The Accidentals(85)

He gives me a squeeze. “So we won’t.”

“We won’t what?” I lift my head to look at him.

The pink spots on his cheekbones deepen. “That’s what you’ll have to tell me. You give me the rules, and I’ll follow them.”

“Well… There would have to be two, um, methods. In case one of them fails.” I put my chin on Jake’s shoulder so I don’t have to look him in the eye.

“Perfectly rational,” he whispers.

“And I haven’t taken care of things on my end. Because…it’s not easy. You have to go to the doctor, where there are tables and stirrups. And put on a paper gown, probably. And then you have to tell the doctor to his face that you want birth control. I’ll probably bring along a copy of my transcript to prove I’m actually a good girl.”

I feel Jake’s chest begin to shake. “I’ve never been so glad to be a guy.”

“I’m pretty glad you’re a guy.”

“No, really,” he says. “They even have self-serve checkout at the pharmacy. I’ll bet those were invented by a dude who wanted to buy condoms without facing down the checkout girl.”

I giggle into his neck. “You can just order them on the internet. Really, how is that fair?”

“I get it.” He cups my face and gives me a quick kiss.

Feeling a rush of gratitude, I kiss him again. And then again and again. I’m so happy to be back in his arms that I kiss him as if I want to eat him for dinner.

Until Jake pulls back and stares me down. “You forgot something important.”

“I did?”

He nods. “What are the rules right now?”

“Oh. We just can’t have actual sex.” Funny how easy it is to say it now.

“I heard that part. But I don’t want any more misunderstandings. So what else is off the table?”

It’s a fair question. “I guess nothing, really.” And then, to prove the point, I reach for the buttons on his flannel shirt. He looks down, watching my fingers with a look of disbelief. Under the flannel I find the Talk Nerdy to Me tee. “You were wearing this on the day I met you.”

His smile is shy. “It draws the babes like flies.”

Very gently, I remove his big black glasses, turning them over in my hands. “Jake, why do you try so hard to look nerdy?” I put the glasses on the bedside table. “I mean—some people come by it more naturally. But you have to work pretty hard at it.” Without waiting for an answer, I gather his T-shirt and raise it over his head. Dropping it to the floor, I put my hands on his bare chest. “I mean it as a serious question.”

He looks down at my hands, as if trying to figure out where they’d come from. “Well, the nerd thing made me something that Asshat was not. But also…” He breaks off, reaching for me. He presses a kiss to my cheekbone so tenderly that a chill runs up my spine. “Also,” he whispers, “if the pretty girl on the third floor doesn’t want to touch me, then at least I’ll have a good reason why.”

Now there’s a little stab to my heart. I pull Jake’s handsome face toward me, kissing him in a way that I hope lets him know exactly how much I appreciate him. And when he gives a happy sigh, I feel it all the way to my toes.

Then, with all the wariness of a man diffusing a bomb, Jake lifts my top over my head, and fumbles with the back of my bra. But that isn’t going to get him anywhere, because the clasp is in front.

“And you say you’re so good with technology,” I whisper, flicking it apart with my own hand.

His face registers surprise, but he isn’t too bashful to push the straps off my shoulders. “God, I love your body.”

I never do know how to take a compliment. So I go for his belt instead. Jake’s reaction is a sharp intake of air. High on my own bravery, I plunge onward, unzipping his jeans. He pulls back, surprise on his face. But then he stands up and shucks them off. His boxer shorts have little terrier dogs on them.

I stand too. Gingerly, I skim the front of his boxers, causing Jake to take a deep, shuddering breath. I touch my lips to his ear. “The girl on the third floor would like to touch you,” I whisper. “If she could get out of her own way.”

He closes his eyes. Then he runs his hands down my shoulders, his kisses soft. A single finger slips across my belly underneath the waistband of my jeans, and his touch sends a charge of electricity through me.

But Jake takes his hand away. “This is where I always get into trouble,” he says quietly.

Sad, but true. So I slide my zipper down myself, dropping my jeans to the floor. Reverently, Jake skims my hips with warm hands. When he pulls my body against his, my heart begins to pound.

Breathe, I order myself.

I must have tensed up, because Jake puts his chin on my shoulder, bringing his arms around me in a protective hug. “Rachel,” he whispers, easing me down to sit beside him on the bed. “Just rest here with me for a while.”

What an excellent idea.

We lay down together, and I put my head on his chest, willing myself to relax. The candlelight dances on the wall, and Jake’s thumb strokes my shoulder absently. My thoughts quiet as I listen to the sound of his heart. “Jake? Why did you say that I made you feel like Asshat?”

His chest rises and falls with a sigh. “He hits his girlfriends.”