Page 79 of Light My Fire Three Times
Jesse.
Standing there in the freezing dark, breath puffing white in the December air, looking… wild. Hair damp from the snow, jaw set like he’s one wrong word away from doing something stupid. His eyes land on me, and for one insane second, I swear the temperature spikes even though I’m in a towel and it’s approximately negative a million degrees outside.
“What the hell, Jesse?” It comes out halfway between shock and… something else I’m not ready to name. “What are you doing here?”
His gaze drags over me, bare shoulders, dripping hair, all of it, and if I weren’t already pink from the bath, I’d be blushing hard enough to light up the whole street.
“Where’s Karl?” he asks, like this is an interrogation and not, oh, you know, a completely insane surprise visit to my temporary home.
“Hi, Jesse,” I deadpan, because apparently sarcasm is my only survival mechanism. “I’m great, thanks for asking. And sure, come by unannounced at…” I glance toward the clock, “nine thirty at night. Totally normal behavior.”
His jaw clenches, and before I can even blink, he pushes past me. Into the living room.
“Excuse me?” I slam the door shut and spin around, clutching my towel for dear life. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Making sure Karl’s not here.” He’s already scanning the place as if Karl might pop out from behind the couch holding a champagne bottle and a pair of boxers.
I laugh, but it’s a sound that belongs in a psych ward. “Seriously? You show up like the ghost of Christmas rage, and now you’re… what? Playing detective? You work with him. Don’t you know the schedule? He’s at the fire station, so whatever this is, take it there.”
He whips around to face me, and wow, the look in his eyes. It’s nuclear. “Don’t act like you don’t know what people are saying.”
I blink at him. “What people?”
“Everyone,” he bites out. “Half the damn town, probably. That you’rewithhim. That you’re…” He stops, but the way his mouth hardens says it all.
“Sleeping with him?” I finish for him, because apparently, I have a death wish tonight.
His nostrils flare. “Are you?”
Oh, wow. Wow. The audacity of this man, storming into my evening of self-care and turning it into a Maury episode.
“You saw us on the night we had a date,” I say, slow and sharp. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Not my business?” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. Just frustration boiling over. “Maybe not, but I can have feelings about it.”
Oh, we’re doingthat. Fantastic.
“We hadonenight, and both agreed it couldn’t happen again.”
I just wish my body would get the messageout of bounds.But around this man, I get weak at the knees, which is why I prefer to keep my distance.
“You think I don’t…” He cuts himself off. The words are knives he can’t afford to throw.
“Well?” I snap. “You think you don’t what? Care? Want me? Because newsflash, Jesse, you don’t get to barge in here, play jealous boyfriend, when we can’t keep this up.”
His fists clench at his sides, and for a second, he… stares at me. Like he’s trying to memorize my face, or maybe burn it into the back of his eyelids so he can hate himself later.
“You think I don’t want you?” The words come out harsh, broken. “You think I ever stopped?”
And just like that, the room goes still.
Except for the pounding in my chest, which is basically trying to beat its way out.
For a second, I forget how to breathe. Did he just…? No. No, absolutely not. He doesn’t get to say that and think it fixes anything.
“Wow,” I say, and it comes out shaky, which is infuriating. “You’re really going to stand there and pull theI always wanted youcard now? When you know we can’t do anything? The same issues are still there…”
His jaw tightens, that muscle ticking like a time bomb. “Don’t twist this, Liv. We both agreed.”
