Chapter 19
19
Jasper
The smell of bacon and coffee had my eyes blinking open. It took a second for me to get my bearings and remember I had spent the night with Malachi at his place. The last time I had actually slept in his arms the entire night was after my winter formal when he got a hotel room for us. Otherwise, we were always sneaking around and slipping out of rooms before anyone could catch us.
I was about to climb out of bed and go find my man when the door opened. Malachi entered with a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, and toast in one hand, and a mug in the other.
“Don’t get up yet,” he ordered.
I shuffled back against the headboard, staying where he wanted me.
He walked over to my side of the bed and handed me the plate. “The bacon is a little extra crispy, but I wanted to make you breakfast in bed.”
A grin spread across my face. “Thanks. That’s so sweet.”
He arched a brow. “Sweet?”
“What? It is.”
“You can’t call me sweet.” He huffed. “I’ve got a rep to protect.”
I chuckled. “Sorry. This was super-badass-rock-star of you. Is that better?”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Much.”
When he pulled away, I grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite. While I would have eaten it even if it was burnt, he’d actually done a decent job. “I think I like someone else cooking for me.”
He grunted a laugh. “Don’t get used to it. There are several overcooked eggs and burnt pieces of bread in the trash. I almost gave up and ordered delivery.”
“Maybe we’ll start those naked lessons soon then.”
“I won’t say no to that.”
After I finished eating, we hopped into the shower, where we spent time doing all the things we’d skipped the night before. It was nice he invited me over without any expectations, but I wasn’t about to leave his house without taking advantage of us being alone.
“I should probably head back to Jesse’s before they realize I’m not there,” I said as I got dressed.
“Yeah. Do you know what you’re going to say if he asks where you were all night?”
I shrugged. “Olivia was in her room when I left, so I don’t think she knows I took off. And I doubt Jesse’s even awake yet.”
When we were younger, Jesse rarely got up before noon when he didn’t have anything going on, and from what I’d seen on the road, nothing much had changed.
“True. He’s usually the last one out of the hotel on our travel days.”
I walked to the door, hesitant to leave but knowing it was time for me to go. One day, we wouldn’t need to hide, but I understood Malachi’s reason for not wanting to tell everyone yet. He loved me, and I loved him, and knowing that meant I would wait as long as he needed me to.
Thankfully, Jesse and Olivia weren’t up when I arrived home, and I headed to the guestroom to change and then went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for them. My brother had told me I didn’t need to worry about cooking while we were in LA, but it was the least I could do for him since he was the reason I was even here and got the opportunity to reconnect with the man I thought I would never have again.
“Good morning,” Olivia greeted in a sing-song voice as she traipsed into the kitchen, Jesse hot on her heels.
I glanced at the clock on the microwave. “It’s hardly morning anymore.”
“Hope we didn’t keep you up last night.” Jesse laughed as he started making coffee for him and his fiancée.
“Gross.” I pretended to gag.
“How are you feeling this morning?” my brother asked.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired.” It was true but not for the reason he was likely thinking.
“What are you making?” Olivia peeked over my shoulder as I threw some pine nuts into the food processor to make a pesto sauce.
“Thought pesto pasta with chicken would be good.”
“I’m going to miss your cooking when you guys get back on the road.” She gave me a side hug.
I looked at her and furrowed my brow in confusion. “You’re not going to be with us?”
Jesse handed her a mug. “She’s staying here to check out some wedding venues and start meeting with the vendors.”
“Oh.” I was a little bummed to hear that. Over the last few weeks, she and I had grown closer as she hung out with me and Garrett while the guys and Savannah were busy with everything they did. “It’s going to be weird not having you around.”
“Yeah, I asked my sister to come stay with me before she starts classes at Hawkins U; otherwise, it would be too quiet in this house without you all here.”
Jesse wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll FaceTime you every night,” he said before spinning her around and kissing her.
I shook my head and turned on the food processor to drown out the sound of them making out. With how into each other they were, I wondered if they would have even noticed if I hadn’t come home.
Once they pulled apart, I continued moving around the kitchen, putting the final touches on their lunch. As I plated the pasta, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw Malachi’s name on the display.
Making sure neither Jesse nor Olivia could see, I clicked on the message to open it:
I hate not having you here. Do you think you can sneak away again tonight?
