Page 66 of June: Jess' Story

B

Has the eagle landed?

A

Yeah

Coooooool

You could be here right now…

Maybe

?

I mean, Anya’s ghosting me, so…

In a fucked up way, I hope Blanks does come. It’d force Jess into my bed because fiancés who live together don’t sleep in separate beds.

Then you should definitely come.

I even think Brit and her man are fighting

REALLY?

No.

I don’t know, man, things seemed off.

Don’t fuck with me.

They might not be fighting, but if you want to be the backup, you gotta start socializing the idea now.

Yeah, you just really wanna see me, huh?

Sure.

I’ll be there tomorrow.

Perfect.

It’s not until my fingers and the tip of my nose turn numb that I finally turn in for the night. I decided to give Jess a little bit of space, to get acclimated on her own terms.AndI also needed to calm the fuck down.I want to be there to help her, but it’s a fine line between hovering and helping for me.

I know I’m a little out of practice, but I still remember how to hold a toddler. Bathe one, change a diaper. But I don’t think Jess sees me that way. I don’t know if she’s forgotten I was a father once, or if she genuinely doesn’t want my help because every time I’ve been holding or helping with Eden, she always asks me to give her back.

I hear “space” when she does that, but maybe it’s that she doesn’t know how to accept help. I do know that pushing her the first night, after a long day, is a mistake. I know that. I can read a fucking room.

When I get back upstairs and inside, all the lights on the first level have been turned off. There’s no dishes in the sink, all the takeaway containers from Colton’s have been put away in the fridge. I can even see where she wiped down the floor where E made a mess with her pasta. She doesn’t need to do that. She’s not on her own anymore.You literally just left her alone tonight.Right.

In order to get to the primary bedroom, I have to walk past all the guest suites first. I stop at her door and listen, but after a few beats and no sound, I walk a door down to the nursery. When I stop, I can hear her singing her lullaby again. It’s sweet. How Jess is with Eden is different then maybe I expected.

Jess is a bit sharp-tongued,rough around the edges even, but with Eden she’s vulnerable and caring. Nurturing.

It hits me in the chest. This craving. For this. With her. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is I want, though.

As I hear her start to finish up, I walk to the end of the hall and wait a couple beats before walking back out of my room as she walks out of Eden’s. She’s dressed in the cutest fucking pjs. Baby pink with little flowers, shorts, with a button-up top.No bra either.

“Hey,” I say softly as the door clicks shut.