Chapter 9
Gio
My alarm went off, making me jolt awake.
I usually woke before it sounded and would shut it off, but had it set as a backup, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the time.
With it blaring, I tried to move, but I was plastered to the bed.
It took me a moment to figure out why. When I realized it was Jasper, whose arms and legs were tangled around me like an octopus, a small smile tugged at my lips.
He had me pinned, so much that I couldn’t free an arm to reach my phone without moving him.
This was a first for me. Waking up with someone like this.
It was surprisingly nice. I almost wished I didn’t have to get up so we could stay right here.
It was market day, though, and my alarm was set as a last resort, which meant it was already a lot later than I planned to get up.
I wiggled, trying to get an arm out from under him and he let out a groan and nuzzled closer, an action that went straight to my dick, in a very inappropriate, nonconsensual way.
I tried to blame the fact that if it had been any almost-nude guy rubbing against me in a sensitive, waking state, I would have reacted the same.
I didn’t have the experience to know if that was true, or if it was because it was Jasper.
It made me feel like an ass, though, considering he was a friend who had given me his trust.
Deciding I could no longer be gentle and let this linger, or risk him feeling my chubbing cock, I grabbed his arm and unpeeled him from me, pushing him gently aside. I scooted away to put some space between us and grabbed my phone to shut off the alarm.
Jasper yawned and blinked hard, trying to focus. When he looked up at me and then looked at the space between us, his eyes widened.
“Shit, Gio, I’m sorry. I tend to be a cuddler when I sleep. I should have warned you.”
“No, it’s fine, don’t worry.” Don’t think about the way his bare skin felt beneath my hands. Trying to refocus, I quickly added, “It’s market day, did you still want to go with me?”
Jasper sat up and stretched his arms above his head, his chest and torso elongating, looking very enticing. “Yeah, yeah. I think you’re right, it will be good for me to be there.”
“I think it will. I’m going to, uh, take a shower.
” I clutched the blanket over me, as I tried to will my morning wood to go down.
Which was a challenge with Jasper looking all naked and disheveled in my bed.
His wavy hair had come out of the elastic band and looked like he’d been electrocuted with it sticking up everywhere. Damn, he was gorgeous.
Jasper yawned again. “Coffee?”
I had to force my eyes to stay on his face and not linger on the bare chest that was staring at me. I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I could go get a pot going, if you’d like.”
He waved me off. “Go shower. I can figure it out.”
Jasper turned away from me and stood at the side of the bed, stretching again, wearing only those little black briefs, putting his legs on display. I would have stayed and admired the view if I wasn’t desperate to hurry to the bathroom while his back was to me so he wouldn’t see the state I was in.
A sigh of relief left me when I was safely hidden away in the bathroom, making me feel like a teenager again.
I looked down at the bulge beneath my sweat shorts that begged for attention.
Attention it wouldn’t get right now. I didn’t have time, and I felt too weird about jacking off with Jasper here. Cold shower, it was. Sigh.
At least the cold helped me rush through the process, getting ready in record time. My dick had been thoroughly punished and was hiding from the brutally frigid water by the time I got out. I shivered as I wrapped myself in a towel and ran a quick comb through my hair.
The effort of the shower was almost undone when I came out of the bathroom to find Jasper sitting in the arm chair, wearing a pair of my pajama pants while he sipped a cup of coffee, looking completely at home. Holy hell, why was that such a hot image?
“I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want to run around the house in my underwear, so I snooped and found something to put on.”
I shook my head and swallowed hard. “No, I don’t mind at all.”
Jasper stood and quirked his lips to the side. “I did run into Nicky, though, who seemed very intrigued by me wearing something she recognized as yours. So… I’m sorry if that causes any issues.”
I chuckled awkwardly. “Well, we are going to get married, right? Seems like they’ll have to know sooner or later.”
Shit, how was I going to explain this to them? It was unusual, to say the least. Married. The word still felt unreal, but it didn’t bother me as much as it probably should have. Except when it came to worrying about what my kids might think.
Jasper sucked on his teeth and set his coffee down. His eyes flicked to mine before looking at the floor. “Yeah. About that. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just overwhelmed yesterday.”
Crossing the room to him, I cupped his chin and tilted it up to meet his gaze. “I said yes, Jasper.”
