12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Elise
Y oung Jae’s hand runs through the ends of my hair, the movement lulling me further into sleep. My body aches deliciously after several orgasms. I’m so blissed out, I don’t think my legs would work to toss my PJs on.
His other hand starts tracing lazy patterns over my hip. Sighing, I snuggle into him even more and close my eyes. This doesn’t feel temporary, but we still haven’t talked about what we are. We’ve been doing this for a month now and life has been good. Our friendship is much like it’s always been. We still have our Sundays on the lake or doing something active. We eat dinner every night and spend almost every evening together. But when we’re out, it’s the same as it was before we started sleeping together.
At home though, the touches are lingering. The kisses are frequent. And our sex life is incomparable. I’ve never felt like I’ve had the best of both worlds, but not knowing where his head is at is driving me crazy.
If I’m being honest, it bugs me a bit that we haven’t gone on a true date, something outside of our routine.
“That’s a big sigh.” Young Jae’s voice is low, his post-sex rumble the hottest sound I’ve ever heard. “What’s wrong?”
I should tell him what I’m thinking, but the words won’t come out. “Just can’t seem to get out of my head. Maybe I need to do something fun tomorrow, help me clear my mind.”
He’s quiet.
Sighing, I kiss his neck before rolling out of bed to clean up. Taking my time with my nightly routine, it’s about twenty minutes before I’m crawling back into bed.
“I took tomorrow off and booked something fun for us to do. Something you’re going to love.” He smiles, that dimple popping as I cozy up under the covers.
“It’s a date,” I murmur. It’s the closest I get to telling him where I’m at, but it’s something for now.
***
Young Jae pulls into a farm, no sign or anything.
Side-eyeing him, I don’t say anything as we drive down a long gravel road. As I’m about to joke about whether he’s lost, we pull into a clearing with a beautiful red barn and two horses saddled and tied at a hitching post.
Inhaling sharply, I stare. “We’re going riding? You don’t like horses.”
He chuckles. “I like them when I’m on the ground, but I know you like riding and figured an hour in the saddle is worth seeing the look on your face right now.”
It doesn’t take long to run through the rules with the stable staff and get into the saddle, the black horse, Ebony, beneath me relaxes as we start moving. Patting her gently, I take the lead since I know Young Jae isn’t confident in the saddle.
“I don’t think I’ve been on horseback in probably six years. Thank you. I really needed this.” Settling in, I follow the arrows guiding us over the vast property.
The buckskin Young Jae is on follows lazily and he soon relaxes into the ride. “I asked when I booked, and they offer lessons and will lease horses. If you’re interested, I can forward you their different programs and costs.”
Brushing my hair over my shoulder, I glance back at him and smile. “You’re the best.”
“I just want to see you happy.”
His words go straight into my heart, giving me the warm fuzzies. I know how much he cares about me and this feels an awful lot like a date. Maybe I just need to stop questioning things and go with the flow.
We plod along in silence for a bit, my body moving easily with my horse.
“You know, this isn’t so bad. The view’s almost as nice as when you fall off your paddleboard and your T-shirt glues to your skin—almost.” His tone is teasing, but when I look at him, his gaze is heated. “I find your confidence so sexy.”
My body pulses in response, heat spreading as I feel his gaze continue to rake over me.
Laughing, I kick Ebony into a trot. “Stop that. We’re going to enjoy this ride and then you’re going to take me for dinner.”
Young Jae clicks at his horse. After some awkward grunting and quicker steps follow behind me. Pressing my lips together to hold in my laugh, I stop my horse and wait for him to catch up.
“Dinner sounds good, but if you like having sex with me, please don’t make me go that fast again.” He grimaces, adjusting in the saddle.
I can’t hold my laughter in anymore, leaning forward in the saddle, I clutch my stomach. “Oh my gosh. Okay, I promise.”
We take it slow through the trails, talking about work and life. When we come out the end, disappointment fills me. A complete contrast from the relief on Young Jae’s face.
“If you start riding again, I’m happy to watch you, but I think my butt is staying out of the saddle from now on.” He dismounts with a grimace as soon as we’re close to the hitching post where a staff member waits.
Grinning, I nod. “It’s a deal.”
Thanking the staff, I give the horses some pets before we get in the car to head out.
“There’s a restaurant in Thistle Creek that I’ve heard is really good. It’s called ThaiLicious. The family that owns it has been in town for a long time, and the restaurant is one of Alberta’s top three Thai spots.” Young Jae pulls out of the driveway. “Want to try it?”
“Absolutely.”
The drive to Thistle Creek from the ranch is short and we talk the entire time. This feels like a date and a lot of the inner turmoil from before eases. Young Jae may not verbally express how he feels about me, but he shows it and maybe that’s enough.
