Page 10 of Always Been You

His chest ached at the depth of emotion that he'd seen in her eyes. He saw a determination and desperation that he'd never felt or seen before.

He agreed to stay silent. It was the first time in his life that he'd ignored his gut instinct. His brain had been screaming for him to go and tell the nurse or a teacher that she'd passed out, but he couldn't. The look in her eyes flipped the override switch in his brain.

And now, just like in that hallway, her expressive aqua stare told him more than her pretty mouth ever would about how she felt about him. They widened slightly in shock to see him, then softened for a split second before hardening. It was that flash of softness that he lived for. That tiny glimpse into her soul that gave him hope.

Then he saw who was seated in Jess's chair and he knew that this was another setup. When Mrs. Chen had waved him down and asked for assistance, he'd thought it was odd that she’d "forgotten" her cane. But, now he knew she hadn't.

"Hey, Mrs. Chen!" Jess greeted the woman hanging on his arm as she ignored him completely. "I think your appointment isn't until tomorrow."

"Yes, it is. But I need a color change. The orange is giving me a headache."

He looked down at the fingers clutching his bicep and saw that the shade she wore was a barely there, light pastel shade that he couldn't imagine would cause any kind of a headache.

Jess nodded as she continued working on Kennedy's hair. "It'll be about fifteen minutes, but I can fit you in."

"That's fine. I'll wait."

Ethan escorted Mrs. Chen to the two-seat sofa in the waiting area.

"Thank you. I don't know how I would have managed without you." Mrs. Chen patted Ethan's arm as she gingerly lowered onto the couch. "Would you mind fetching me a water before you go?"

Ethan wasn't sure if she thought she was being sly or not but her tactics were painfully obvious.

"Sure."

"Ladies." He dipped his chin in a nod as he passed behind the women on his way to the back of the shop where Jess kept a fridge filled with soda, tea and water for her clients. He'd had to grab an iced tea for Nana several times.

Kennedy smiled and lifted her hand in a slight wave. Jess just stared at him through the reflection of the glass. He could see that the wheels were turning in her pretty little head, but he had no idea where they were going.

After delivering the drink to Mrs. Chen, he gave a general, "You ladies have nice day," to the room and left.

As he was walking out of the shop, he heard Jess ask, "Did you have a nice run this morning?"

His cheeks strained as he forced his mouth not to curl up in a smile. Casually, he turned back and said, "I did. Thanks."

She wasn't looking at him, but he sensed that she had more to say. He loved that he could get under her skin. Just like the look in her eyes, it was another thing that gave him hope. Why would she care if he ran by her house if she didn't have any feelings for him?

He'd seen how she was with the other guys in town. She joked around. She flirted. She was bold. But with him, she held back. There was a time when he'd worried that it was because she just plain couldn't stand him. But over the past few years, after catching her staring at him when she didn't know anyone was looking, after seeing the flush rise in her cheeks when they'd bump into each other, or the way her lips parted and her breaths grew shallow whenever they were in a confined space, he'd decided it was something else.

The door shut behind him and he headed back out into the beautiful summer day at Whisper Lake. He slid his sunglasses on as a satisfied smile spread on his face.

He was more sure than ever that she felt something for him.

She wanted him. She just didn’t want to want him.

4

Jess stared at the shoes in her closet. Lanterns was close enough that she didn’t need to drive but far enough away that wearing the shoes she wanted to would be torture.

It hit her then that just a couple of years ago she wouldn't have been having this dilemma. Walking the few blocks it would take to get to Lanterns would’ve been out of the question. Even if she'd felt up to it, she wouldn't have wanted to drag her oxygen tank along with her. She took a deep breath, appreciating the fact that she was able to. Most of her life that hadn't been the case.

She grabbed her red strappy heels. She lowered to the edge of her bed and reminded herself of the promise she'd made to herself after she'd gotten the heart transplant. She was never going to take her life for granted.

Time was not something that was guaranteed. It was a lesson she'd learned early in life. Doctors hadn't given her a long life expectancy, and there'd been several times when she hadn't been expected to make it out of the hospital.

Then, a miracle happened. It was a Thursday. She'd been lying in her hospital bed watching General Hospital, of all things, when her doctor came in wearing a smile she'd never seen him wear before.

He'd told her that they had a donor and they needed to prep her for surgery. After that, everything had happened so fast. It was like her entire life had moved in excruciatingly slow motion and then it sped up to hyper-speed. In the blink of an eye, one woman had lost her life, and Jess had gained hers.

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