Page 14 of True Soil-Mates

Something shifts in Jasmine’s eyes.Crap, what was that?

We get ready for bed and end up cuddling all night long, but I can’t stop my mind from spiraling. This is uncharted territory for me. For every dozen things I get right, I seem to say one thing that sends tension rushing through Jasmine’s lovely features.

I need to figure out this problem immediately, before I accidentally ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

9

JASMINE

Istare down at my hands while I pack soil around a transplanted English ivy. My train of thought keeps derailing. One moment I’m paying attention to what I’m doing, and the next moment I’m having flashbacks to snuggling in Alex’s arms all night long.

Everything about last night was heaven…except…

I shake my head. I can’t help wondering whether Alex uses mouthwash every night because of a dedicated oral hygiene habit, or because of where his mouth had just been.

I mean, I get it. In the moment, those intimate activities are super-hot. And the next moment… Yeah, I guess you kind ofdowant to rinse your mouth before you kiss somebody. But is everyone like that? I don’t have enough experience to know. Or is Alex honestly a germaphobe?

It makes sense in the lab, of course. But what would he be like in the real world, with messy toddlers? Would he ever change a diaper? Or would every single dirty task fall to me? That would be awful, since then he would start seeingmeas dirty – and not in the hot bedroom way, either.

I blush, thinking about what we did in his living room. By the time we got to the bedroom, it was just kissing and snuggling all night long. Which felt so right. Wholesome. Like we truly were meant to be together.

Iris comes over to my workbench and sets a cup of green tea beside me. “You’re a million miles away today.Andyou didn’t come home last night. What’s up?”

Violet rolls her desk chair over to join us. “Yeah, how are things going with Alex?”

I haven’t told them very much yet. Just that he’s a research guy, my new corporate account, and that I’m totally falling for him. How am I supposed to explain the problem?

“Do you think I’m a clean person?”

Iris stares blankly at me, glances at Violet, then back to me. “Yes. I mean, of course you’re up to your elbows in fresh soil half the time, but then you clean up.”

“Honestly, you shower more frequently than the rest of us,” Violet adds. “My skin would totally dry out if I showered more than once a day.”

Iris leans on the wall beside me, peering at me. “Has Alex suggested that you’re dirty or something?”

Violet scowls. “If he has, we’ll kick his a?—”

“No! No, nothing like that. It’s just…” I shrug. “You know how it’s kind of hard for me to read people. He’s in a sterile environment a lot of the time, so I just feel kind of…out of place, I guess?”

“You could start by cleaning your desk,” Iris snorts. I don’t dignify that with a response.

“Give it some time, Jasmine,” Violet says gently. Relationships are tricky in the beginning. You’re still figuring each other out.”

Iris laughs. “Listen to our baby sister. She’s the relationship expert now, right?”

Violet’s phone rings, so she rolls back to her desk. Iris leans closer. “Seriously, howmuchof a clean freak are we talking?”

“Is it weird to have a list of the cleanest restaurants in the city, and only eat at those?”

Her head tilts back and forth. “I feel like that’s right on the edge.”

“Exactly. There are a lot of little things like that, right on the edge. Beyond the fact that he’s ten years older, and apparently pretty wealthy.”

Iris waves a hand dismissively. “That stuff doesn’t matter as long as you two click with the day-to-day details. How you treat each other. How you approach problems and challenges.”

I use my entire head to roll my eyes. “How does everyone know more about relationships than I do?”

“Because you’ve had your nose in the dirt, creating all of this amazing plant life for us.” Iris pats my shoulder. “Which we really appreciate, by the way. Don’t sweat it – if you two are destined for each other, things will work out.”

---