Chapter Nine #2
“You look like you steal catalytic converters,” Jace grinned, biting back a laugh.
“Thank you,” she replied, turning toward the mirror.
He stepped up behind her then, not touching, but close enough that she could see both of them reflected. The image startled her a little. They looked… easy. Like something established. Like this wasn’t fragile.
Her stomach flipped.
They wandered the store slowly, shoulders bumping, fingers occasionally brushing along the same rack at the same time. The touches were light but charged. Each one lingered a fraction longer than the last.
The spark in her chest flared again, brighter this time.
Attraction she could manage. Attraction was simple.
It lived in her body. This was different.
This was noticing how gentle he was with space and silence.
How he didn’t interrupt moments that weren’t his.
How he didn’t need to dominate the room to feel present.
It scared her.
They left the store and stepped onto the escalator. Halfway down, their hands brushed and neither of them pulled away. Instead, their fingers shifted, testing the line between accidental and intentional.
He looked at her and offered a soft smile. “You good?” he asked softly.
Always that question. Always the exit offered first.
“I’m fine,” she said, though her voice came out quieter than she intended.
The lower level of the mall was noticeably calmer. Fewer stores open. Less foot traffic. The air felt cooler and more private.
Down here was the food court, filled with teens slurping on smoothies and eating ice cream. Myah’s stomach rumbled just as she spotted the pretzel stand she used to go to as a kid.
“How do you feel about pretzels?" Myah asked, wrapping a hand around Jace's bicep.
Holy shit, his arm is huge. Myah thought while looking down and admiring the muscle.
“Um…" Jace laughed, catching Myah's attention, “I don't feel a whole lot about them, I guess. It's just bread and salt."
Myah looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “Just bread and salt?" Myah’s hand slid from his arm down to his hand as she pulled him towards the stand.
There were lots of options: cinnamon & sugar, salt, even a Tajin one!
“Welcome to Patty’s Pretzel, what can I get for you today?" A bubbly voice spoke from behind the counter.
Myah looked up and saw a girl with long, curly brown hair and the most striking blue eyes she’d ever seen. The girl was beautiful, and looked oddly familiar.
“No way! Samyah?" The girl asked, leaning forward.
Myah was a little taken back. No one called her that but her dad, and everyone she knew before high school.
"Yeah? I'm sorry, have we met before?" Myah asked, not unkindly.
She was expecting the girl to look upset but instead her smile grew. Thank God.
“Anna Lopez! We went to school together, in like, elementary!" She pointed at her chest as if to signify that she was in fact Anna.
Myah suddenly remembered a little girl with unruly curls and missing teeth who would always hang out with her and a few other classmates. Anna was sweet, and silly.
“Oh, yes! I remember you! Didn't I marry you and that one kid on the playground?” Myah laughed at the memory.
"Married?” Jace asked, puzzled and clearly not keeping up.
"It's a long story," Anna smiled, “anyway, it's nice to see you! I have, like, no friends so seeing someone familiar is refreshing."
Anna grinned and then immediately frowned, looking like she regretted saying it.
So Myah did the only thing Myah knew how. "Can I have your number? I’m always looking for new girl friends to hang with!”
Myah was a girl’s girl. Anna looked shocked and then relieved as she pulled out her phone and handed it over. Jace watched as Myah typed in her number before handing Anna back her phone.
"I’ll get an original salty, with cheese, please." Myah smiled and looked at Jace.
“We’ll share." Jace said, offering Anna a gentle grin.
Anna nodded before grabbing a pretzel and cheese and handing it over. Jace paid, ever the gentleman, and Myah promised to text Anna as they walked away from the stand.
“That was crazy,” Myah said, dipping her pretzel into hot cheese before taking a bite, “I haven't seen her in years!”
Jace chuckled and gently took the pretzel from Myah, taking his own bite. Myah watched as Jace’s face lit up.
“Wait, that's a good ass pretzel.” Jace nodded his head and took another large bite.
Myah gasped before snatching the salty bread back and holding it away from the man, “I know.” She squinted her eyes in distaste at the man's large bites before smiling and turning to walk ahead.
They ducked into the bookstore mostly for the air-conditioning, but once inside, the quiet pressed in around them. It felt smaller than the rest of the mall, and far more intimate.
