Page 83 of Pick Me

He shrugged. “I’m not. I stopped running around with those idiots and focused on football. When I wasn’t on the field, I played video games to relax. It’s then I realized trying to fit in is exhausting and not worth the hassle.”

I shifted closer, letting my leg slide over his, our bodies still tangled in the afterglow. “Why did you tell me that?”

Jackson looked down at me, his gaze darker, deeper than I’d ever seen it before. His fingers brushed up my spine, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. “Because I’ve learned that people will let you down. They inherently suck.”

“Oh,” I whispered,

His thumb dragged along my jaw, and he tilted my face toward his. “You don’t, though. You’re awesome, and anyone who ever made you feel less than that? They were just jealous of your greatness.”

Warmth flooded my chest, an unfamiliar dizzying rush of something stronger than lust. My heart raced like it wanted to escape my body and dive straight into his.

“Thanks,” I mumbled. The only thing I felt I could get out.

Chapter Nineteen

Thea

The next morning, I woke up tangled in Jackson’s sheets, completely bare, my skin still tingling from last night. My mind reeled with everything that had happened, and I sank deeper into the mattress, biting back a smile.

Then the door opened.

“Hey. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

Jackson’s voice slid over me like silk, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the sight that followed. Fresh from the shower, his rock-hard body was on full display, save for the fluffy white towel slung low on his hips. Droplets of water clung to his skin, tracing lazy paths down his sculpted chest, and when he flicked his damp hair out of his eyes, I swear I felt the motion ripple through me.

I’d always known Jackson was attractive. But like this? Without a hat—or clothes—he was devastating. His hair was the perfect length, just long enough for me to slide my fingers through, to tug, to take control. A wicked thought flashed through my mind, and heat pooled low in my belly.

“You didn’t,” I groaned out, my voice a little rough and breathless.

His lips curled in that easy, knowing smirk, but he didn’t call me out on it.

Guilt crept in as I remembered the call I’d ignored last night. Tanner. My brother. His best friend. I hadn’t been able to pick up, not while I was naked, pressed against Jackson, his hands and mouth branding me in ways I’d never forget.

But then Jackson’s words echoed in my mind.

“People will let you down, and they inherently suck. You don’t, though. You’re awesome.”

I must’ve been starved for compliments if I was repeating that comment in my head constantly. Coming from him, it felt real. It felt like he wanted nothing else from me. He just wanted me. Not my brother’s friendship; he already had that. If anything, he risked losing it if Tanner found out in the wrong way.

When Jackson dropped the towel, revealing his painfully hard erection, my breath hitched.Did I wet hump that last night?

Heat flushed through me at the thought. We’d pretty much crashed afterward, but now, in the soft glow of the morning, I realized just how much I wanted more. Jackson was addictive. His touch, his taste, the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.

“You like what you see, Pyro?” His voice was thick with amusement and want. He wrapped his hand around his shaft, stroking slowly and deliberately.

My thighs clenched at the sight.

When he crawled onto the bed, I squealed and scrambled back until my spine met the headboard.

“I do,” I admitted, my voice betraying just how much. “But we can’t do anything now.”

“Why not?” He towered over me, his brows furrowed.

The scent of his body wash—clean, masculine, devastatinglyhim—wrapped around me, making it harder to think straight. He leaned in, lips parting for a kiss, and I barely managed to slap my hand over his face, pushing him away.

“We need to talk.”

I hated saying it, and I hated the way the words felt like a bucket of cold water over the warmth still pooling between my legs. I wanted to be the kind of person who could let go, give in, but I wasn’t. Not with Jackson, at least.

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