This Love | ✓

Part 26

"You two have fun!" Claire called to Jason and me before climbing into her car and pulling out of the driveway.

"Bye," I shouted, waving with my right arm and using the left to shield my eyes from the beating sun.

After Claire's BMW disappeared from sight, Jason leaned towards me with an eager grin and said, "Time to watch Snakes on a Plane."

"I'll get the popcorn," I said to him as we walked back into the house. "You set up the movie."

Heading into the kitchen, I propped myself up on the marble countertop after setting a large bowl of popcorn kernels into the glowing microwave oven.

"Hey," Jason's voice sounded from the kitchen's entryway. "The movie is ready to go."

"Two minutes," I smiled, pointing at the oven as it hummed. 

Jason walked over to where I was perched on the counter, covering the distance between us in three quick strides.

My eyes trailed the length of his arms and shoulders, covered by a black-and-red checkered shirt. At the nape of his neck, the shirt collar was upturned. I reached up to smooth the collar down, pulling his body between my legs in the process. 

Jason dipped his head until our foreheads touched. His mouth curved up in a sweet smile that reached his gorgeous, mismatched eyes. I stared at him admiringly, not bothering to hide my fascination.

"What?" he asked, still smiling.

"Your eyes," I whispered, my heart rate soaring at the proximity of his grey and hazel irises. "They're so beautiful."

"Your eyes are beautiful," he whispered in response, resting his palms on my thighs.

"Oh, please," I muttered, rolling my eyes as I wound my arms around his neck. "My eyes are literally the colour of poop."

A deep laugh reverberated through Jason's chest, the cheerful sound making me smile.

"No, they're not," he argued, using his hands to wrap my legs around his waist. "Your eyes are like . . . dark chocolate."

My breath hitched in my throat when he tipped his head to press his lips an inch away from my left eye.

"Or strong coffee," he whispered, his lips trailing the side of my face, caressing the length of my jaw.

I angled my face so our lips would meet, but he shifted away to plant a distractingly soft kiss against my neck.

"In the sunlight," he breathed, his lips eliciting a shiver from me. "Your eyes turn gold. And at night, they darken and almost turn black."

Stunned by his words, so filled with awe and honesty, my body stilled against his. 

Before I could formulate a response, a sharp, high-pitched beeping noise filled the air, startling the both of us. Disoriented, I pulled away from Jason's body. 

"Oh," I sighed when I finally discovered the source of the unpleasant noise. "It's the popcorn."

Jason, looking adorably flustered, stepped aside as I jumped off the counter. I grabbed the mittens that hung from the microwave's handle, using them to pull the steaming bowl of popcorn out of the oven. The aroma of hot, buttery popcorn wafted in the air when I lifted the lid off the glass bowl. Grabbing a plastic dish from a cabinet, I transferred the popcorn into it carefully.

"Take this to the living room." I handed the bowl to Jason. With a sheepish grin, I quoted a famous dialogue from Snakes on a Plane, "Do as I say, and you live."

Jason mock-saluted me, his shoulders shaking with laughter as he walked out of the kitchen.

***

I spent the next two hours comfortably sandwiched between the couch's backrest and Jason's body, our heads resting on the cushioned armrest. Every now and then, my eyes would stray from the TV screen towards Jason's tall frame sprawled out beside me, his toes touching the other end of the couch.

I was watching him again when a feminine scream emanated from the TV, snapping my attention back to the movie.

Jason and I cheered and threw our fists into the air when Neville Flynn belted the iconic dialogue, "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"

We enjoyed the rest of the movie, laughing at the famed dialogues and corny jokes, occasionally stuffing our mouths with warm, buttery popcorn. A while later, when the end credits began to roll, Jason turned to me. 

Lifting his arm to wrap it around my waist, he asked, "Can I ask you something, Leena Faye?"

"Yeah," I answered immediately.

"Will you have dinner at my house sometime next week?" he asked, his eyes glinting with hope. "I would like to introduce you to my parents as my girlfriend."

I smiled softly, thinking back to the conversation I had had with my father the previous night. Jason traced the curve of my lips with his fingers in a way that made it very hard to concentrate.

"I'd love to meet your parents," I said finally.

Although I was genuinely excited by the prospect of meeting Jason's parents, I was also terribly nervous. A flurry of negative thoughts clouded my mind.

What if they hate me?

What if they think I'm not good enough for Jason?

What if I do something stupid and embarrass myself?

But every thought inside my head blurred out of focus when Jason dropped his mouth to mine. All that I could feel or think about was the intoxicating taste of Jason's smooth lips and his escalating heartbeat pulsating through the fabric of his shirt underneath my hands.

Fascinated and emboldened by the rhythmic thrum of his heart, I unbuttoned his shirt clumsily, pushing it aside before placing my fingers on his bare, warm chest. His heart raced — almost as fast as mine — when he hooked his arms around me and hoisted my body over his.

Time lost all meaning as my senses narrowed down to just our bodies, barely registering the sound of our shirts hitting the floor with a soft thud. Kissing Jason and feeling his body — so warm and beautiful — underneath mine, knowing that his heart was pounding feverishly for me was more than just amazing or unbelievable. 

It was a feeling that I couldn't put into words, no matter how hard I tried.