Page 22 of Before You (Reckless Love #2)

Why didn’t I throw them away when I realized they tasted like shit?

“That bad?”

JJ shrugs, his lips quirking up in another smile, and I grab the container, dumping all of them in the trash can. “You’re not a baker, are you?” he asks, and I pluck the rock-hard cookie from his hand, tossing it with the others.

“Apparently not. I’m sorry, let me see if I can find something else. What do you want to eat?” I ask, my voice coming out slightly higher pitched than normal. Opening the cupboards, I look to see what Bria got last time she went grocery shopping.

“Marley,” JJ says, and goosebumps prickle across my skin at the way he says my name.

“Yeah?” I ask, turning around to face him and lean against the counter behind me.

“I’d rather know what you want?” he asks, dragging a hand through his hair. As easily as he was joking around a few minutes ago, JJ’s serious now.

The answer is simple, yet so complicated: JJ . I want JJ to stay. I want to take care of JJ. I want him to be telling the truth when he suggests there has never been another girl.

He’s so big . It sounds stupid to think, but there’s no other way to describe JJ from his height to his muscles. Sometimes it’s easy to forget until he’s right in front of me, but even the way he holds himself screams he’s aware of his size.

“It doesn’t matter to me. Whatever you want to do,” I say, grabbing the counters for support in case my body decides to give out.

JJ tilts his head, looking at me in a way that feels as if he can see directly through my words to the ugly, stained truth I haven’t been able to voice yet.

It makes me dizzy, in an intoxicating way, and I don’t know if it’s good he holds this much control over me.

“Sweetheart, the only thing I want is for you to be happy,” he says, taking a step closer to me, and another, until my brain is malfunctioning at the proximity of how close JJ is without being close enough to touch me.

“JJ,” I begin to say, but my throat catches. I could say it, but I’m not ready. I hold fast to the edge of the counter, but I refuse to let my grip waver when his fingers gently nudge my chin up to have our eyes meet.

“What?”

“I’m worried about you,” I whisper.

His shoulders droop, giving me a glimpse of what I saw earlier, lurking behind the pretty smiles and the seemingly effortless charisma. JJ’s eyes shut heavily, and his lips press tightly together.

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” he says, his voice hoarse, and I have a strong gut feeling I shouldn’t let this go.

“I think you’re hurting, and that’s okay, JJ.

I’m not going to lord it over your head, or hold it against you if you’re not perfect, but I want you to tell me before it gets to be too much,” I say, trying to be gentle with my delivery.

There’s a massive clap of thunder, and a bright flash of lightning through the blinds, causing a small gasp to slip from my mouth.

JJ’s eyes immediately open at the sound, revealing the shattered windows to his damaged soul, distorting the emotion swirling in them.

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” he repeats, leaning down to press his lips in a manner so gentle against my forehead it takes my fucking breath away. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

He rests his arms on either side of me, and it still feels a little unreal JJ’s here with me. “For not letting me leave, even when it wasn’t fair of me to show up like I did— especially how I did. ”

“Well, it’s pouring outside, so I’m afraid I’m going to hold you hostage a little longer if that’s alright with you.” Thank god for the rain. I’m not ready for him to leave.

“Is that what you want?” JJ asks, watching me intently, and I can’t think of anything I want more.

“It is,” I say, very aware of how easy it would be for me to lean up and kiss him, just to see if it holds the same spark it did before.

I think it’s an excuse, though, because there is no doubt in my mind kissing JJ again would be as life changing as it was the first time.

“You could also thank me for letting you use my chest as a pillow too,” I tease, needing to lighten the tension between us.

Comedic relief, I think it’s called, but it works.

JJ blinks, stepping away from me to put space between us, a low chuckle sounding from his throat. “Thanks, Marley,” he says, a smile on his face as he scratches the back of his neck.

“Well if I have to ask you to thank me for it, then it doesn’t count,” I point out, laughing again.

“My bad,” he apologizes, his eyes crinkling happily at the corners, all traces of his sadness disappearing. Maybe everything will be okay after all.

~

I’m walking out of the business building, exhausted from the hour I just spent learning about the different marketing strategies utilized by businesses.

Today was worse than normal thanks to having the worst cramps possible courtesy of my monthly reminder of how much it can suck to be a woman.

I just want to go home and curl up with a heating pad.

“Marley!” A voice calls, and I hold back a groan as I turn to see Asher with the same girl I saw talking to JJ at that party.

He waves me over, and as tired as I am, it’d be rude to walk away, especially knowing I don’t have anywhere to be until this afternoon.

I guess my date with my couch will have to wait.

“Hey,” he greets warmly, as if the last time he saw me wasn’t when I was yelling at Trent in their house.

“Hi,” I say, smiling at both of them. I’m a little skeptical of the girl, but Asher doesn’t strike me as the type to fuck around with two girls at the same time.

I’m not sure I can trust my judgement on this matter, though, considering I didn’t realize my ex-boyfriend was the type to do exactly that.