I have loved living with him and have felt more at home than I have in the past five years with Jake. When I think about moving out, it makes me sad.
I know I should be looking for places, but not much is popping up from my inquiries so I’ve basically hit pause. Only one possibility has arisen, and I’m supposed to go see it in a couple weeks. Part of me hopes it will fall through. Young Jae hasn’t mentioned me leaving, so I don’t feel as bad as I maybe should.
Chewing on my lower lip, I glance over at Young Jae. He’s singing along to the radio, his hand tapping along on the steering wheel.
Despite our many years of friendship, maybe it’s too soon to live together as more than friends anyway. We don’t even know what we are yet and I’m overthinking everything. Except the sex, that has been great.
And the fact that our friendship seems steady as ever.
A laugh whooshes out of me. I’m being ridiculous.
“What’s so funny?” Young Jae turns the already quiet music down even more.
Shaking my head, I mutter, “Nothing really. I was just thinking about how funny life is sometimes.”
It’s close enough to the truth that I don’t feel like I’m lying to him, but not so truthful we have a conversation that could lead to answers I may not want.
He hums, reaching his hand over to rest on my leg. “Sometimes, I think things just work out how they’re meant to.”
Resting my hand over his, I squeeze it and agree.
ThaiLicious is packed, and when I say packed, I mean every table is full.
Gaping as Young Jae gives his name, stating he has a reservation, I smirk when he takes my hand and we follow the hostess back out onto the patio to an empty table overlooking the creek.
“Someone is full of surprises today.” I’m beaming as he holds my chair out for me before sitting down.
He reaches across the table for my hand again, his thumb stroking over the sensitive skin. “I love seeing how happy and relaxed you are. You’re more at ease than you’ve been in a long time and I never want that to disappear.”
The server arrives to take our drink orders and I quickly scan the menu, ordering a Thai Iced Milk Tea. Young Jae orders the same and she leaves us to decide on dinner.
“It feels good that life is so amazing right now, but you know that along with the ups come the downs. And that’s okay as long as my support network is there to help me through.” Leaning back in my chair, I don’t need to look at the menu. My favorite Thai dish is Panang Curry, and it’s been ages since I’ve had any.
He looks pensive before nodding. “You’re right. And you know we’re always here for you.”
The server returns with our drinks and we order. Young Jae gets my second favorite, red curry.
As she leaves once more, he shifts his chair to be next to mine, so we’re looking over the creek. The patio is secluded with forested areas on either side and across from us. In the water, some ducks swim. Despite how packed it is, the noise of the people is a quiet hum. It’s lovely.
“Today was just what I needed, thank you.” Taking a cue from when he held my hand earlier, I lean into him and kiss his cheek. He drapes his arm over my shoulders pulling me in and I relax, laying my head on his shoulder. “I think you’re right. I missed riding, so getting back into it would be good for me. I’m so used to being busy, having all this extra time doesn’t feel right.”
I feel his lips on the crown of my head.
“Did I just hear you say Young Jae was right?” We both stiffen at the familiar voice, I sit up as Ji Hoon pulls out the empty chair at our table and sits down. His eyes dance at us, taking in Young Jae’s arm which hasn’t moved.
I’m okay with people knowing about us but I’m still unsure about our future. Ignoring the anxiety in my belly, I nod. “You did. He took me to a stable for a trail ride today and has been telling me since I hired Mary at Perk Up I should do something for me with my free time.”
Ji Hoon smiles at his brother, the affection and pride clear. “He is pretty smart, most of the time.”
“What’re you doing in Thistle Creek?” Young Jae asks after a few moments of pleasantries. No one talks about the elephant in the room, but I feel its weight.
Ji Hoon leans back, bracing his hands behind his head. “There’s an auto supply shop here that can order the tools we need and we want to support locals, so I came to check it out. Liam should be here in a couple weeks and our focus will be on getting the shop put back together.”
“It will be nice having a mechanic in town again,” I agree, noticing he didn’t say anything about why he was in ThaiLicious.
Our server arrives with our food, setting it in front of us.
“Well, I better be off. Enjoy your date.” Ji Hoon stands, winking at our server before heading out.
Young Jae adjusts to start eating, but I don’t. Chewing on my lip, I take a deep breath. “You know Ari will hear about this?” I murmur before digging into my food.
He shrugs. “Yeah, she would’ve heard about us eventually, right?”
“Sure, I guess. Eventually.”
We dig in, sharing our dishes back and forth. I can see why it’s rated so well.
“This is incredible. We definitely have to come back with our friends. They would love it.” Young Jae scoops coconut rice and red curry, savoring each bite.
Mumbling in agreement, we easily polish off our food. The conversation shifts from horses to the redesign of the grain elevator and to things at home. It’s easy and I love that adding sex to our relationship made it better while the other amazing parts stayed the same.