Chapter 27 Exclusive #2
“It was nice seeing you, Harper. I’ll message you soon.” His gaze flicked once to Jackson before he walked off.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Janet cleared her throat, eyes sparkling. “So, Jackson, how long have you and Harper been a thing?”
Jackson glanced at me. “It’s a recent development.”
“Yeah. Very recent. Like just-now recent,” I said, deadpan.
Janet laughed. “Do you go to the same school?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m a senior as well.”
“Well, it’s wonderful to see Harper with someone who clearly cares for her.”
Jackson looked at me. His gray eyes softened in a way that made something inside me shift. My armor slid down half an inch. I looked away first.
Brian had gone quiet. He tilted his head. “Jackson. I didn’t catch your last name.”
“Black, sir.”
There was a half-beat of silence before Brian’s eyes shifted to me.
I stared at the toe of my running shoe.
“Black,” Janet said brightly. “Like the family that owns half the county? Goodness.” Her hand touched Brian’s forearm. “Well, Jackson, you’ll have to visit sometime. We make Harper visit twice a year and she still acts like it’s an inconvenience.”
“I do not.”
“You do, baby.” Janet reached into her purse. “Speaking of visiting. Hold out your hands.”
I did.
She placed a small terracotta pot in them. A round fat cactus sat in the center, one yellow flower blooming on top.
“Even if you forget to water it, this one won’t die.”
A voice called Jackson’s name from across the field. He looked over his shoulder. “One second.”
His hand gave my hip a quick squeeze before he stepped away.
“Walk us to the car,” Brian said.
We started across the parking lot. The noise from the meet faded behind us as we walked. For a while nobody spoke.
Then Brian did. “Thomas Black’s kid.”
It wasn’t a question.
Brian exhaled through his nose. “How long?”
“A few weeks.”
His stare said he thought that was bullshit.
Silence stretched between us.
“You getting close to him because of the list?”
“No.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes.”
His eyes stayed on mine. “Then answer the next question.”
I already knew I wasn’t going to like it.
“What happens when you get to Thomas?”
He didn’t look away.
“What happens to Jackson?”
My grip tightened around the cactus pot. Because I didn’t know.
Janet sighed softly. “Brian.”
“What?” he asked.
“You know exactly what.”
We reached the car. Across the parking lot I saw Jackson jogging toward us. Brian followed my line of sight and his jaw tightened.
Jackson closed the distance quickly. “Sorry. Coach cornered me.”
“Of course he did,” Janet said brightly, pulling him into a quick hug. “It was lovely meeting you, sweetheart.”
“You too, ma’am.”
Brian and Jackson shook hands again. Then Brian turned toward me.
“Take care of yourself, Harper,” he said, eyes holding mine a beat longer than necessary.
They climbed into the truck. Brian started the engine, gave us one last nod, and pulled out of the parking lot.
I stood watching the truck disappear. Jackson was quiet beside me. Too quiet. When I turned his eyes were fixed on the direction Blake had gone.
“Was that guy your ex?” His voice was low and rough.
“Blake? No. We weren’t dating.”
“But you slept together.”
“Sometimes.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He dragged a hand over his head and gripped the back of his neck. A low growl threaded through his breath.
“I don’t want him sniffing around.”
He was jealous. And I liked it far too much.
“Blake doesn’t want me for himself.”
“Of course he does. I can’t blame him. But I don’t like that he wants what’s mine. He’s not getting it.”
“He never implied he wanted something serious.”
“Because you’re closed off. You have a red flag the size of a billboard over your head. Emotionally unavailable. He was probably waiting for you to come around.”
He started pacing, each turn sharper than the last.
I took a breath. I hadn’t thought about it like that, but he had a point. I knew I had issues.
“Harper.” He stopped pacing and stood in front of me, close but not touching. “We haven’t talked about this.” He gestured between us. “We haven’t said what it is.”
He went quiet. Somehow that felt more naked than if he had been loud.
“What do you want it to be?” I asked.
He looked at me for a long beat. “I want you. Just you. Not casual. Not something you get to decide later. Now.”
“Okay.”
His brows pulled together. “Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.”
The breath he let out was rough. His hand curled around the back of my neck and he pressed his forehead to mine.
“I needed to hear you say it.”
“I don’t want anyone else.”
His head lifted. His eyes were sharp. “So we’re exclusive?”
“Yeah.”
His mouth twitched. “Boyfriend, girlfriend?”
I tilted my head. “I thought you already were my boyfriend.”
A dark, satisfied sound rumbled in his throat. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in.
“Yeah,” he said into my hair. “I am.”
Jackson pulled me closer, one hand splayed across my lower back. “I’m telling the guys and Lia tonight. Then I’m coming to get you.”
The words settled deep in my chest. No hesitation. No games.
“Okay.”
He kissed the top of my head, then my temple, then the corner of my mouth like he couldn’t help himself.
“Stay the night. I want you in my bed.”
I nodded, and we headed back toward the team area with our fingers still locked together. He carried the cactus Janet had given me in his free hand, holding it carefully, like it mattered. The second we reached the others my phone buzzed against my hip. I dug it out.
Blake: Call me when you get bored of him.
I locked the screen and shoved the phone back into my bag without answering.
“Who was that?” Jackson asked.
"No one important.”
He didn’t push. Just looked at me a second longer than he needed to.
That night he picked me up after dark. We didn’t talk much on the short drive to his house.
We didn’t need to. His hand stayed on my thigh the whole way, warm and steady.
When we finally slipped into his room, he wrapped his arms around me, solid and possessive.
I fell asleep with my head against his chest.