Page 139 of Always Us

He kisses me. “I know you better than anyone.”

“You don’t know if I’m satisfied or not. And for the record, I am.”

“Now you are, but in the past when you’re the one on top, you haven’t been. I can tell.”

“You can?” I drop my head on his shoulder. “That’s so embarrassing.”

He laughs. “Why do you get so embarrassed around me? Especially now, after we’ve been together all this time?”

“I don’t know,” I mumble. “I just do.”

“Jade.” He waits for me to look at him. “I’m your husband. You never have to be embarrassed around me. You can say or do anything around me and I’ll still love you and think you’re sweet and adorable and beautiful and the perfect woman.”

“Thank you.” I smile. “But I’ll still get embarrassed.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep working on that.” He swats my butt. “Now get off me. I gotta study.”

“No cuddle time?” I’m just kidding, but I try to sound really sad.

He sees my sad face. “Okay. But not all night. I really need to study.”

“I was kidding.” I hit his arm. “I don’t want to cuddle. I need to get away from you so I can cool off. I’m dripping sweat after you made me do all your work.”

“You’re the one who wanted to be on top. Now get up.” He tickles my sides until I move off him.

As he’s getting dressed, I say, “Shouldn’t we take a shower? We’re both sweaty.”

He holds his shirt, not putting it on. “Jade. Stop tempting me with sex. I need to study.”

“Who said anything about sex?” I stand in front of him, letting my hands roam over his lower abs.

He sighs. “Let’s go.”

I laugh as he drags me to the shower.

And after that, I leave him alone so he can study. I study, too, because I have another final tomorrow.

Finals week turned out to be not so bad, at least not for me. I only had to take three finals. Garret had five and he tends to wait until the last minute to study so he hasn’t slept much all week.

We haven’t heard anything more from Kiefer, but Garret called his dad, and although Pearce couldn’t say much, he did confirm that Kiefer turned down the membership offer. So now Kiefer awaits his punishment.

As for Andrew, we still don’t know anything. I’ve been trying to do as Garret says and not think about it, but I still do. Harper’s my best friend. Of course I’m going to think about it. But I’m trying to keep my thoughts positive. If Kiefer isn’t a member, Harper should be free to be with whoever she wants. Maybe if I just keep thinking that, it’ll be true.

Now it’s Friday and finals are over. We slept in this morning, then spent the day packing because tomorrow we leave for Connecticut.

Garret and I are really tired, but I promised Sara we’d go out for dinner with her and Alex tonight. We keep saying we will and we never do, so I can’t cancel on her now that we finally made plans. Her Christmas tree was delivered this afternoon so she called me and thanked me like a million times. She was so excited. She and Alex are going to decorate it this weekend.

At six, we all meet at a restaurant that specializes in different types of burgers with crazy toppings. They also brew beer, so it’s a hangout for college students, but families with kids come here, too.

We’re sitting in a booth, with Caleb at the end of the table in a high chair, chewing on his toys. He’s funny. He chews on anything he can get his hands on.

“So when are you guys leaving for Christmas?” I ask Sara. She and Caleb are going with Alex to his parents’ house for the holiday.

“Next Thursday. I have to work in the morning, so we’ll leave in the afternoon. Alex’s mom wants us there for Christmas Eve. She makes a big brunch in the morning and then everyone hangs out there all day.”

“Holidays at my house are insane,” Alex says, smiling. “I don’t know if Sara told you, but my family is huge and they all come to my parents’ house for the holidays. The place will be packed. It’s the same way at Thanksgiving.”

“I can’t wait,” Sara says to me. “We had so much fun at Thanksgiving. Everyone in his family is awesome.”

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