His brows pinched. “I’m not going to hold you to that. It was a weird moment, and too much for me to ask.”
I shook my head. “I’m not one to go back on my word or to make false promises. I’m okay with it, really. We’re going to do this and we’re going to get you out from under your parents' hold.”
His golden eyes grew misty. “You really mean it?”
I ran a finger through his hair without thinking. “I mean it.”
“If at any time you change your mind, you just tell me, okay? I swear I won’t be offended or hurt or anything. I care more about our friendship than my own drama. And my shop? Well, it will come eventually.”
“I’ll let you know, but I’m telling you that I’m not going to change my mind. I want to do this.”
Jasper sighed, a weight lifting off him, while wiping at his eyes. “Thank you.”
Needing to get away from the growing emotion, I put on my dad voice. “Now go get ready, we need to leave soon.”
“Yes, Papa,” Jasper said with a cheeky grin.
I loved the title, loved hearing my kids use it, but it didn’t feel right from him. Not with the way I’d woken up tangled in his body, or the reaction it caused. No, I couldn’t have him using the same term my kids used. “No. Please don’t call me that.”
“Okay… Daddy.” Jasper winked before pecking a kiss on my cheek and running off to the bathroom.
That was… unexpected, as was the surprising effect a simple word had on me. Maybe agreeing to this marriage was a bad idea after all. Or maybe I just needed to get him out of my system so it wouldn’t be endless torture. Sadly, I still didn’t have time to address my dick’s piqued interest.
I dressed quickly, and went to the kitchen to busy myself and gain some distance from the whole Jasper thing.
Feeling anxious, I checked my phone to see the time.
If I had been on my own or even if one of the kids came with me as they sometimes did, we would have left about five minutes ago.
I wasn’t late, not really, I just preferred to get there early and not have to stress.
Every worry about the time fell out of my head when Jasper entered the kitchen.
He wore a pair of my jeans rolled at the waist so they sat low on his hips.
They were cuffed at the bottom, too, reminding me of our height difference.
That would have been sexy enough, seeing him in my jeans, but he paired it with one of my flannels tied in a knot in the front showing off the dark hair around his belly button.
Jasper’s damp hair flowed around his face in loose waves, looking like a fresh-out-of-the-shower dream.
He held out his arms and twirled around slowly.
“Since you didn’t seem bothered by me using your pajamas, I hoped you wouldn’t care if I found some of your clothes to wear.
I abhorred the thought of having to put my suit pants back on, and, well, I already threw my shirt away and didn’t want to look at it again. ”
Fuck, my clothes had never looked so good. “I, um, don’t mind. Not when you look like that.”
Jasper’s eyes gleamed and he gave a mischievous smirk. “I decided to go for a farmer chic look, which seemed appropriate for Heartcraft, but I think I pulled it off. What do you think?”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat and blinked hard, trying not to gawk at him any longer. “Yes, you definitely pulled it off.”
His smirk stretched into a smile, making him even more beautiful. Jasper is your friend, asshole, I lectured myself. He was my friend who I was about to marry. I didn’t really know where the lines were with that scenario, but I certainly didn’t need to ogle him like a creep.
“Should we get going?” Jasper asked.
Going. Leaving. Getting out of the house and into fresh air. All good ideas. “Yes, we should. Did you want to ride with me or follow in your Jeep so you’re not stuck all day?”
Jasper’s brows furrowed for a moment. “I think I’ll come with you. We have a lot of details to work out.”
I bobbed my head, that was true. I didn’t even know where or how to start.
“All right, I made you a bagel, and there’s a thermos with more coffee in it.
I took a guess on how you like it, so if it’s wrong, I won’t be offended if you need to fix it.
There’s an extra water bottle ready for you as well. ”
Jasper wore an awed expression. “You’re so prepared.” He took a sip of the coffee I handed him and smiled. “I usually go a touch sweeter, but this is great, thanks.”
With that, we got into my truck and began the drive into town for Heartcraft.
Being on the outskirts of Grove Hills, it took us about twenty minutes to get there.
Twenty minutes of silence. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jasper open his mouth and close it a few times, as if he was trying to think of what to say.
There was much to discuss, but suddenly, neither of us seemed to have a clue of what it was.