Page 10 of Protecting Jess

Jess watched Finn’s retreat, biting her lip to stop herself from calling him back. God, how she’d wanted to launch herself into his arms. Feel them close around her.

He looked so strong now. So different from how he’d looked the last time she’d seen him.

“Okay, Jessica Killian, what was that all about?” Kaley demanded, drawing her attention from the object of her secret desires.

“Nothing. It was nothing,” she muttered, surprising herself that she could actually speak coherently.

“Nothing, my foot. I’m not leaving here until you tell me what that was all about. Who is he? How do you know him? How does he know your mom?” Kaley fired off the questions with the precision Jess imagined Finn would fire a gun.

How did she answer?

Did she even want to answer?

Kaley was her best friend, but Jess hadn’t breathed a word of that night back in New York. Hadn’t told her that she’d had the most amazing kiss with the man she’d been in love with most of her life.

Of course, she wasn’t in love with him now. Not after what he’d done.

Liar.

Jess ignored that four-letter word her conscience was yelling at her.

“Did you say we were going to drink the night away?” Jess said, hoping her friend would take the hint and drop the subject. She was also aware Timon was still standing a few yards behind them, close enough to hear everything that was being said.

As if her bestie could see the desperation on her face, her friend nodded and hooked her arm around hers. “That I did.”

“Thanks for everything, Timon.” Jess smiled.

“You’re welcome, and well, I know it’s not my place to say, but most people who ask to see cast members give up waiting after five minutes, even when told that the cast would be out shortly. He didn’t. But he waited. And looked like he would’ve waited the whole night to see you.”

She nodded. It would be like Finn to stay around for however long it took. If she’d known it was him waiting for her, would she have gone out this particular door? Or would she have looked for another exit? Another way to avoid him.

The answer to that conundrum was going to stay unanswered, because she hadn’t known. She’d seen him and the memories, ones she’d thought about before her performance, had returned full force.

Had she put her thoughts out to the universe and conjured Finn up to appear at her performance tonight?

Jess laughed. Now she was being ridiculous. No way did she have the power to make someone appear. If she had any sort of power like that, she would’ve made Bartholomew disappear.

They exited the building, and the warm spring air caressed her skin. She closed her eyes, breathing deep. The briny scent of the ocean teased her senses.

Having grown up in the middle of Texas, a trip to the beach wasn’t just a quick twenty-minute drive. It was more like a couple of hours.

She’d gone to many of the lakes nearby, but there was something about the smell of the ocean that aroused the senses.

Now that Jess had a made up her mind, she’d stay for a couple of more days before heading to her parents’ place. Maybe she could take a trip to the beach tomorrow. “Do you want to go to the beach?” she asked Kaley, voicing her thoughts.

“What? Now? It’s almost midnight. Do you know what lives in the water?” Kaley shuddered.

Jess laughed at her friend’s antics. “I’m not talking about now, silly. Tomorrow. When the sun is shining, and we can see what is in the water.”

“If we were in the Caribbean, where the water is crystal-clear, your last point would be true. But we’re not. You’re talking about going into the Pacific Ocean.”

“Come on, Kay-Kay, it’ll be fun. Maybe we’ll see some hot guys playing beach volleyball or football. You know, not wearing their shirts. Sweat dripping down their muscular, tanned bodies.”

“And their dicks are tiny because they’ve been taking steroids to give them their impressive muscles.”

Laughter burst out of Jess. Only Kaley would say something like that. “Oh my God, that’s a visual I didn’t need.” She finally managed to get out, wiping her eyes and gasping for breath as the sound of loud music and conversation hit her. While she’d been lost in her laughter, they’d arrived at the bar across the street from the theatre.

She hadn’t technically lied to Finn—some of her dance crew were getting together for drinks—but it wasn’t a celebratory party, like she’d said.

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