CHAPTER 26 #2
Jette reached down and pulled Reese’s hand to her lips, kissing her fingers.
“Because it’s one thing to take a step when you already have a plan in place.
But taking a leap like that into the unknown?
That takes fucking guts,” she answered honestly.
Suddenly, her throat felt tight. She was relieved that Reese couldn’t see how she’d gotten choked up by the vulnerability.
Reese hooked her ankle around Jette’s leg and further intertwined their bodies.
She had an uncanny way of knowing how to calm her with just a single touch.
The movement immediately eased Jette’s mind.
After keeping her head in control of her heart for so long, it was wild to finally allow herself to embrace the closeness.
“Well, it was worth it.” The words were slightly garbled against Jette’s chest since Reese said them without removing her lips from the flushed skin.
She nuzzled Jette’s neck and wrapped around Jette’s chest. They were so entwined that it was hard to know where her body ended and Jette’s began.
And Jette couldn’t bear to imagine even a sliver of space between them.
“You’re worth it.” She whispered it so quietly that Jette wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear, but her heart soared nonetheless.
She was positive Reese had to be able to hear the heavy thrum echoing in her own ears.
They lay in peaceful silence for what felt like ages.
Jette’s heart had been racing too much to be able to fall asleep just yet.
But she could feel the rise and fall of Reese’s chest gradually slowing to a more even cadence.
She glanced down at their bodies covered only by a thin sheet and her eyes fixated on the edge of the tattoo on the inside of Reese’s bicep.
It was mostly hidden from view but Jette reached down to softly trace the bit of exposed ink.
Reese shifted so that Jette could continue outlining the stark lines.
Goosebumps erupted over her skin but Jette didn’t feel like it was the result of a chill in the warm room.
The delicate wings flexed and stretched as Reese’s arm moved under her fingertips.
She must’ve given thousands of tattoos over the years, but this one stood out.
Jette started to ask a question and was surprised to hear how thin her own voice sounded.
Reese lifted her chin and looked at Jette, her dark eyes alight with curiosity.
Jette cleared her throat and tried again.
“I don’t think you ever told me why you picked a bird? What’s the meaning?”
Reese yawned through her response. “What makes you think there’s a meaning behind it?”
This time it was Jette who giggled. “I’m sorry,” she teased, “Aren’t you the woman who told me that you didn’t want a tattoo because you couldn’t imagine finding something you would want on your body forever?
” Reese pressed her lips together in a straight line and playfully narrowed her eyes as she rested her chin on Jette’s chest. The sharp edge of her jaw dug into Jette’s chest in a way that was almost painful but she made no effort to move.
“I figured you must have some reasoning behind it,” her words came out gentler.
Reese shrugged and her eyes softened as they bore into Jette’s.
“I don’t know,” she began. “I didn’t really have a deeper meaning behind it.
It just kind of felt right. I don’t know how to describe it.
” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed for a moment as Jette continued to rub her arm.
“I guess I like the fact that birds don’t stay in the same place for long, you know?
They can pick up and fly somewhere else,” she explained.
Jette nodded with a slow smile spreading across her lips.
“Perhaps deep down I was a little envious of that. That kind of freedom,” she admitted.
“Maybe subconsciously I needed a push—or a reminder—that I can go wherever I want. I don’t have to be tied down to anything I don’t want. ”
Jette nodded thoughtfully while a tiny warning arose in the back of her mind.
She kept her expression carefully composed as they stared at each other.
“So you don’t want to be tied down,” she said it like a fact rather than a question.
She had meant it earnestly, but Reese’s grin turned devilish as she recognized the accidental innuendo.
Her eyes widened as she tilted her head a fraction of an inch and Jette hurried to cut her off before she could run with it.
“I, wait, I didn’t mean it like that,” she quickly covered, but a heady flush was already warming her cheeks.
God, that wit was lightning fast and wildly indecent.
She really needed to keep talking before they got any more sidetracked and she let her explicit imagination run wild.
“I meant like, in general. In life or…” her voice trailed off.
Reese’s smile faded back to one of innocence and she stared at Jette like she was trying to commit her face to memory.
Her expression shifted as though she understood the actual question Jette had been trying to ask before the conversation derailed.
“I mean, I wanted that kind of freedom. Just to have the choice, you know?”
Jette could understand that much. She knew the feeling thoroughly.
It was the reason she’d put her life and energy into tattooing and music.
Both possible careers gave her the freedom to travel and explore new found parts of herself.
