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Chapter

Twenty-Seven

HADLEY

Hadley: You’ll never believe what I did last night.

Kendall: Oooh, tell!

Hadley: You’re not gonna guess?

Kendall: Just tell me!

Hadley: I slept with Jonas.

Kendall: AHHH yay! How was it?

Hadley: So good.

Kendall: That’s all I get? Girl, I need DETAILS!

Hadley: I’m not gonna kiss and tell.

Kendall: You suck.

Hadley: You love me.

Kendall: Yes, I do.

Jonas making omelets is almost as sexy as that thing he did with his tongue last night. Almost.

I sip my coffee, perched on one of the stools, and my mouth goes dry. His biceps flex as he flips the eggs, and I try not to drool. I’d say it’s because I’m hungry, but we’d both know I’m hungry for something besides breakfast.

He must sense my thoughts because he glances over and winks at me.

“Cocky,” I say, teasing under my breath, and he smiles.

“It’s hard not to feel that way after last night.” He shrugs. “Not to brag, but I had the best sex of my life.”

The surprising thing is, it was the best I’ve ever had, too. I hadn’t slept with a virgin before, at least not that I know of, but instead of fumbling, he was sweet. Instead of clumsy, he was sure. Instead of awkward, he was endearing and eager to please.

Best of all, he was Jonas. My best friend and the hottest guy I know. We had moments where we laughed, there were lots of check-ins, and more passion than I’ve ever experienced. I was cherished in a way that was brand new.

I giggle at his antics. “That’s totally a flex.”

“Not if I’m trying to compliment you.” He sets the plate in front of me with a flourish and despite everything, I blush.

Staring at my omelet, I cut a bite with the side of my fork. The cheese oozes out and the smell of sautéed vegetables hits me. Popping the bite in my mouth, I stifle a moan. He’s great in the bedroom and the kitchen, too? Unreal.

Maybe omelets need to be our next cooking project. After swallowing, I set my fork down and gaze at Jonas. He’s whistling “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana as he finishes, and a little smile plays around the corner of his lips.

He seems okay—he seems great—but I still have to ask.

“Hey, Joe?” Glancing up, he meets my eyes and stops what he’s doing.

He comes to my side and grabs my hand. “What’s up?”

“I need to make sure—and I’m asking this as Hadley your friend right now, not the girl you,” I wave my hand towards the bedroom to try to encompass everything that happened between us, “you know.”

“The girl who deflowered me?” He places a quick kiss on my mouth, and my belly swoops. I want to haul him back to his room and do it all over again.

I clear my throat. “I’m not sure that’s the term I’d use, but okay. Anyway, I want to check—are you good? No regrets?”

His brown eyes darken and this time his kiss is not quick or gentle.

Threading his hand through the hair at my nape, he devours me.

Now that I have opened the door to this side of Jonas, I’m not sure I can ever close it again.

The flutters in my belly turn to flames as he heats me up, and I want to climb him like a tree.

“No regrets,” he pants when he finally pulls away, his gaze bright with lust.

“Good to know.”

“What about you?” he asks, toying with the strap on my tank top.

“None.” It was awesome and something I had wanted to do for a long time. But I’d hate to disappoint Jonas if he’d built it up in his mind and reality didn’t deliver on expectations.

I kiss his nose, then focus on my breakfast. Jonas hitches up a stool beside me, his foot absently running up and down my leg.

“Do you regret your first time?” he asks, swallowing a bite of eggs. “Or is that an impolite question?”

I shrug. Maybe with someone else it would be weird, but not Jonas. “I try to never have regrets. My first time was with the guy I was dating in high school.”

He winces. “The one who cheated on you?”

I eat more omelet, the savory flavors hitting my tongue. I take a sip of my coffee.

“No, actually. Zane wasn’t my first. It’s not like I slept around—or that there would be anything wrong with that.

But I can’t settle down. I had a lot of boyfriends in high school.

I liked all those guys when I first started dating them.

But nothing lasted, and I got bored.” I lift my shoulders again.

“Maybe that makes me flighty. But I wanted to see what was out there.”

I liked sampling from the Boy Buffet. I’m not going to apologize for that.

Jonas doesn’t judge but nods his head. “You’ve gotta do what’s best for you.”

I put my hand on his. “I don't do notches on my bedpost, though. I hope you don’t feel like that.”

He smiles, the full-wattage version. “You’re the first notch on mine.”

I know he’s kidding. If he only wanted to sleep with someone, he could have gotten his V-card punched a long time ago. Knowing he held out for something meaningful makes me special. But I also don’t have guilt because I made different life choices.

Jonas sits as Evan wanders into the kitchen. He bypasses the coffee and grabs a Mountain Dew from the fridge.

“What?” He shrugs at my look and pops it open. “It has orange juice in it.”

“Practically a health food, then. I apologize,” I say, half sarcastic. But he doesn’t notice.

“We had some excitement last night,” Jonas tells him, and my brows hit my hairline. Are we going public with that? “Hadley’s room flooded.”

Oh, yeah. That excitement. Not how he rocked my world in his bed. Of course.

I nod, like I was on the same page with him all along. “Toilet water from upstairs.”

Evan makes a face. “Gross.”

“Yeah. So my bed’s out of commission.”

“Where’d you sleep?” Evan glances at the two camp chairs in the living room—clearly, not where I crashed. Why didn’t I think of an answer to this question before he asked?

“She bunked with me,” Jonas says smoothly.

Maybe he’s tired, maybe he’s clueless, or maybe it’s not weird to him, but Evan just nods. “Cool. Sorry that happened, Hads.”

I’m not. I should have a pizza delivered to 4B. It was the best night of my summer so far. But I shake my head like it was tragic. “Yeah, I’ve got some laundry to do today.”

“I’ll help.” Jonas waggles his eyebrows at me, making his offer lascivious, and I stifle a laugh. How can he make laundry sexy? I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out. Anything with Jonas sounds like fun these days. Thankfully Evan doesn’t see.

Should I worry sleeping with him will make things awkward? Or ruin our friendship? If it was anyone else, I might. But it’s Jonas. He’s the best guy I know. And things are normal between us—in fact, better than ever. We have an end date, so it’s fine.

“I’ll call that maintenance line later and see if there’s anything the college can do about the leak. Paint the ceiling or whatever.” Finishing his coffee, Jonas stands and takes his plate to the sink.

“Hey, you cooked, I’ll clean.” Hopping up, I hip-check him out of the way and start rinsing. I drop my voice. “Between you and me, I’d love it if I have to share your bed again.”

“Good to know.” The tips of his ears turn pink, and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “Maybe I’ll wait on that call, then.”

“Yeah, there’s no rush.” Leaning in, I give him a quick peck on the lips as Evan turns away.

His grin spreads across his face like warm honey, and my insides melt, too. No rush at all.