Chapter Twenty-Three #2
She swallowed thickly as he guided her upstairs.
Inside his bedroom, rain pounded against the windows.
Noelle was so focused on getting out of the wet clothes that clung to her body, she tore off the hoodie, along with her T-shirt and denim shorts without thinking.
It was only when she heard Jeremiah’s sharp intake of breath that she spun around to face him.
He blinked at her, eyes briefly but hungrily sweeping up and down the length of her body.
Her heart pounded as she stared back at him.
Suddenly, he bent down and riffled through his suitcase.
He stood upright and handed her another hoodie, looking away.
This hoodie was plain and black with the Nike logo in the center.
It was also dry and newer and smelled like his cologne.
When Noelle put it on, it covered her torso and fell to the middle of her thighs.
She sat on the edge of the bed as Jeremiah pulled off his T-shirt, giving her a glimpse of his muscular body before he shrugged on a new shirt.
She stared openly at him, and he glanced up and caught her gaze.
The air around them turned staticky. Noelle shivered, even though she was no longer cold. In fact, she was scorching.
“I’ll be right back,” he said quietly.
Noelle nodded and inhaled deeply, tucking her legs underneath her.
She felt like she was standing at the edge of a cliff, and she was either going to jump and hope she landed somewhere soft, or she was going to back away and never know what lay below.
She wanted to be more than just friends with Jeremiah.
But would trying for more be a mistake? She didn’t know what to do.
She grabbed her phone and opened her text thread with Tati.
I think I’m about to do something crazy, she texted.
Tati responded immediately. Hook up with Jeremiah?
Noelle blinked at her phone. How did you know?
Because I know you and I know that you like him. He’s all you talk about lately.
Noelle bit her lip.
Would it be crazy tho? she asked. Like a big, big mistake?
Girl, no! If anyone deserves a summer romance, it’s you.
But we agreed to be friends and he’s paying me to be here. What if it gets complicated if we try to make things real?
Talk to him about it. Tell him how you feel. If he cares enough about you (and he’d be stupid not to), you’ll work together to figure a way forward.
Noelle smiled at her phone, grateful for her best friend. Thanks for the advice. Love you.
Love you too! I want all the deets after you get the D!!
Noelle laughed and covered her face with her hands. She lowered them as Jeremiah reentered the room, this time holding two steaming mugs.
“We only had peppermint tea,” he said, holding a mug out to her. “I hope that’s okay. It should help warm you up.”
Her heart melted as she gazed up at him.
He was so sweet and thoughtful and funny, and despite the walls she’d put up and the reasons she shouldn’t want to get involved with him, he disarmed her defenses just by being himself.
And she liked him too much to pretend otherwise.
She took a deep breath and stepped off the cliff.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the mug. But she set it down on the ground. “Jeremiah, I want to tell you something.”
“Wait,” he said, standing in front of her. “Can I tell you something first? That’s the real reason I went downstairs. I mean, I wanted to make you some tea because you were shivering, but I also wanted to practice what I need to say to you.”
She blinked as she looked up at him, pulse quickening. “Okay.”
He sat on the bed beside her and took her hands in his. “Is this okay?”
She nodded, touched that he’d thought to ask permission even though they’d definitely progressed past hand-holding at this point.
“I know we have our agreement and that I’m paying you to be here with me, and the goal was to pretend for my family’s sake that we’re in a happy relationship,” he said.
“And I know we said that we should just stay friends. But last week, I didn’t tell you the whole story when I said that I liked you.
The full truth is that I liked you from the beginning when I first met you at the bookstore.
I would have asked you out then for real, but I had the feeling that you weren’t looking to date, and you later confirmed you weren’t, so I held back on my feelings and thought they’d eventually fade away and we’d be cool to keep pretending.
But my feelings for you have only grown stronger.
I think about you all the time. Whenever you’re around me, I can’t focus on anything else, and I don’t want to.
I think that you are one of the most beautiful, kindest, genuine people that I’ve ever met.
I care about you so much, and I wasn’t sure where you stood, but knowing that you like me too gives me hope that maybe you want to be more than just friends too.
” He paused and gave her hands a gentle squeeze.
“But if you don’t, that’s okay. Please know it’s okay.
I promise I will shut the fuck up and never bring this up again. ”
Noelle burst out laughing at his last line, because it was so unexpected. His worried expression eased into one of relief.
“You’re laughing. I’m trying to pour my heart out to you, and you’re laughing,” he said, smiling as he shook his head. “That’s crazy.”
“I’m sorry.” She attempted to school her features and she inched closer to him, brushing her knee against his thigh.
“You don’t have to shut up, because I feel the same way.
I think about you all the time. Tati said that you’re the only thing I talk about anymore.
” She paused. “But last week I didn’t tell you the full story either.
I left out one of the reasons I thought we should just stay friends.
The money has been a huge help to me, and this is the first time in a long time that I haven’t had to work myself to the bone.
That’s a bigger gift to me than you’ll ever know.
Being here with you and getting to know you has made my summer so much better.
But the money is also one of the reasons that I feel hesitant about us trying to start something real.
Not many relationships start with a contract like ours has. ”
“You’re right,” he said, grabbing his phone. “They don’t. Hold on.”
Her brows furrowed as she watched him type something on his phone. “What are you doing?”
“I’m setting up a wire transfer to send you the rest of the money,” he said, and she blinked in surprise.
“As far as I’m concerned, the terms of the agreement have been met.
We’ve successfully convinced my family that we’re in a relationship.
I don’t want the contract to be something that’s hovering over us anymore.
You should receive the rest of the money by Tuesday at the latest.” He set his phone aside and met her eyes again.
His expression was open and earnest. “Now we have the chance to start fresh. No more agreements. No more payments. Just you and me, for real.”
“Jeremiah…” she whispered, staring at him.
She was grateful, of course, that she would now officially have the money she needed for college.
But she also felt deeply relieved that this obstacle between them had been removed and that he’d done it so quickly.
“I want us to have a fresh start too. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I should be thanking you.” He rubbed his thumbs across her knuckles. “What do you want to do now?” he asked softly. “I’m following your lead here.”
“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly. One obstacle had been removed, but others still remained. “You’ll be in California soon, and I’ll be focused on school. I don’t know what would happen with us beyond summer.”
He bit his lower lip, and it drew Noelle’s attention to his mouth. “Maybe we don’t need to think about what happens after summer ends,” he said. “Maybe we just make the most of the time we have together now.”
The thought of having Jeremiah for real just to let him go sounded like a very painful plan of action. But what other options did they have? She was realistic enough to know that a new relationship would easily crumble between long distance and busy schedules.
Ultimately, she hadn’t felt this strongly about someone before. She liked Jeremiah too much to not have him at all, even if it was only for the rest of summer.
“Okay.” She reached up to touch his cheek. His beard prickled her palm.
He turned, bringing his lips to brush against her fingers. He tilted his head and looked at her closely. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. Finally, all pretenses were dropped. It was just them and the truth about how they felt for each other. When Jeremiah leaned in to kiss her, there was no voice in the back of her head telling her not to go too far, and there was no one else around them who might interrupt.
Jeremiah pressed his lips against hers and Noelle’s heart pounded as she kissed him back.
The kiss was deep and languid, and she savored the feel of his lips and tongue.
Slowly, they eased down onto the bed, and Jeremiah hovered above her.
He kissed his way down her throat and she struggled to yank off the hoodie to give him better access to her skin. She almost elbowed him in the process.
“Damn,” he mumbled, chuckling. “Let me help.”