Page 85 of Pick Me

I rolled my eyes, pushing him back. “You’re revising history.”

His lips quirked, but there was no humor behind it. “No, I’m not. Ask Matty. I distinctly remember the first time I saw you.”

“Oh yeah?”

Jackson leaned in, his voice dropping lower. “You walked into Aiden’s house with a ridiculous purple dinosaur suitcase and plushie keychains dangling off the handle. Your hair was down, and you were wearing this blue rhinestone sweater with a cat on it.”

I snorted. “Big deal. You remembered what I wore.”

His jaw tightened. “No.Youdon’t get it. I don’t even remember what I wore yesterday.” His gaze flickered down, trailing over the sheet covering my body. “And yet, I rememberthat. In fact, I remember everything. Every insult. Every sarcastic barb. Every scowl you’ve ever thrown my way.” He let out a small chuckle. “You know, your brother had a talk with me about you?”

“He did?”

“Yeah. I think it was around the second week you were here. Said you’d been through a lot and he just wanted to see you settled.”

I frowned. “So he warned you off me?”

Jackson exhaled, shaking his head. “Not exactly. He was worried about you, and after hearing everything that happened, I can see why.”

I clenched my teeth, annoyance taking over. “That sounds a lot like him warning you off me.”

“It’s probably something you’ll need to speak to him about, but it wasn’t mean-spirited. He was trying to protect you.”

“And doing the wrong thing.”

“Maybe. I mean, let’s be real—I’m an asshole. I get why he wouldn’t want me anywhere near you. I don’t exactly have a good track record.” His voice dropped, his fingers brushing over my knuckles. “Or a record at all. Which is why I want to start and finish with you.”

My brows raised. “Finish. That’s a little premature, isn’t it?”

“Not when you play for keeps.” He took my hand and brought it to his chest. “I’m offering you the biggest part of me.”

“Your dick?”

“I was trying to be romantic.”

“And I’m just trying to be a realist. Look, I don’t need all these large random declarations of love. I like you, a lot, and I think you’re right. We should date.”

Silence stretched between us as his thumb traced lazy circles over my palm.

“Did you hear me?” I asked.

He shook his head, laughing. “Sorry, I stopped listening after you said you liked me. Didn’t realize crushing on someone so hard could make you act like a damn fool.” His grin widened. “So… did you actually say yes? To being my girlfriend?”

I bit my bottom lip, feeling a flicker of hesitation. I shouldn’t, though.

“Come on,” he whispered as though we weren’t the only two people in the room. “You know you want to.”

I didn’t hesitate. I sealed my lips over his, kissing him harder than I thought he expected. He let out a surprised groan, his fingers tightening around my waist as he leaned into me, deepening it.

When I finally pulled back, his pupils were blown wide, lips parted in something close to awe.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, his voice husky.

“Yes,” I whispered, my fingers tracing over his bare shoulder. “What are you doing tonight? I thought maybe we could go out to dinner… make this official.”

His smile was immediate, but then he groaned, tilting his head back toward the ceiling. “Damn it. I’m supposed to do a live with Liam tonight.”

I arched a brow. “And you can’t rearrange?”

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