Page 80 of Finding Jess

A shower sounded nice, but she didn’t have enough energy to stay up.So instead, she went to the other side of the bed and set her phone down before pulling back the comforter.

The more responsible part of her said that she should take the next few minutes to finish replying to emails and missed messages from work. But the other part of her just wanted to lie there, enjoying the peaceful feel of the bed. And even with the lights still on, the rhythm of the running water was enough to almost lull her to sleep.

She let her mind replay the events of the weekend until it came to the conversation they’d had the night before. Jess’ words. The look in her eyes. Then it skipped to a different look. The one she’d seen that night at the club when Tiana was dancing on her.

She blinked, opening her eyes to end the memory right as the water shut off.

A few moments later, the bathroom door clicked open, and Jess walked out, clothed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. She glanced over at Sam as she ran a towel through her wet hair, squeezing water from the ends.

Her eyes seemed to catch for a moment on the shirt she was wearing.

“Want a water?” she asked, looking away as she draped the towel over the back of the chair

Sam cleared her throat. “Yeah,” she said as Jess took the bottles from the dresser and handed her one. “Thanks.”

She downed a few big gulps before setting it on the nightstand beside her phone.

Jess set her own things on the other nightstand, then went to shut the main light off, leaving the bathroom light still on.

She returned, pulling her side of the comforter back and sliding into bed.

Silence fell between them for a moment, the only sound, the light hum of the air conditioning still running.

Jess shifted, and without needing to look, Sam knew she’d turned toward her.

Sam turned her head, looking at her in the dim yellow light of the room. Wet hair draped over her shoulders and across the white pillow. It was a sight she’d seen so many times before. It almost seemed normal. Like sleeping beside her, even as friends, was the most natural thing in the world.

“What?” Jess asked, her nose crinkling slightly as her eyes squinted through the darkness.

Sam couldn’t help the wide grin that broke out over her face. “I’m pretty sure I’ve worn this shirt more times than you have.”

Jess’ expression faltered for a moment, like those were the last words she’d been expecting. Then she broke out into a laugh.

“It’s basically more mine now than yours,” Sam continued.

Jess adjusted the pillow beneath her, still laughing. “Well, then I guess it’s nice of you to have let me keep it all this time.”

Sam smiled, turning her head toward the ceiling again.

“Did you have fun tonight?” Jess mumbled through a yawn.

“Yeah. It was a good night,” Sam answered. “Scarlett and Jasmine seemed like they had fun.”

“They did.”

“You looked like you were having fun, too,” Sam muttered, the image of her dancing with the woman floating back into her mind.

“Did I?” Jess asked. Sam picked up on the somewhat daring tone in her voice. As if silently challenging her to elaborate.

Sam hummed, closing her eyes. That was one challenge that was probably best left untouched. Especially when they were mere feet away from each other in bed.

Jess was quiet for a moment before she continued. “Tiana looked like she was having a lot of fun, too.”

Sam opened her eyes, turning to Jess once more. The corner of her lip tilted upward, unable to stop herself. “Did she?”

A semi-annoyed, but also amused, look passed over Jess’ face. “You know, you keep saying she’s just a friend, but I’ve never seenfriendsdance like that.”

Sam snorted a laugh. “You’vedanced on me like that.”

---