Page 28 of Stay With Me

They look at me empathetically. Understanding how hard it is to open yourself up to love and shifting relationships, even if it’s in different ways.

“You never know until you have the conversation,” Adeline points out, her voice soft.

Rae gestures to the table. “This doesn’t say casual to me.”

“Young Jae feels as deeply for you as you do for him. He has ever since we were in school.” Brynne’s raspy voice is quiet, but I know she means what she says.

Her words sink in. He’s liked me since school? I don’t think that’s right, but I know he likes me now and that’s enough.

I can see their point, but I’m not ready to ask the questions I know I will need to. “I’m just going to enjoy the moment for now and ask the questions later.”

They exchange looks and I know they’re worried about my heart, but my heart was Young Jae’s a long time ago. It may have been dormant for a while, but it was always there, lingering beneath the surface.

Chapter Twelve

Elise

YoungJae’shandrunsthrough the ends of my hair, the movement lulling me further into sleep. My body aches deliciously after several orgasms. I’m so blissed out, I don’t think my legs would work to toss my PJs on.

His other hand starts tracing lazy patterns over my hip. Sighing, I snuggle into him even more and close my eyes. This doesn’t feel temporary, but we still haven’t talked about what we are. We’ve been doing this for a month now and life has been good. Our friendship is much like it’s always been. We still have our Sundays on the lake or doing something active. We eat dinner every night and spend almost every evening together. But when we’re out, it’s the same as it was before we started sleeping together.

At home though, the touches are lingering. The kisses are frequent. And our sex life is incomparable. I’ve never felt like I’ve had the best of both worlds, but not knowing where his head is at is driving me crazy.

If I’m being honest, it bugs me a bit that we haven’t gone on a true date, something outside of our routine.

“That’s a big sigh.” Young Jae’s voice is low, his post-sex rumble the hottest sound I’ve ever heard. “What’s wrong?”

I should tell him what I’m thinking, but the words won’t come out. “Just can’t seem to get out of my head. Maybe I need to do something fun tomorrow, help me clear my mind.”

He’s quiet.

Sighing, I kiss his neck before rolling out of bed to clean up. Taking my time with my nightly routine, it’s about twenty minutes before I’m crawling back into bed.

“I took tomorrow off and booked something fun for us to do. Something you’re going to love.” He smiles, that dimple popping as I cozy up under the covers.

“It’s a date,” I murmur. It’s the closest I get to telling him where I’m at, but it’s something for now.

***

Young Jae pulls into a farm, no sign or anything.

Side-eyeing him, I don’t say anything as we drive down a long gravel road. As I’m about to joke about whether he’s lost, we pull into a clearing with a beautiful red barn and two horses saddled and tied at a hitching post.

Inhaling sharply, I stare. “We’re going riding? You don’t like horses.”

He chuckles. “I like them when I’m on the ground, but I know you like riding and figured an hour in the saddle is worth seeing the look on your face right now.”

It doesn’t take long to run through the rules with the stable staff and get into the saddle, the black horse, Ebony, beneath me relaxes as we start moving. Patting her gently, I take the lead since I know Young Jae isn’t confident in the saddle.

“I don’t think I’ve been on horseback in probably six years. Thank you. I really needed this.” Settling in, I follow the arrows guiding us over the vast property.

The buckskin Young Jae is on follows lazily and he soon relaxes into the ride. “I asked when I booked, and they offer lessons and will lease horses. If you’re interested, I can forward you their different programs and costs.”

Brushing my hair over my shoulder, I glance back at him and smile. “You’re the best.”

“I just want to see you happy.”

His words go straight into my heart, giving me the warm fuzzies. I know how much he cares about me and this feels an awful lot like a date. Maybe I just need to stop questioning things and go with the flow.

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