Page 26 of Unbossly Manners

I rested my glass in the sink. Jackson sat on the sofa, staring at the coffee table.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Jackson pulled out of his thoughts, blinking several times.

“Absolutely.” He pushed a smile on his face, then lifted his phone and typed quickly with his thumbs. “You good?”

“Totally,” I said, rinsing the glass and putting it on the drying wrack.

Jackson was distracted, unsettled. I walked down the three steps to the living area strewn with items from Evie—pink headphones, YA novels, bookbag, black Chucks. “Are you doing this because—why are you doing this? Really. Is it to make Kat jealous?”

“No.” He quickly glanced toward the loft.

Evie’s music continued to play loudly from her room, and I could hear Kat talking on the phone above.

“I’m not totally convinced.” I gingerly sat on the couch, shoving Evie’s items aside. “I won’t be hurt by your answer but I think I deserve to know why you’ve agreed to do something so intimate with me. You didn’t know my name until a few days ago.”

“I knew your name.” His eyes swept to me and he smiled gently. “You’re a beautiful woman, Peyton.”

I bit my lip, the blood under my skin warming.

“But that’s not why you agreed to this,” I said.

“It’s not the main reason, but it’s part of the equation. Without physical attraction, it wouldn’t work.”

“Thanks. I think.”

He chuckled, resting back.

I knew I was pretty in a traditional sense, but I didn’t give it much consideration on the daily. To hear a man I found extremely attractive say it, made my stomach flutter and my toes curl in a way I wouldn’t soon forget.

“What’s the main reason?” I asked. “I know you said it was to move on but… is there more?”

He bent his head back, staring at the loft. Murmurs of Kat’s conversation trickled down. I couldn’t hear what she was saying but her tone was filled with joy and she giggled often.

“It’s time,” he simply said.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to swipe left?” I asked. “There are plenty of women who are DTF who you don’t work with.”

Jackson pulled his gaze back to me. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Then it hit me. “Like Kat hurt you.”

He shoved his phone in his pocket. “Something like that.”

“We’re using each other.” I yanked at my shorts, but it did nothing. They were so short, my ass was basically exposed. “You’re using me to get over a broken heart and we all know why I’m using you.”

He sighed. “Why are you always pulling at your clothes?”

I tucked my chin back at the observation.

“Am I?”

He raised his eyebrows.

“I know. I know. But it’s the style. Tops that show your ribs, and shorts cut so high they show your vag.”

Jackson barked out a laugh and covered his mouth, bending over. I smiled, tickled to make him laugh.

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