Page 8 of The Comeback Road (Leaving #2)
Lexie
Jace got me back home around midnight and kissed me fucking silly for almost an hour in my driveway with me on his lap, coming very close a few times to saying fuck this and rounding all the bases.
“You’re killing me, Lex. You have to go inside, or I won’t be able to continue being a gentleman.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman. Please. ”
He groaned, slid both of his hands into my hair, and pulled, exposing more of my neck to him.
He bit down where he could see my pulse, and I swear, I was seconds away from begging him to fuck me.
“Lexie, I want to do this right. And right now, I’m seconds away from not caring what either of us want and taking you for the first time right here in my truck. You deserve better than that.”
“Okay.” I sighed but caved because he was right—I wanted to do it the right way as well. I wanted to date and have extremely hot make-out sessions in his truck like a couple of teenagers. I wanted to round all the bases before we hit a home run. “I had a really nice time tonight, Jace.”
“You have no idea, Starlight, no idea. Best night I’ve ever had.”
“Starlight?” I questioned
“Yeah, when I first met you, your hair was so bright. But it fails in comparison to you . You’re like starlight.”
When he said things like that, I debated if waiting was worth all the sexual frustration and hassle. I also found myself fighting back tears. No one has ever said something like that to me. Ever.
“Jace…”
He pressed his lips softly to my forehead, then my right eye, my nose, my left eye, and finished with the softest kiss on my lips. I found myself whimpering at the sweetness of the moment.
“Let’s get you inside before I change my mind, yeah?”
He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, and as much as I didn’t want the evening to end, I knew it was time for me to go.
In some maneuver I wasn’t sure how he pulled off, Jace opened the driver’s side door and scooted out while simultaneously holding me up, and then helped me out of the truck without breaking a sweat or a leg. I was impressed.
He walked me to the door. “When can I see you again?”
I couldn’t help the happiness that was threatening to burst out of me at his question. “I think in about seven hours at work, boss .”
“Are you free for dinner?” There wasn’t a hint of humor in Jace’s words, and his eyes were heavy with want.
“Yes.”
“It’s a date. Get inside, lock the door. I’m not leaving until I hear it lock.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes, boss .”
Chuckling at his growl, I opened the front door, closed it behind me, and locked it. Only then did I hear his footsteps leave the porch.
A cough sounded from behind me. I was pretty sure I let out a scream that would have woken the dead as I whirled around and came face to face with Magnolia as she turned on the hallway light, giving me a no-nonsense look.
“My god, Magnolia, are you trying to kill me? You are, aren’t you?” I held my hand to my chest as I willed my heart rate to go back down. I was briefly thankful she hadn’t snuck up any further behind me and caused me to punch her in the throat in self-defense.
“I’m obviously waiting for you.”
“I can see that, but why are you creeping around in the dark like a serial killer?”
“Because Sloan fell asleep waiting for you, and I didn’t want to wake him up.”
With the light on and me no longer fearing I was at risk of a heart attack, I realized that I heard someone snoring, and I followed my ears to a passed-out Sloan on the sofa. I was a bit shocked he hadn’t woken up to my scream, and completely amused he was on the sofa, snoring and drooling.
“Man, he’s pretty when he sleeps,” I teased Magnolia. She held her hand over her mouth to stop her giggle from turning into full-blown laughter. “He’s something.”
“Yeah, but he’s my something.” She got that dreamy look in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but soften at the look on her face. Magnolia was completely and utterly smitten with the man in front of me, and I couldn’t have been happier for her.
“Come to the kitchen. Let’s talk about your date before you go to bed.”
“It’s like 1:00 a.m., babes, I’d really just like—” Before I could finish my sentence, Magnolia interrupted me.
“You should have gotten home sooner, then.” She turned and made her way from me without giving me even a second to rebut.
“I have to work tomorrow.”
“Don’t care. Let’s go.”
I sighed, but also couldn’t help but feel giddy.
Magnolia was my best friend, but it wasn’t like either of us had really dated dated anyone before.
I guess I didn’t want to jinx it by speaking about it too soon, but I found the giddiness overriding all rational thoughts.
I was ready to spill my guts out, and she could tell.
“Sit, sit. Tell me everything.”
So I did. I told her all about what we talked about, how he called me Starlight —she positively swooned and screeched at that little tidbit of knowledge. Magnolia’s screech had Sloan running into the kitchen, looking every bit a hot mess.
“On that note, I’m going to head to bed, considering I have to be up in…Well, five hours now.”
I was only met with Magnolia’s laughter as Sloan scolded her for making loud noises like that outside of the bedroom. I had to choke back my gag as I made my way upstairs.
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I should have been exhausted the next morning, but instead, I didn’t even need to hit my snooze once. I felt like I was floating on cloud nine, even when making my bed. I headed downstairs for breakfast, where I ran into Sloan as he held out a cup of coffee for me.
“You know, you’re a pretty good third roommate.”
He choked on his coffee. “What?”
“A good third roommate. You don’t hog the shower, you cook, you clean, and you always have my coffee ready in the morning.”
“I don’t live here.”
“Uh…You and your dogs living here say otherwise. See you later!”
I left a frozen, puzzled-looking Sloan in the kitchen as I left for work.
I thought about texting Magnolia about the conversation, but I thought we were all on the same page—he clearly was living there.
No, Magnolia hadn’t said he was. But his dogs live with us, for gosh sake!
He even does our grocery shopping! He bought me tampons!
Even though I was up at my first alarm, I still somehow found myself a few minutes late for work. I had expected that Jace would be at my desk, demanding to know where I was, and felt momentarily disappointed when he wasn’t.
Frowning but trying my best to conceal it, I opened the schedule for the day, wondering if perhaps a meeting had been scheduled last-minute that I wasn’t aware of.
I took a quick look. I didn’t see anything, but the blinds were closed.
The lights were on and his truck was in the parking lot, so I knew he was there, but I didn’t want to intrude.
Oh, god, what if something is wrong?
I couldn’t help the coil of dread that started to pool in my gut, telling me that something wasn’t right . That I was missing something. I didn’t even feel Dexter creep up beside me, and for the second time in a matter of a few hours, I was scared half to death.
“Sorry, Lex, didn’t mean to scare ya. I was just wondering if they came out yet.”
“They? I didn’t see a meeting scheduled.”
I didn’t miss the pity on Dexter’s face, and I felt that coil of dread travel to every part of my body, from my fingertips to my toes.
“She stormed in only a few minutes before you came in.”
“Who did?” I felt the bile starting to rise in the back of my throat.
“Jess. Jace’s wife. She’s back.”