Page 44 of Fumbled Beginning

He searched my eyes. “Sorry if I overstepped my bounds.”

I played with the strings of his hoodie. “No apology necessary. Clearly, he was provoking you.”

A crease formed in the middle of his eyebrows. “I was expecting more pushback from you.”

I laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

He brought his hands up to cup my cheeks. “I was jealous.”

We didn’t have a label, and no promises were made, but he had no reason to be jealous. There was no one else for me now; he was all I wanted.

His thumb brushed along my bottom lip. “You’re quiet. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I like you a lot.”

His eyes sparkled. “The feeling is mutual.”

“You have no reason to be jealous. Not of him or anyone else.”

A boyish smile broke out across his face. “Same goes for you, Sunshine.”

* * *

“This place looks interesting,” I said, eyeing the worn leather booths, high-back wood chairs, and mismatched tables.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, I joked and told him that it looked as old as the Alamo.

JP laughed. “What’s the matter, princess, afraid they’re not going to have any organic chicken or fresh wild caught fish for your tacos?”

I flipped him off, and the hostess showed us to our table.

I unrolled my silverware while he did the same. A young, handsome waiter stopped by to pour water into our glasses. “Would you like to hear the specials?”

“Yes, please,” I said, flipping open my menu while he went over the extra choices. We decided to share a plate of nachos and the chicken fajita entrée.

After he took our order, JP leaned back in the booth and studied me. “How was your weekend?”

I dipped my chip into the bowl of salsa. “You mean what was left of it?”

“Yeah, I guess I ate up most of it.” His eyes went wide at the innuendo. I wanted to laugh because he sure did eat it up. “That came out wrong.”

“I think it came out just fine.”

He shoved a hand through his dark hair, messing it up. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Watching me sweat it out.”

I folded my hands under my chin and smiled. “Quite a bit, actually.”

It was weird and downright concerning how much I was enjoying his discomfort. He didn’t strike me as the type to get all twisted up over a girl. It was most likely the other way around for him.

He sipped his water. “You’re evil, you know.”

“I can’t help it. You’re cute when you’re acting all bashful.” He threw his head back in laughter. “Seriously, though. This was a nice surprise. I’m happy to see you.”

He seemed nervous as he drew his finger along the plastic placemats. “I should have called you yesterday.”

I reached for his hand. “This is better.”

The waiter dropped off our plates. The portions were huge, but everything looked delicious.

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