Page 43 of Taming Dahlia

“Nothing,” we both said at the same time.

He let out an incredulous sound that clearly conveyed his disbelief with our answer.

Ace huffed, and I hid a smile in my chin.

“So what do you like to read, then?” I turned my attention back to Ace.

“Give me a sci-fi book any day of the week,” he said with a shrug.

Which… yeah, I could see that.

He seemed like someone who’d get bored by the usual, everyday world and would enjoy visiting different, futuristicworlds filled with space adventures and new technology. But I didn’t have time to ask him more about it.

I’d been waiting for fifteen minutes for King to finally leave the kitchen, and who knew when I would get another chance to talk to Jack in private.

I put my book down and stood up. “I’m gonna go get some water.”

It was convenient that Jack was also by himself in the kitchen at that moment. I found him next to the sink, looking down at something on his phone.

“Hey,” I said to him as I grabbed a glass from the cabinet.

Jack just nodded at me.

While we were far away enough from the boys so that they couldn’t easily overhear us, I still moved a little closer to him.

“I just wanted to ask… we’re fine, right?”

I was really hoping that he wouldn’t act all weird about me now. I was actually enjoying spending time with him… And it wasn’t like I could exactly leave if things got awkward. But, it looked like I didn’t need to worry about that.

“Of course,” he said, looking completely nonplussed.

While that was great to hear, I still had to say, “Last night doesn’t have to change anything…”

“I know,” he interrupted me, then cleared his throat as if he was embarrassed. “I mean… I kind of heard you talking to yourself this morning.’

“Right…”

That awkwardness that I had just previously mentioned… here it was.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” I tried to apologize, but Jack just shook his head.

“It’s fine. I was already awake.”

Another couple of seconds passed in silence.

“Great,” I said, nodding my head a few times. “Glad we’re both on the same page, then.”

That was just… great.

We continued to stare at each other in awkward silence for a few moments longer before I remembered the glass in my hand. “Ah, yes!” I raised my hand, showing it to him. “I just wanted to grab some water.”

Grateful for the distraction, I attempted to grab the water pitcher, but Jack was already reaching for it. The second our hands made contact, he jerked back with a start.

“Sorry,” he said, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he was blushing.

“It’s fine.” I felt the need to giggle, but I didn’t want to make him feel more embarrassed, so I swallowed it down.

He then gave me one of those rare smiles of his, one that revealed his front teeth and made his eyes crinkle at the corners. And yeah…

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