Jace grabbed a random paperback and began reading the blurb in an overly dramatic voice. She barely heard him. She was watching his mouth. The shape of it when he fought a smile. The way his voice dipped naturally when he stopped performing.
She stepped closer without meaning to. Close enough that if he inhaled deeply, their chests would brush.
He faltered mid-sentence and the book lowered slowly.
“What?” he asked, though his voice had changed.
“Nothing,” she said, but didn’t move back.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, then back up to her eyes. The shift in his breathing was subtle but undeniable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re about to either fight me or kiss me.”
Fuck. Why was he so intuitive?
Her pulse spiked. “Maybe both.”
His jaw tightened just slightly. Not in resistance but in restraint. A muscle twitch. He set the book down carefully on the shelf beside them.
“You good?” he asked again, but this time it sounded different. Much lower and thicker.
Myah nodded, not trusting her voice.
He didn’t close the distance, he just waited.
Fucking manners.
Myah leaned in, latching her lips to his in a slow but hungry way that she hadn't done before.
His hand came to her waist lightly, like he was bracing rather than grabbing.
She felt the heat of his palm through her shirt.
She deepened the kiss, pressing closer, and the quiet sound he made in response sent a sharp rush of warmth down her spine.
When they pulled back, they were breathing differently.
“You look really relaxed,” she murmured, her lips barely brushing his.
“I am,” he admitted, voice rougher now.
That did something reckless to her. She became aware of the hallway just beyond the bookstore entrance–the one that led to the restrooms. The lighting there was dimmer. The traffic was thinner.
Her eyes flicked toward it. She didn’t mean for him to catch it, but of course he did. His gaze followed hers down the hall, lingering on the small blue sign with the family restroom symbol. Then he looked back at her.
There was a beat. A long one. Understanding bloomed slowly across his face. There was no shock or alarm or judgment.
His eyes darkened just slightly as he glanced toward the hallway again, then back at her, and a slow, knowing smile tugged at his mouth.
“Are we–” he started.
She didn’t let him finish. She grabbed his hand in a not so subtle way, her fingers threading with his and she tugged him toward the hallway with a kind of quiet determination that made her own heart pound in her ears.
He followed easily. No hesitation or questions.
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Jace swore the hallway felt ten degrees warmer. The sounds of the mall dulled behind them leaving his beating heartbeat the only sound in his ears. There was no pretending now that this was just a kiss. They both knew exactly what they were about to do.
Myah reached the family restroom first and turned to face him for half a second, giving him one last chance to step back.
As if. He thought, stepping closer.
Myah smirked at that which in turn made Jace heat up all over again.
“We don't have to,” he whispered, but he was already reaching for the door handle.
“I want to,” she breathed, opening the door and leading him in.
The door shut and a light click of the lock echoed through the bathroom.
Jace stepped closer slowly. He didn’t want to move too fast. Myah was the type of girl to run when things got serious, so he was trying his hardest to play casual. Thankfully, she met him halfway, craning her neck to look up at him.
Jace’s hands found her hips and gripped her skin tightly.
Myah slid her fingers over his waist before slipping them under his dark t-shirt and feeling the plains of his hard torso.
He wasn't super beefed, but he was toned. Jace held in a sigh as Myah’s hands continued up, bringing his shirt with them.
Once the shirt was bunched to his neck, Jace stepped back and ripped it the rest of the way off.
Myah bit her lip, taking in the scene before her and Jace felt self conscious for the first time since high school.
He wasn't bad looking, he knew that. His stomach was toned and the freckles on his shoulders–which most women found endearing–were pale due to the recent winter they had.
He had a small scar near his navel and a mole by his hip.
There was just nothing super unique or interesting about him.
Jace stepped forward but caught how Myah was eyeing the geometric ink that went from the side of his neck, over his shoulder, down his arm and looped around his side.
I want her to look at me like that forever.
“You just gonna stare all day, or?” Jace teased, not trusting his own thoughts.
Myah pressed her lips to his frantically. Kissing hard and fast, she wound both of her hands into the hair at the base of his neck. Her nails were long, scratching against his scalp.
Fuck, she felt good.