Rejected At First Sight (Spinoff Series)

50

Ash

The next week flies by in a blur. School has turned into a happy place, with my friends surrounding me the entire day laughing and joking. The gaps between classes are full of Jay pulling me aside, sneaking in kisses and secret touches.

I stay in an empty room, but more often than not, my bed remains cold. Some nights, I'm in Clementine and Vi's room. We spend our time watching movies and painting each other's nails. Sometimes I'm in Sage and Ronnie's room. They have been trying to teach me the basics of their favorite racing game.

And on the other nights, I spend in Jay's bed.

Butterflies swarm in my tummy. Things have been good recently.

I mean, there were some not-good things.

Like, my dad trying to ambush me at school, looking for a conversation. Jay had whisked me away before my dad had even laid eyes on me.

Or how I kept getting these intense surges of panic like I had outside the garage last week. I had managed to keep Jay out of the know, but I could tell that he was on to me.

But, despite all that, I was happy.

"What is that beautiful brain thinking about?" Jay asked quietly as he approaches me. I look up at him from my place on the couch.

Smiling, I set my book down on the coffee table. "Just how good I've been feeling lately."

Jay smiles back at me, my breath is taken away by his pearly white teeth. I will never get used to his smile. He sits down next to me, opening his arms in an invitation.

I crawl onto his lap, burying my face into his neck.

"I'm glad." He says softly.

It's the tone of his voice that has me picking my head up and looking him in the eye. I rub my hand over his chest and onto his shoulder, gently massaging him there. His eyes flutter closed as he grunts.

"What's on your mind?" I ask, adjusting myself so I'm straddling him. I begin massaging both of his shoulders, trying to work some of the tension out.

Jay's eyes find mine. "I want to take you on... a trip of sorts."

I cock my head to the side, causing my high pony to fall over my shoulder. Jay moves his hand up and entangles his fingers in the golden strands. "Why does that sound like you're dreading it?" I ask with a breathy laugh.

Jay lowers his eyes. I realized he was dreading it.

"Wait," I say and squeeze his shoulders, "really?"

"It's not that I'm dreading going, I'm just..." Jay starts, still not meeting my eyes. He groans and runs his hands over his face.

I move my hands up to cup his cheeks. I force his head up to look at me. Jay's blue eyes swim, multiple different hues shifting against one another. I swear, he had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. "What's going on?" I ask, concern edging in my voice.

Jay stares into my eyes and lets out a breath, relaxing his shoulders. "I'm just making a lot of life-defining choices in the next few days." He starts and I feel my chest warm. He was just nervous. It was kind of cute to see someone as strong and powerful as him become putty in my hands.

I press my lips softly into his, still holding his face. "I'm sure you will make the right decisions," I answer honestly.

Jay relaxes even more into my touch. "You think?" He asks.