Page 43 of The Accidental Honeymoon

"Have you ever wondered if we've already had sex?" he asks, as casual as if he's inquiring about the weather.

“What??” I balk. "No! Why, do you think we have?"

"I mean, maybe. I woke up with whipped cream in places whipped cream shouldn't be."

My cheeks burn. "You did not!"

"All I’m saying is that it's possible that we did the dirty on our wedding night. And I for one hold that possibility close to my heart."

I'm speechless, a thousand thoughts colliding in my head like bumper cars. He can't be serious. Or can he? The idea that he's even considered this makes my heart do weird, uncomfortable things.

I knew, on some level, that he thinks about me in a sexual way. I mean… that was what he was doing when I barged into the bathroom and found him… uh… touching himself.

But now I have to face the possibility that maybe it wasn’t just that one time.

Maybe he thinks about fucking me a lot.

Maybe as much as I think about fucking him.

Tongue-tied, I put my head down and finish the obstacle. We reach the end of the beam and unclip, my hands shaking not just from the exertion. This whole time, I've thought that he only married me because he was drunk. But now, I’m not so sure. Maybe he married me because he thought I was hot. The way he teases me, his easy charm. It feels different, like he actuallyseesme.

And that thought is almost as unsettling as dangling in midair.

The grand finale looms before us: a tandem zipline stretching through a valley of treetops. My heart is already in my throat and we haven't even strapped in yet. Jay takes the lead, as usual, his confidence an unshakeable foundation.

He beckons me over as if he hasn’t just thrown me for a loop. I shuffle like a condemned woman walking to the gallows.

"Come here," he says, his voice warm and inviting. He pulls me into his chest, his arms wrapping around me from behind. My entire body tenses, then melts, then tenses again as I realize how close we are. How... intimate.

"It's for safety," he adds, though I can hear the grin in his voice. "And maybe a little something else."

Shameless flirting. What the hell am I supposed to do with this? My mind is a whirlwind. My thoughts are a confused tangle of anxiety. I can't decide if I want to pushhim away or pull him closer. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t desperate for another taste of his lips.

The staff member waves at us. “Y’all are good to go.”

Jay and I take a collective breath. That answers that, I guess.

"Three, two, one—" The lady yanks the lever and we're off like a shot.

The initial drop is a gut-wrenching freefall. I scream so loudly I surprise myself. The wind tears at my hair, my clothes, my skin as we shoot through the trees like a two-human cannonball. I expect terror, but what I get is a rush of pure, unfiltered joy.

Jay holds me close, making me feel invincible.

"This is so going on Insta!" I shout. My words are muffled by the trees whizzing by me.

Jay's laughter mixes with the wind. I canfeelhim grinning against the back of my head. For a moment, I forget everything.

The accidental marriage, the awkwardness, the worry. All that exists is the here and now, the exhilaration of flight, and the man holding me tight against his body.

Too soon, we see the end of the line approaching. Our speed slows. The landing platform rises to meet us. My feet touch down first, wobbly and unsure.

Jay steadies me with a hand on my shoulder. I turn to thank him, to say something. I’m really not sure what. But before I can figure it out, he pulls me in and kisses me.

It's not a tentative, testing-the-waters kiss. It's a full-on, bending-me-backward, making-a-scene passionate kiss. My hands fly to his chest, then his shoulders. My eyes flutter closed. I kiss him back, putting all my feelings into it, because why not? We're still riding the high of the zipline.

The kiss feels like the natural conclusion.

He cups my jaw. His fingers tangle in my hair. His tongue slides against mine, promising wicked things.

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