Page 61 of Before We Were Us

“I never had a sister growing up,” Ciara says.

“Well you do now.” I offer her a wink and Taylor steps up on the opposite side of her. “You have two,” she tells her and we all three share a little moment.

I couldn’t have picked a better match for my brother if I’d tried. I honestly believe to my core that Ciara was placed on this earth just so she could find him. Though Sebastian drives me insane most days I love the two of them so incredibly much.

“A whiskey for you,” Hannah, a long-time employee of the club, moves close and says near my ear. I glance around the table noticing that I am the only one getting a new drink. So I know that no one ordered a new round.

Glancing back to Hannah fully intending to tell her that she had it wrong she offers me a smile and glances over her shoulder. Pointing toward the bar, my stomach instantly feels as though it drops to the floor at my feet. “From the hot guy at the bar.” She winks and moves away and I continue to stare at his back.

I know it's him, the broad shoulders, the Henley stretched tight over his back. I can only see his side profile but Jensen can’t be mistaken, I don’t just see him I feel him.

“He made a bad choice,” I hear Marco, but I don’t look away. “That doesn’t make him a bad guy. He’s obviously hanging on and if he was a guy that was just looking for a pastime, he would have already moved on to someone else. He’s longing for you Brynn, go cut the guy a break. Stop making the both of you suffer when you could be together.”

“Agreed.” Surprisingly it's Ciara that offers her input which makes me laugh. “What?” She shrugs when we all look at her. “I pay attention, I hear things. I also might be engaged to the love of my life and carrying our first child, but I’m not dead. That man is yummy! What are you waiting for?”

Always so quiet, it seems weird to have her hassling me too. So much so that all three of us laugh and Marco pulls her in for a hug.

“Girl, I just fell a little more in love with you,” he declares, making her laugh.

Taylor, Marco, and Ciara get lost in conversation and I glance over my shoulder again, taking him in.

A cute redhead is lingering at his side, obviously liking what she is seeing but he doesn’t seem to notice. I watch and wait, noticing her getting a little closer. As she leans in and says something next to his ear I fight the urge to laugh when his body leans away. Not so much that I think she notices, because she doesn’t move away. But it was enough to pick up on from a distance.

She is smiling and his lips move as he talks to her. Then as if he can feel me watching he points back then turns as our eyes lock.

His lips move again, the redhead sees me and she offers me a little wave. Then she steps away creating some distance and Jensen gives me his back once more.

“Dismissed,” Taylor says.

“Me or the redhead?”

“I’m pretty sure you know the answer to your own question.” She gives her attention back to everyone else at our table and I reach out, wrapping my fingers around the glass before me. Lifting it, I take a deep breath and my feet start to move.

As I move in beside him he only lifts his glass and I watch as his throat bobs when he swallows.

“I like your choice in drinks.” I remember back to the very first encounter I had with this beautiful man. How he used the whiskey I’d ordered as a conversation starter. “It’s my favorite too.”

Jensen doesn’t turn his body toward mine, but instead looks over and does nothing more than hold my stare. The intensity in his eyes is startling. My pulse quickens, my thoughts race.

This is a do or die moment. The next step is in my hands. I could decide to leave things where they are, telling him that we’re better off moving on. Or I could stop pretending that Jensen isn’t the first and only man that has ever made me question every ridiculous rule I’ve ever set for myself when it came to men.

“I’m pretty sure that you could break me.” The words leave my mouth before I have the chance to think them through.

Jensen’s brows instantly furrow.

“I don’t do this well.”

“Do what well?” His voice is laced with confusion as he tilts his head slightly.

“This,” I motion between us, “confessing, vulnerability, admitting that you consume me when I tried my hardest not to allow it to happen.” I’m a blubbering fool.

Jensen slowly turns himself in his chair, facing me with his knees slightly parted. Then he reaches out, hooks my hip, and gently guides me to him. As I move in between his knees he holds my stare.

“You’ve consumed me too,” he whispers as he rests his forehead on mine. “I feel you right here.” He lifts his free hand and lays it over his heart. With that I close my eyes, my chest tight, my throat feeling raw with emotions.

I say nothing, just remain where he holds me, even though there is so much going on around us I feel like it's just us.

“So if you feel the way you do, and I feel the way I feel, tell me why we aren’t together.”

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