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It wasn’t lost on her that she and Samuel didn’t live remotely close to one another. This would be a stressful, long-distance relationship. And those were uncertain arrangements. Was it wrong of her to keep it to herself until now?
“Samuel and I are… Well…” Her chest got tight as her mind raced to settle on a word to describe them. Jessica screwed up her mouth. “I’m changing. I have to do something and talk.”
Kelsey waved a hand. “Have at it.”
Jessica whisked the sweatshirt over her head and settled on a polite explanation. “We’re exploring our options together.”
Kelsey squinted her eyes at Jessica. “What the hell does that mean? In normal people, please?”
“We slept together. I like him a lot. And we’re figuring it out for now. Well, not for now because now we’re going on a break and we aren’t even a couple,” she said in a rush before pulling the dress on over her head.
“What?” Kelsey shrieked.
By the time Jessica had the dress on, Kelsey was up on her knees, eyes wide in shock. “You and Samuel?”
“Why does everyone call him Samuel and not like, Sam?” Robin asked softly, as though she were talking to herself.
Jessica and Kelsey spoke in unison, “He doesn’t like it.”
Yeah, Jessica had learned that early on.
Robin’s eyes widened. “Oh. Well. Good to know.”
Kelsey pointed at Jessica. “You and Samuel?”
“Yeah…”
“Holy shit.” Kelsey sat back on the bed. She looked from Robin then back to Jessica. “Who else knows?”
Wasn’t that a great question?
Jessica ticked off the people on her fingers. “Baruti and I’m guessing Zora, though we didn’t come out and tell her that.”
“Holy fucking shit,” Kelsey muttered. She blinked several times. Her eyes were taking up her whole face at this point. “I’d just about decided he was asexual or something…”
“What?” Jessica paused reaching for the hem of the dress and laughed. “He’s not. Trust me.”
Kelsey’s gaze narrowed as if she weren’t sure she could extend that trust. Jessica didn’t know a lot about Kelsey’s work with the guys, but she knew they were all close. Like, family close.
Jessica held up her hands and decided to drop one little detail. “He made the first move. Not me.”
That seemed to seal the deal for Kelsey. She sat back and shook her head. “Wow. I mean, I know he’s gone out on dates every now and then, but… Holy shit. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, I was surprised, too.” Wasn’t that an understatement?
Kelsey looked Jessica up and down more critically now. “You’re by far the best catch of his I’ve seen. If he’s smart, he won’t let you get away, that’s for damn sure.”
Jessica drew in a deep breath. “I really needed to hear that right now, thanks.”
“So…” Kelsey frowned. “What’s the deal? If you two are falling in love, why isn’t he here?”
Jessica tipped her head back and groaned. “Because it’s too distracting for him if we’re in a relationship and we’re working together. So for the next two days—or however long this trip takes—we aren’t together. And it’s so much bullshit. But I get it. I don’t have to like it.”
Kelsey closed her eyes. “I swear, men are more trouble than they’re worth.”
“Tell me about it,” Robin muttered.
This trip was going to be harder than Jessica had thought. A lot harder.