Be with Me (Wait for You #2)(88)

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

AVON BOOKS

An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

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Twenty-four


He loved me.

Those whispered words pounded throughout my body, playing over and over again. He loved me. It was like a dream come true, a happily every after in romance novels. The boy I crushed on for years, the one I loved, loved me in return. And it was the good kind of love, the kind that nurtured and flourished, not hurt and destroyed. The kind of love I saw between my brother and Avery. I no longer had a reason to be envious, because I had that epic love, the Hallmark Channel movie ending.

Hands shaking, I ran them down his sides as the long, lean muscles slowly relaxed and his breathing returned to normal. “I love you too,” I whispered against the side of his neck, smiling into his damp skin.

The arms around my lower back tensed, and then his hands slid to my hips. He lifted me, gently placing me next to him. He kissed my temple. “I’ll be right back.”

Closing my eyes, I sighed as I curled onto my side. Jase disappeared into the bathroom and then on his way back, he turned off the bedroom light. Climbing into the bed behind me, he wrapped his arms around me.

He didn’t speak, and I was okay with that, because he’d said everything that I ever needed to hear from him.

Insides warm and cozy, I drifted off to sleep with what must’ve been a “cat ate an entire cage worth of canaries” type of grin. Jase’s arms and the way his body was tucked around mine provided a -lulling warmth that temporarily held the darkness of the weekend at bay.

I don’t know how long I slept and I was sure I didn’t dream, but the warmth that had curled along my back was absent and that was what had pulled me out the contented haze of sleep.

As I blinked my eyes open, my vision slowly adjusted. A pale blue light crept into the shadows crowding the bedroom. I reached over, finding that the spot where Jase had been was empty. Still lethargic, I rolled onto my back.

Jase sat at the corner of the bed, elbows resting against his bent knees. His head was propped between his hands, his bare back hunched.

Concern chased away the lingering sleep. I sat up. “Are you okay?”

He jerked his head up, as if startled out of deep thought. In the low light, his eyes were dark and shadowed. “Yeah, I just . . . there’s something that I forgot to do.”

A little confused, I watched him stand and grab his jeans off the floor. He pulled them up and zipped them, leaving the button open as he turned to me. “I got to run to the frat. There’s some stuff I left there I need for class.”

“Okay.” My brows puckered. “We can leave early if you want and run by there, so you don’t—-”

“It’s okay.” He bent quickly, swiping his lips across my cheek, and then he pulled back. “I’ll lock the door behind me so you don’t have to get up. You still have a -couple of hours yet to sleep. I’ll pick you up around eight thirty.”

I nodded, feeling suddenly cold inside. “Sure.”

Jase backed away to the door, turned, and then stopped, glancing back at me. I could barely make out his features. “Tess . . .”

Air caught in my throat.

He seemed to lower his chin, and I heard the deep breath he took next. “Thank you for last night.”

Thank you for last night?

I was knocked so speechless that I’d heard the front door open and close before I was even able to open my mouth. He thanked me? Not that there was anything wrong with him thanking me, I guessed, but it seemed like a weird thing to say, especially when hours before he’d said he loved me.

My stomach dipped and then knotted itself right up.

Minutes turned into hours as I sat there in bed, until the pale blue light spread across the floor, chasing away the remnants of night. It’s okay, I told myself. I didn’t need to read anything into his abrupt departure. He said there was stuff he needed for class and that was all.

But he hadn’t said he loved me as he left.

I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately trying to ignore the hollow feeling opening up in my chest, quickly filling with insecurities and doubts.

Everything was okay after what we’d shared last night. I couldn’t allow myself to think anything else, because . . . I shook my head fiercely, sending a sharp pain down my neck.

Everything had to be okay.

Jase was quiet when he picked me up for classes a few hours later. So was I. I hadn’t fallen back asleep and had worked myself into a nervous mess by the time I got into his Jeep. He’d dropped me off in front of Whitehall, and I think we might’ve spoken about five words to each other.

Something was wrong.

But my worry over what was going on with Jase fell to the side by the time I stepped into Whitehall. -People were staring. Not because I was on crutches. Groups of two or three would turn to one another. Some whispered. Some didn’t.

“She’s the one who found her.”

I heard that same statement about four times by the time I made it to history class an hour later.

Calla frowned as she saw me. “You look like crap.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

Tucking a strand of blond hair back behind her ear, her frown deepened. “Sorry. That was a bitchy greeting. Are you okay?”