Falling Down(57)

"Which was your shittiest?"
"Our first, of course."
"I love your first one."
"You had a party to celebrate it, you weirdo."
I shrug. "I was crushing on you and the band."
"You crushed on more than just me?"
I nearly laugh at his tone. He almost sounds wounded.
"Don't pout. I could never crush on anyone as much as I crushed on you. You should have seen my bedroom."
He chuckles.
"It was Jesse Kingston fandom and I was the president. And now I'm sitting on your lap, naked, in your bathtub because you f*cked me raw," I shake my head in disbelief. Crazy. Seriously crazy.
"What?" he asks when I remain quiet.
"If someone had told me when I was twelve or when I met you six years ago or even last week that I'd be sitting here with you like this, I'd have told them they were crazy."
"Hmm. Well, you're here." He presses a kiss to my forehead and I rest my head on his shoulder and wrap my arms around his waist.
The tub is nearly full and Jesse leans forward to turn off the water then hits the button to turn on the Jacuzzi jets.
I moan when the jets hit me crosswise across my lower back.
"Right?" he asks as he settles back with me clinging to him.
"Mhmm."
This moment feels so surreal. I close my eyes and kiss Jesse's neck. He runs his fingertips up and down my spine and I sigh. It's a very intimate moment and I'm glad that I've not given in to my emotions. I'm keeping them tamped down and staying strong. If I don't, I'll be in very real trouble because if I let my emotions run free, I risk the very real mistake of feeling more for Jesse Kingston than I know is safe.
He doesn't do relationships and I know it. It's why I'm guarding myself. I know better than to think I'm the exception to his rule no matter how differently he's treating me from his usual groupie whores.
I knew he was a sweet guy even when I was twelve. You can't hide that and he never really tried to. I imagine he does hide that side of himself when he's f*cking the groupie whores. I bite back a snarl. I've got no right to react like that but I can't help it. Even before he knew I existed I reacted like that.
Jesse starts singing again, this time one of his ballads. With the jets on my lower back, Jesse's soft singing, his fingertips caressing my upper back, and my head resting on his shoulder, I try hard to stay awake. I really do. But I'm so comfortable and so relaxed that I drift off to sleep in his arms.




Chapter Eleven
Lucy
I swear I smell apples. I'm dreaming. I have to be because when I open my eyes, Jesse Kingston is kneeling above me with a forkful of apple pie hovering over my mouth.
"Unh," is all I can manage and he chuckles.
"Wake up, Luce. We've got pie to eat."
"Jesse," I whine.
"Lucy," he says in an equally annoying tone. "You know, you're going to hurt my feelings."
I give him a skeptical look.
"I made this pie and you don't want any of it. That's harsh and hurtful."
"I was sleeping."
"You're not anymore."
"Thanks to you."
He grins that sexy grin of his and I sigh. I hold the sheet up to my breasts and sit up.
"Here," he says, moving the fork of pie toward my mouth and I open. The taste of sour apples and sugar and cinnamon bursts on my tongue. "This is so good."
"I know."
"Wow. Arrogant much?"
"Nah. I just know I make damn good pie."
"Hmm," I say snatching a plate of pie away from him. "I think maybe your mom's recipe has a little something to do with the awesomeness of this pie."