Page 49 of Show Me
“I’m just gonna—” I glanced around, spying a broom tucked in a corner. It’d probably been there for months. Still had the wrapper on and everything. “I thought I’d sweep up. Feels like someone spilled some cereal or something.” I rubbed the sole of my foot demonstratively.
That earned another skeptical assessment from Jesse. Whatever. I knew how to sweep, and it was anyone’s guess how long it’d been since someone had swept, vacuumed, or mopped in this place.
I ripped the wrapper off as Jesse cued up some music on the Bluetooth speaker. Turned out the kitchen floor was pretty damn filthy, and a few minutes in, I forgot the whole sweeping bit had been a ruse.
I pulled out chairs, sweeping under the table, in the pantry. I even scooted the fridge out so I could get in the crack between it and the cabinet, whisking the broom to the beat of a One Direction song.
I whipped around in a 180 spin, MC Hammer-style, to find Jesse and Cam leaning against each other and silently cracking up.
“Nice moves.” Jesse bit his lip, and then his laughter burst free.
I made the end of the broom my microphone and leaned toward him as I mouthed the chorus.
He shoved me. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Wanna see me whip? Lawnmower man? The worm?” I grabbed the broom and wielded it like a staff, twirling it through the air. “Macarena? Hammer dance? I’m particularly gifted at the sprinkler.”
Jesse fixed me with a challenging arch of his brows. “Tango. Bring it. “
“My specialty.” I chucked the broom blindly to the side, grinning as both Jesse and Cam flinched when it clattered loudly against one of the kitchen chairs. Jesse let out a shout as I grabbed him by the waist and whirled him around, then dipped him low. “I have no idea how to tango. Does it show?” I confessed close to his ear. “Just go with it. Feels right, yeah? Pretty close?”
“Not at all close.” Jesse threw his head back with a laugh, and I reveled in the sound. I’d had way too much fun trying to provoke it out of him lately, too.
As I righted him, his eyes met mine, a vivid sparkle dancing through them, a kind of glow that suffused his whole face. His lips were startlingly close to mine, and for a second I forgot Cam was right there behind us.
A crazy sensation exploded in my chest, a weird tension that crackled outward and made me warm all over. The realization dawned with the same heated thoroughness, reaching into every corner of my body: I wanted to kiss Jesse.
Not watch him jerk off, not let him jerk me off. I wanted that, too, but I wanted to know what it’d be like to kiss him without the camera and without the pretense of a video.
I must have made some kind of face, because Jesse’s brows pinched together with concern. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Head rush.” Two head rushes were occurring, actually. I shifted my hips and let him go so he wouldn’t feel my boner strengthening like a Category 4 hurricane.
“Um, Jesse,” Cam called out. “I think…do I need to stir this or something?”
“Oh shit!” Jesse rushed over to the stove and yanked the pan from the burner. He inspected the frittata and poked at it a couple of times before setting it aside and declaring, “It’ll live.”
I picked up the broom and returned it to the corner just as Jesse barked out another curse.
“I’m going to be late for my date. Cam, it needs to go into the oven for about seven minutes. Keep an eye on it. Just leave enough for me.”
“You’re going out with John tonight?” I’d assumed that ship had sailed.
“Yeah, we finally found a time that worked for both of us.”
“So why are you cooking dinner, then?”
He pressed his lips together, adorably recalcitrant before he relented. “We’re eating at a restaurant I’m not familiar with, and if their food sucks and I can’t eat it, I want to know I’ve got something good waiting for me back here. Otherwise, I’ll get preemptively hangry.”
“Preemptively hangry,” I echoed. “Only you. Plenty of good stuff waiting for you back here.” It popped out of my mouth before I could stop it, and Jesse’s eyes crinkled a little at the corners.
“Well yeah, but you know what I mean.”
I pretended I did with a nod. “I hope you have a good time. I’m gonna go get some studying done. Cam, I’ll help you with that desk in a little while.”
Once in my room, I flopped on my bed and scrolled aimlessly through my phone, trying to distract myself from the slightly uneasy feeling in my stomach. I knew what it was, and I knew it didn’t technically belong there, but I couldn’t help it, and not even checking the bank account I’d set up for my OnlyFans earnings helped, this time.
18