It was also part of the reason why after all these years toeing the line between both dreams, she’d never been able to fully pick a side.
Jette gave a small smile and Reese tilted her mouth to Jette’s chest, pressing a chaste kiss while maintaining eye contact.
Her heart thudded in her chest at the unexpected show.
The gesture was more than affection or reassurance, even.
She swallowed as she registered the fact that it was deeper than that.
It felt possessive. “It doesn’t mean I’m flighty or anything.
” Reese continued, “A lot of birds mate for life, you know.”
For life. The words jolted Jette’s heart and she felt exposed that Reese had been able to see right through her composed facade.
She turned her head to press her ear over Jette’s heart and Jette felt like she wasn’t the only one currently feeling a little too vulnerable at the moment.
Jette continued running her hands over the silky skin of Reese’s waist. The air in the room felt heavy and charged, but not unpleasant in the slightest. In the growing silence, they lay still.
They both seemed to understand the gravity and significance of everything left unsaid.
It was one of her favorite things about Reese.
She didn’t need to dissect every thought into oblivion, she understood without the need for discussion.
It was as though Reese had been divinely calibrated to pick up on every passing thought and emotion that coursed through her.
Reese lightly dragged her nails against the sensitive skin of Jette’s ribs before pulling herself impossibly close.
Jette’s eyes drifted closed as she let out a small sigh.
“So how is it having Lida as a roommate?” she asked quietly, her voice shaking the tiniest bit, but she blamed it on a shiver creeping up her sides as Reese continued to trace a finger along her body.
The swift change in topic seemed to mollify the serious tone that had settled over them.
“Oh you know, exactly how I imagined,” Reese said. The playful exasperation in her voice rang out clearly. “She’s the best. But I do think she’s only helping me look for an apartment so she can get me outta her hair as soon as possible.”
“Uh oh, do I sense trouble in paradise?” Jette teased as Reese laughed and shifted under her hand.
A thought crossed her mind and Jette was appalled that she’d even entertained it for the briefest of seconds.
She opened her mouth to speak and then promptly closed it, her lips snapping shut with a muted sound.
“What were you about to say?” Reese asked remarkably quickly. In the dark, there was no possible way Reese could have seen her but that had never stopped her from reading Jette like an open book.
She’d been caught. Jette shook her head in disbelief and let out a breathless laugh.
“I was going to say if you need some space to yourself for a little bit,” she began.
Suddenly the words on the tip of her tongue felt utterly ridiculous, but she knew Reese wouldn’t let her wriggle out of this.
The rest of her thoughts tumbled out breathily.
“My place is an option. I mean, I’m not gonna be home for another month,” she rambled and Reese noticeably stiffened next to her.
“So my apartment’s just going to be sitting there empty anyway.
” Jette let her voice trail off into the dark.
“In case you needed somewhere to go,” she quietly clarified after a pause.
Reese turned and leaned on an elbow, looking down at Jette with a look of obvious amusement.
Though Jette couldn’t figure out if that made her feel more or less self-conscious.
“Jette Keating,” her gaze flashed inquisitively and her tone had now gone beyond teasing.
“Are you suggesting that I move in with you after less than six hours?” Jette tried swallowing to make her throat less dry but it didn't work. She propped herself on an elbow and rested her head in her hand, looking into Reese’s surprised—but distinctively pleased—face.
“I—no,” Jette sputtered firmly. The flustered display made Reese laugh.
Her toned arm was still draped over Jette’s waist. “Look, I know I’m a lesbian and all,” she joked, “But I’m not that much of a stereotype.
” Reese let out a single shrill cackle and Jette could feel the pressure loosening in her chest. She tugged Jette in for a quick kiss.
Her lips were sweet and soft. “I just meant that I won’t be around for another month so if you hypothetically needed a break from Lida and the couch…
I could give you the code to the door.” Jette tossed her messy waves over her shoulder as her cheeks flushed.
Now that she’d said the words out loud, it felt completely insane and entirely too much.
“In case you needed it. I don’t know. It’s not a big deal,” she scrambled.
The smile on Reese’s lips only widened as she reached for Jette’s chin.
She planted a kiss on Jette’s lips which were still tingling from the last time.
When she leaned back, her face was glowing with affection.
Jette couldn’t understand how she radiated this kind of light.
“You’re the sweetest,” she murmured with a smile. If she thought Jette’s idea had been wholly absurd, she was being very polite to hide it. She winked and added, “You know, I might actually take you up on that offer.” Jette couldn’t stop the relieved smile that crossed her face in response.