Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(84)

We sit down for dinner not long after I return to the penthouse with Sadie. The excitement and anticipation of our upcoming trip to Hawaii is the main focus for the rest of the evening.

At one point, Maggie mentions to Henry, “Honey, we should probably give everyone their plane tickets this weekend.”

“We don’t need plane tickets, sweetie,” Jimmy answers as Henry swallows a bite of food.

“Are we taking a boat?” Maggie continues.

“No, sweetheart. We’re taking the jet,” Henry reassures, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin.

“It can fit all of us?” she questions.

“Ours can,” Jimmy mentions.

“Well, how does that work?” Jared inquires.

I’m glad Jared asks this question. I’ve never flown let alone have been to an airport.

“We tell our pilot where we want to go and when we want to leave. He and the crew prep the plane. We drive right up to get on it at the private airport and take off,” Jimmy explains.


“No TSA or baggage check?” Nathan verifies.

“Exactly,” confirms Allen.

“I could easily get spoiled flying privately,” Jared adds. “Looks like I need to find myself a Sugar Daddy.”

Smacking him on the arm, Nathan rebuts, “I’m your Sugar Daddy. Don’t you forget it.”

Everyone snickers.

“Then you need to be selling a hell of a lot more clothes to be taking me on trips with our own private plane,” Jared teases.

To me, their behavior and words are indicating that their relationship has progressed significantly.

“Something you want to tell me?” I whisper in Jared’s ear.

My answer is a wicked grin with the look of love in his eyes. Looks like the love bug has officially bitten both of my friends. Damn Nǎinai and her blessings.

Like last night, we all change into our pajamas before hoping on the couch. Everyone decides to conserve their energy for jumping tomorrow after hearing some of the stories that have been shared while a few games of pool are played before resolving to watch a movie. We all sit in the same spots as we did last night, but this time I angle my feet down the middle of the couch, resting my head on Sadie who is practically on Jared’s lap. Joe grabs a blanket before sitting where my feet are which forces me to bend my knees. He places my legs over his lap before covering us both with the blanket.

After a while, I lift the blanket up to my shoulders and rest my hands on my stomach. A few minutes later, Joe walks his fingers up the side of my body and interlocks them with mine. Changing my attention from the movie to him, I watch Joe as our fingers dance around each others. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he didn’t get freaked out by this morning.

By around ten, everyone retires to their designated rooms for the night. At first, Jared and Nathan are insistent about sleeping with me in Joe’s bed, but I decline. I have to reassure them several times that I am fine and will be.

Despite the emotional exhaustion from today, I can’t sleep after laying under the covers for forty minutes. I try reading, but that just wakes me up more. I consider jumping on Joe’s rebounder, but I don’t want to get all sweaty and have to shower. The thought to snoop around his room seems like a great idea. Remembering how much clothing I saw that Joe has in his closet makes me ponder why he needs a dresser in the bedroom. My curiosity gets the better of me so I go over to check. I cautiously open and close each draw to minimize being heard. All of the drawers are empty.

With not much to go off of in his room, I creep down the hallway to see if I can find anything in the living room that I might have missed. I almost jump out of my skin when I hear a whisper halfway down the hall.

Turning, I see Joe in the doorway of the den. “Hi,” I mumble softly.

“You okay?”

“Yeah . . . .” I return quietly.

Examining me, Joe prods, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He gestures for me to join him in the den and for some reason I follow. Joe sits next to Sadie who is now laying on what looks like a bed.

“Is that what you are sleeping on?” I ask.

“Yes, why?”

“It looks uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that bad,” he offers.

I sit down on his bed, using Sadie as a barrier between us. It’s small and looks nice, but as soon as my butt hits the cushion, I know it’s not that comfortable, not compared to his bed.

“You’re sleeping on this?”

“Yes, why?”

“You’ve got a glorious, and probably overly priced king size bed in your room and you’re sleeping on this?”

Chuckling, “You’re sleeping on it.”

“If I knew you were going to be on this last night, I would have insisted that you sleep in your own bed.”

“So that’s what this is,” he says with a widening grin.

“What what is?”

I’m not sure what he’s alluding.

“It’s okay, you can say it.”

“Say what? What are you talking about?”

I’m completely clueless. What are we talking about?

“If you want me to sleep with you, you just have to ask.”

I shoot up to a standing position at his brazen statement.. “Sleep with you, I don’t want to sleep with you.”