on her skin, to envelope her as she wrapped herself in Reese’s shirt.
But there were no garments left behind for Jette to steal.
She opened the rest of her drawers curiously.
Had Reese hidden her clothes away alongside Jette’s?
Slightly disappointed, Jette returned down the hallway to the bathroom.
The hot water pressure made her aching shoulders relax and it was as though the tension that she held onto melted away before escaping down the drain.
After months on the road, there was nothing like taking a hot shower in her own home.
Two freshly laundered towels hung on the hook closest to the glass door and the sight made Jette smile.
She’d noticed little details like this around the house all day.
Tiny pieces of Reese hiding in plain sight; physical reminders of her presence even in the empty room.
Her denim jacket hanging by the front door, her sneakers kicked off in the hallway, her purple toothbrush by itself in the cup on the bathroom counter.
Since moving into this house years ago, there had never been a single element that Jette hadn’t specifically picked out and thoughtfully placed.
She wasn’t a control freak, she simply liked what she liked.
Although, she now realized, maybe that did make her a control freak. A small one, at least.