I don’t know. Maybe if I wait until J&O go to bed
I have an idea. Give me a minute
I shoved the phone back into my pocket then slid the plates across the island where Jesse and Olivia were sitting.
“You’re not going to eat?” Jesse asked.
“I had breakfast before you guys woke up.” It wasn’t a lie, but a part of me felt guilty because I wasn’t being completely honest with my brother.
While I started cleaning the kitchen, my phone vibrated again with a text from Malachi.
Tell Jesse that Savannah is setting you up with someone. She said she would cover for us if he asks
I chuckled to myself. I was going to have to make Savannah some epic vegan meals to pay her back.
“What’s so funny?” Jesse asked.
“Uh … Savannah just texted. She wants to set me up on a date tonight with a guy she knows.”
Olivia smiled brightly. “That’s awesome. Are you going to go?”
I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Sure. It might be fun.”
While they dug into their lunch, I texted Malachi back:
It’s a date
Malachi texted me to let me know he was waiting for me down the street like we had planned.
“My date is here, so I’m taking off. Don’t wait up.” I waggled my eyebrows, causing Olivia to giggle while Jesse frowned.
“Don’t we get to meet this guy?” he asked.
“Let’s see how tonight goes before you freak him out with the protective older brother bullshit.” I laughed.
“Fine,” he grumbled at the same time Olivia said, “Have fun.”
Once I closed the door behind me, I hurried down the sidewalk in case my brother got any ideas to follow me outside. Spotting the Mercedes G-Class, I swung the door open and climbed inside.
“Let’s go,” I said as I buckled up.
Malachi grinned and pulled away from the curb. “You that excited to get this date started?”
“Of course, but also Jesse wanted to meet the guy I was going out with. Didn’t want to risk him trying to get a look at who I was with.”
Malachi sped up, and I laughed. A couple of miles later, he merged onto the 101.
“We’re not going to your place?” I asked, not remembering getting on the freeway the night before.
He laced his fingers with mine. “I know we can’t do the official date thing, but we could go to the beach and hang out.”
“You don’t think anyone will recognize you?”
“We should be okay a little south of here. Plus, I brought a hat and sunglasses.” He pointed to the ones on his face.
“Should I call you Superman?” I teased. “Or better yet, Clark Kent.”
“Nah. I like it when you scream my name.” He smirked and my dick twitched.
An hour later, Malachi exited the freeway and followed the signs to the beach. “I thought we could watch the sunset and then have dinner at a Hawaiian restaurant that’s supposed to be pretty good.”
“Sounds great to me.”
After finding a parking spot, we climbed out of the car, and Malachi grabbed a blanket from the backseat and put his hat on his head.
“Shit. Where did Malachi Danvers go?” I looked around playfully.
He laughed. “Whatever.”
As we made our way down to the water, I wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but I knew we were already taking a risk by being out in public. It was best if we didn’t do anything too obvious to show we were a couple.
It didn’t take long for us to find a place away from the other groups of people. Even though it was the beginning of summer, it was a bit chilly with the wind blowing, so it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be. We spread out the blanket and took a seat just as the sun started to descend.
“Wow, this is gorgeous.”
“It is,” Malachi agreed. “I think the beach might be my favorite part about living here.”
“Do you miss Boston at all?”
He looked at me. “I miss my family, but this feels like home too.”
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching us, I placed my hand over his and squeezed. “It seems like all of your dreams have come true.”
“They have now.”
My heart raced at the thought of what those words meant. “I wish I could kiss you,” I breathed.
“I don’t think anyone would notice,” he said before capturing my lips.
Although it ended sooner than I would have liked, I couldn’t think of a more romantic place to kiss him than the beach with the waves crashing and the sun setting in the distance.
We continued to watch the sun disappear below the horizon, enjoying the moment together. Once it was dark, Malachi folded up the blanket, and we began walking back to his car.
“Do you think you would ever want to live here?” he asked, catching me off guard.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“What are your plans after the tour is over?”
I shrugged. “I was going to go back home, but …”
“But what?” We stopped next to his Mercedes.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“I don’t want that either,” he said, taking a step toward me, cupping my cheek and pressing his lips to mine.