28. Jack
TWENTY-EIGHT
Jack
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept through the night and woken up so refreshed and ready to start the day.
But the beautiful brunette lying on my shoulder had me rethinking that last part.
I breathed in the scent of my former enemy’s hair and smiled as a wave of that jasmine and honey scent washed over me.
She always smelled wonderful. The time I used her shampoo because I ran out had not been a hindrance.
And maybe I’d done it multiple times instead of just solving the problem sooner.
Something I hadn’t realized the first time I woke up with her in my arms? The way her eyelids softly moved when she dreamed. And how she loved to nuzzle, which she was doing right now. I didn’t hate it. Instead, I squeezed her closer, which was a mistake because it woke her up.
She took a whiff of my skin as she blinked awake, and it gave me the smallest amount of gratification that she’d done the same thing as me. Though I’d been awake when I’d done it. Not relevant.
A smile tugged at her lips. “Hi.”
That scratchy quality I rarely heard from her was music to my ears.
“Morning.” I clutched the back of her head as locks of hair cascaded over my fingers. Was there a better feeling? Why was everything so good with her?
She reached up and pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. “How is it that you look like a perfect Norse god right after you wake up?”
A puff of air left my lips. She was so cute when she was drowsy. “Maybe I am a god. Ever thought about that?”
“Careful. We just fixed this cabin. Can’t have your ego busting down the walls.”
Fuck, she was adorable. “I think we’ll be fine. I built them sturdy.”
The eye roll that followed had to have hurt her head. The knock on her door sure did hurt mine.
“What was that?” Nat rolled over to find her phone and scowled. It was a quarter past six.
Two more knocks sounded, and she groaned as she awkwardly rolled over my body to get to the ground. She yanked open her dresser and pulled out a silky robe. Instantly, my mind went to all the ways that tie should be used, but we didn’t have the time.
I chuckled under my breath as Hazel’s voice came through the door. “Nat, I know it’s early, but it’s freezing out here. Can you please open the door?”
Nat’s eyes widened, and she shoved my pants into my chest. The chuckling turned into laughter.
“Shh.”
She was right. Someone could hear me outside of this studio-sized cabin of hers.
“Coming. I’m coming,” she said in annoyance.
“Remember saying that last night?” I whispered.
She threw my shoe at me. The first one missed. The second one got me in the stomach.
“Oof.”
“Oh no, did I bruise your eight-pack?” she whispered harshly.
The cocky grin I gave her must not have been the result she was looking for, because she threw my shirt at my head.
Nat pulled on a pair of yoga pants. “Hide.”
It was as if we realized the problem at the same time: her studio didn’t have many hiding places.
“Please, Nat,” Hazel whined. “I really have to pee.”
Shit.
I scanned the area as I pulled up my pants. There was her couch, but it was in the wide open, and Hazel would walk past it. Her kitchen faced the door. Her bed was also in wide view. Why was this cabin so open? My eyes darted around anyway as if another option would materialize. Nope.
Nat must have been watching me, because she stood next to a window, waiting for my attention, like she already knew the answer.
“No.”
Her smile was downright gleeful. “Yes.”
She opened it and pointed. I lifted my chin and stared at the ceiling. Apparently, I’d be going through the window.
I was not graceful about it. I landed in a bush, my shirt falling behind the house. I frowned as my foot landed on a branch, pausing to see if Hazel heard me. I heard her mumble a thank-you and the front door slam.
“Oh my god, it looks so nice in here,” Hazel praised, her voice moving away from the window. “Would you mind making some coffee? I’m dying.”
I could hear Nat’s sigh of relief. “Not at all.”
A sock pelted me in the head. At least I wouldn’t be walking away from this place half-naked. I could hear the sound of the toilet flushing, then the sink being used as Nat stumbled around the kitchen.
“So I wanted to talk to you about something,” Hazel said.
I zipped up my jeans.
“Sure.”
“That counselor you replaced last year, Lucas? He just reached out to see if we had any roles available, so I figured I’d talk to you.”
Wait, what?
“Talk to me…” The hesitancy in Nat’s voice was nothing compared to the worry running through mine.
“You didn’t know if you wanted to stay the whole summer, right?”
I’d been expecting this a month ago. Nat had a career already, but I’d thought she was having a good time here.
“Sure. I did say that.” Was she hesitant? Or had she been waiting for this?
I tied my shoe and fell over.
“What was that?” Hazel asked.
Nat looked outside, holding back a laugh as she saw me in my state of undress. She closed the window. “A deer.”
The word was barely distinguishable through the glass, which meant that I wasn’t going to be able to hear the rest of their conversation. That fact was confirmed when placing my ear against the siding produced no results.
Was Nat leaving?
My head was fuzzy. It usually took me a solid twenty minutes to wake up, and gazing at Nat had maybe taken up ten.
She’d been so beautiful this morning. And last night.
The way she’d looked me in the eyes as we came together.
It filled my chest with something I couldn’t name.
There was a reason this attraction kept winning out, and I didn’t necessarily want that to stop.
The sex was so good. It had gotten to the point that being near her meant I needed to touch her, and that had me wondering why. Was it just our chemistry?
Hypothetically, if I were thinking of extremes, would we be able to make a relationship work?
Why was I even questioning that? We weren’t meant to be together. For one thing, I didn’t even want a relationship. Or at least I’d thought I didn’t want one.
For another, she was here just for the summer. Though it wasn’t like we couldn’t find a way to make that work. I had more downtime throughout the year, and she traveled a lot, but she’d still come home. After all, she seemed to want a place to land. Maybe that place could be here?
Maybe I could put that light in her eyes. It was there last night. Maybe that was a one-and-done, but maybe…
Did that mean something? Of course not.
But the way she’d felt in my arms. And when I was between her legs. We just fit.
This was a problem. Did I have feelings for my former enemy?