Page 44 of Out of Sight

“Wow, look at the arrogance on you!”

“Psh. It’s called confidence, honey. It’s what happens when the girl—woman, sorry—of your dreams admits that she wants you, too.”

I rolled my eyes, but it was true. Feeling liked and adored had a way of boosting your self-esteem. I couldn’t let him off too easy, though.

“Okay, enough. Time to get up.”

“Awww,” he pouted. “Why?”

“I think you need to convince Jim to go to the drugstore,” I smirked.

That man practically flew out of bed.

They say things always work out the way they’re supposed to. I’d been busting my ass and doing everything exactly as I was supposed to for as long as I could remember. Karma must have finally been coming around again because life was looking pretty damn perfect these days.

We lived in such a beautiful, picturesque town. We had a wonderful, modern home while living in the freaking forest like it should have just been a wooden cottage or something. There were stores, restaurants, and real infrastructure in our little town without the buzz or agoraphobic feeling of a big city, though that was close enough to visit if we ever needed to.

Jim was a wonderful father figure type of person. He was older, experienced, had a weird sense of humor, and his whole mission in life—for the time being, at least—was to keep us safe. I wasn’t used to being prioritized like that by an authority figure.

But Will…

Will was the best thing of all. He was handsome. Sexy. Kind. A gentleman. He also seemed to want nothing more than to make sure I was taken care of. And he was so patient.

I don’t know how he did it, but he talked Jim into taking him into town. I didn’t hear the exact conversation, but whenI heard Jim’s loud laughter I knew to stay hidden upstairs until they got back. Then Jim’s hearty chuckle accompanied Will’s hurried footsteps jogging back up to my room. Knowing he was downstairs laughing at us brought me right out of the mood.

But Will didn’t complain once.

“As you wish,” he said for the second time this week. The sparkle in his eyes made me wonder if he knew he kept quoting iconic Romance movies.

I sighed in contentment as he sat down next to me against the headboard, kissing the side of my head and holding me close. It was amazing how good it felt to be showered in affection by someone you cared about.

“I’ve been waiting five days,” he smiled, stroking my hair and tilting my head to lean against his shoulder. “What’s one more in the grand scheme of things? I’ll do whatever it takes not to screw this up with you, Claire. I’m in this for the long haul, so we can wait as long as you want. I’m all in. I’ll be around.”

I wasn’t used to someone being as committed to me as I was to him. It was a heady feeling, being with someone so completely.

I didn’t—or maybe we didn’t—let things get so out of hand again. There was no point trying to hide it from Jim, so we held hands and I let him put his arm around me while we watched The Princess Bride after dinner. I kept shooting him glances as Westley said the classic words, but Will’s face didn’t give anything away. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

At the end of the night he walked me back up to my room to go to sleep, but didn’t want to risk coming inside.

“When I finally get you naked with me again, I don’t want your brain to be thinking about anything else. I don’t want you worrying about staying quiet for the neighbors, or Jim overhearing, or anything else. We’ll wait.”

It was so sweet and accommodating, but it was also frustrating. Was there a way to tell Will that I only wanted to wait long enough for Jim to find another excuse to leave? Would jumping his bones the second the door was bolted shut behind him make Will think I was desperate?

By morning it was time to face it. Iwasdesperate for him. I had been all morning long as we exchanged coy glances, finding reasons to innocently touch each other. I wasn’t sure if I could make it through another night without taking what both our bodies were begging for.

Almost as if he read my mind, Will knocked on the frame of my open doorway.

“Hi!” I smiled at him, putting my book down. “What’s up?”

“So Jim left again. I think he’s just giving us a bit of privacy because he couldn’t come up with a good excuse before he gave up and stomped out the door.”

That was embarrassing, but I was grateful. Now we could finally-

“I was thinking I’d like to take you on a date.”

“A date?” I raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what I said,” he smirked, but the humor didn’t meet his eyes. Did he think I didn’t want to?

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