Page 56 of Bump and Run
I chuckled. “I think I can manage to kiss your butt if you want that.” I roared with laughter when Jones blew a raspberry at me.
“I’m not having sex with you again for a long, long time,” he warned.
“But you’re saying there’s a chance?” I teased him, and when Jones tried to tickle me, I kissed him. He melted against me, his hands sliding up around my neck and his body going limp against me. My dick hardened to stone when he opened his mouth and our tongues slicked together.
“Sweet, sweet Jonesy,” I whispered. “Everything is going to be okay now. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to fix all my wrongs and prove to you that I’m the only man for you.”
Please believe me. Please don’t give up on me. Please let me back in.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jones
I watched as Charlie looked around the small foyer of my modest two-bedroom home before he moved into the living room. He was really here in my house, back in my life, and he had told me that he loved me. That he had never stopped. I was terrified that I would end up with another broken heart after I had worked so hard to heal the last one, but if Charlie was telling me the truth, which I believed he was, maybe we could be together. Make it work.
“This is nice, Jonesy,” he called out to me, and I preened happily when I followed his voice. “Do you like living here? You don’t mind being here alone?”
I nodded. “No, I really like it. I bought it right before Christmas of last year, after sharing an apartment with Ollie. We both decided we needed our own places, and I was lucky to find this one. It feels like home. I think the pool was what really won me over.”
“You have a pool?” Charlie smiled at me, his dark eyes sparkling. Was he thinking about that night, too, or was it just me? I had replayed that moment in my mind for years.
I took his hand despite my worries, linking our fingers together. “I miss living near the beach. At least here I can go sit outside when I have the chance and relax.”
“Do you still take pictures?” he asked, tugging on my hand, and when I stepped closer, he wrapped his free arm around my waist to pull me flush against his broad chest. He still smelled the same, like the beach, and before I could stop myself, I reached out to touch the mole over his lip.
I nodded. “I do.”
I still had the ones of us, him, our summer together on my Instagram, and now that he was involved in the racing world, people might pick up that we had once been a couple. I had tried to delete them more than once but never had the guts. Keeping the memories was my way of remembering that it happened. That I had survived when I thought it would be the end of me.
“I lost you for a second. Where did you go, Bashful?” Charlie brushed the curls from my face.
I forced a smile. “Just remembering.” Only when he gripped my chin and forced me to look at him, I couldn’t lie. “I was thinking about the summer we spent together.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was the best and worst time of my life.”
Charlie’s face softened. “I don’t blame you for hating me. I promised to take care of you, told you that I was yours, and then broke your heart when I left. I don’t...” He pressed his lips together. “I don’t deserve a second chance with you, Jonesy, but I’m so thankful you’re willing to try. I promise that I won’t let you down. That I will do whatever it takes to win you back.”
I murmured his name and reached up to cup his cheek with the palm of my hand. “Are you still mine, Charlie?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’ve been yours since the moment I laid eyes on you on the beach.”
“I—” Tears stung my eyes, and I dropped my forehead against his neck. “I just... I’m terrified you’re going to do it again. I’m pretty sure that’s why I’ve never been able to have a relationship with another man. I tried, but it never worked out. Dates left me full of worry and anxiety. They were all men who didn’t live up to you. It was a horrible experience.”
Charlie tipped my head back up, forcing me to look at him. “If you want me to leave, I’ll go. If you want to start fresh and pretend we were never together, I can do that. It will suck, but I only want to make you happy. We can act like we don’t know one another.”
“No, I...I want you, Charlie. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” I felt the tears as they slipped down my cheeks. “Did you... Have you...?” I couldn’t make myself say the words. I was terrified that it would be yes. Anger and jealousy filtered through my veins at the thought. If he touched someone else. Let them touch him back.
His thumbs stroked over my cheeks. “I won’t lie to you, Jonesy. I was never romantically involved with anyone.” I watched the guilt appear in his eyes, and it hurt. “I took Beverly out when it was expected of me, but that was only for show. You were the only one I loved, and the only one I want to love.”
“You have to take it slow with me.”
“We’ll go as slow as you want.”
I gave Charlie a shy smile. “You really love me?” When he nodded, warmth bloomed in my belly and spread through my body like wildfire. “You’re still mine?”
“No one else’s, Bashful,” he murmured, then slid his lips against mine. “Now show me the rest of your house. I want to see this pool.”