She beams at me, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Are you Bria or Marley? Wait, I want to guess,” she blurts out, and it catches me by surprise.

I laugh, unsure what to do with my hands. “Okay,” I say, and she scans me, turning to look at Asher quizzically before focusing on me again.

“You’re Marley.”

“How do you know?” I ask, and Asher groans.

“Charlie, could you please not embarrass me?” he asks, taking his hat off to drag a hand through his chestnut hair. It looks like it has a reddish tint in direct sunlight I haven’t noticed before. I guess I haven’t spent a whole lot of time around him in the first place.

“Where’s the fun in that?” she asks, sticking her tongue out at him. “You can’t be Bria because he’s not acting like a lovesick fool around you, and Ash said Bria has the most beautiful grey eyes, but you have the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”

I grin, looking at Asher who is pretending to look the other direction. “I’m Marley,” I say, holding out my hand.

“I’m Charlotte, but the guys call me Charlie. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re a lucky girl. JJ’s a catch,” she says, and I feel my cheeks flush.

“We’re not . . . um, thanks?”

“Don’t you have a class you need to go to?” Asher asks her, shooting me an apologetic look.

Charlie groans, checking the time on her phone. “Shit, I do. Do you have plans later?” Charlie asks, looking at me.

“I’m supposed to call my parents later today, but I’m free after.”

Another smile forms on her face. “Perfect, do you want to get my number from Asher? Maybe we could get together and hang out or something?”

“Sure,” I say, trying not to overthink this. I have a feeling Charlie will push me out of my comfort zone, and it might be just what I need.

“Awesome.” Charlie smiles at me, then hits Asher’s arm with the back of her hand. “Don’t be such a jerk,” she says, walking away as Asher laughs.

“Sorry about Charlie. She’s a lot at first—well, actually she’s like that all the time. You just get used to it.”

“It’s okay. She seems nice,” I say, and Asher flips his hat backwards.

“Nice until she’s making fun of you,” he grumbles, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Where are you headed? I’ll walk with you.”

“To the parking lot on the other side of campus. I didn’t get here early enough for the one next to the business building,” I say, and he grimaces.

“I think people sleep in that lot overnight to get a good spot for the next day,” Asher jokes, and there’s probably a very good chance people do that for one of the coveted spots.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” I say, pulling my phone out of my back pocket. “I don’t think I have your number, but if you want to text yourself from mine, you can give me Charlie’s number.”

“You know, you don’t actually have to hang out with her. She means well, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to,” Asher says, waving at someone across the sidewalk.

“She seems really nice, but how do you know her?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“You didn’t notice the family resemblance?”

“Family?”

“Charlie’s my cousin. Our moms are sisters and both redheads, but I guess you can’t really tell since mine is more brown than red.

” He laughs, pulling his hat off to show his hair, and I pick up more of the red tint to it now that I’m really looking for it.

Oh my god. That’s why JJ was talking to her at the party—she’s Asher’s cousin .

“Makes sense, but I could use some more friends here, so maybe it’s a good thing she wants to hang out,” I say and Asher shudders.

“You say that now. Wait until you’ve spent more than two minutes with her,” Asher says, matching my pace as we walk. He bumps my arm with his elbow. “So how’ve you been? I haven’t seen you around in a while, but I can’t really blame you. Trent’s an ass for what he did to you.”

“I’m definitely doing better than the last time you saw me, but I’m not going to disagree with you,” I say, laughing.

“You can do better than him.” Asher scoffs, and I think I have a feeling where he’s going with this. “The short hair looks good on you,” he says, playfully tugging at one of the strands.

I swat his hand away, laughing. “Is this your subtle attempt to tell me your best friend is the right person for me?”

Asher shrugs, playing this better than Bria has been. Maybe it should say something everyone in my life is rooting for him. “I mean, if you came to that conclusion on your own, I’m not going to disagree with you,” he repeats my words back at me, raising an eyebrow.

“How’s he doing?” I ask, unable to help myself.

There’s a flicker of hesitation in Asher’s expression, and I can tell he’s gauging how much to say. Asher’s a good friend, and I’m glad he’s in JJ’s corner. “He’s got some shit going on, but JJ’s dealing with it in his own way. I can say he misses you.”

I fidget with my ring, spinning it anxiously. I know JJ’s dealing with it, but how? He didn’t really seem like he was fine a couple of days ago. We spoke on the phone the last few nights, but I can’t tell if JJ is putting on the front he wears so well, or if he’s actually doing better.

“You’re keeping an eye on him, though?” I ask, needing to hear Asher say it.

“I am, but can I ask you something?”

I tuck my hair behind my ears as the wind tosses it in my face. “Sure.”

“How long are you going to make JJ wait for you? I know it’s not my place to say this, but I think you should know he’ll wait forever—even if it’s only for a minute of your time.” Asher’s dark gaze is trained on me when I turn up to look at him.

I respect him for asking the question, but I wish I had an answer.