“Which part of last night, in particular?”
I laughed. “The whole night. Do you need your ego stroked some more?”
Jase stepped into the bathroom with a mock scowl on his face. “It’s not my ego in need of a stroke, sweetheart.” When my gaze slid down his body I saw the proof for myself. “Know what I’m sayin’?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not know what you’re saying, Jase.” And I was happy to do this little back and forth banter if it meant we could prolong the inevitable. “I need to take a shower,” I told him seriously, motioning for him to step back which, of course, like waving a flag at a bull.
“I’ll join you, that way we can do our part to save water.” His sultry smile said it all and I was more than happy to spend another hour or two wrapped up in Jase’s strong arms. It was likely the last time so I made a promise to enjoy every last minute.
Almost two hours later and there was finally a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. Hot and black with the promise of heaps of caffeine, just what I needed based on the determined expression on Jase’s face. I blew on my coffee and closed my eyes, enjoying the intense scent of the Ethiopian roast I brewed for courage.
“Ready to talk yet?”
My eyes slammed open and found Jase’s green eyes staring back with an amused expression shining in his eyes. “Not until I’ve had at least one cup of coffee.” I was barely three sips in to the first cup, how could any reasonable human being expect a full conversation before the first eight ounces were consumed?
“Good. Drink and listen.” The firmness in his tone drew my attention to his handsome face, slightly overgrown with stubble that I could still feel all over my body. He stood and began to pace on his side of the kitchen table, raking a nervous hand through his hair. “I love you Bo. Not just like a friend even though I’ve loved you like that for as long as I can remember. This time, I love you as a woman. A sexy as hell woman with giant heart she refuses to let the world see. I love that woman and I know she loves me too. Plus, we’re so damn good together.”
“But your job.” It was the only intelligent words my brain and mouth could form together and granted, it wasn’t all that intelligent, it was all I could come up with at a moment’s notice.
“My job is just an excuse, Bo. What else have you got?”
Th damn stubborn man refused to see reason. “It’s not an excuse, I promise. Last night I thought about the speech you gave, the way you spoke about what being a firefighter means to you, the training and brotherhood. It means something to you. This isn’t about you leaving me, Jase, it’s a big damn opportunity for you and you have to take it. No bullshit.” His lips twitched at the phrase we used back in high school when we needed to be serious.
A smile spread across his face. “If you’re trying to make me love you more, Bo, keep it up.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Jase.”
“But it’s one of my best qualities, or so I’m told.” I growled at him and his smile only grew bigger. “None of that matters Bo. Not the awards or commendations, not the raise or the promotion. If I can’t have you then I’m not interested in any of it. Period.”
“Don’t be crazy, Jase. I’m not worth losing out on your dream job.” That was the damn truth. Mama didn’t stick around or take me with her. Daddy couldn’t get it together to raise me and keep me safe. They were family and this was a sacrifice that couldn’t be undone. “You have to take it.”
He rounded the table and pulled me out of my chair, carefully setting the coffee on the table so he could pull me into his arms. “Why don’t you let me worry about what you’re worth to me, because newsflash Bo, it’s everything.”
I couldn’t let his words penetrate. They were romantic and perfect and exactly the words I wanted to hear from the man that I loved, but they were irrelevant now. “You say that now, but what about later when you get sick of our life together. You’ll regret that you stayed for me, that’s why you have to go.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Bo. Stop trying to manage me and tell me how I feel. Just listen to me tell you that I am madly and deeply in love with you. Listen and hear me.”
I sucked in a deep breath at his words in an attempt to slow my racing heart but there was nothing to be done about it, she was at a full gallop and showed no signs of slowing down. “I am listening and I do hear you, Jase. I love you too but we have to be realistic. It’s like you said, I can’t risk losing our friendship.”
“And I won’t risk losing you.”
“I’m not sure if I can live in Omaha, but I’m willing to give it a try. For you.” It wasn’t the most romantic declaration in the world but it was the god’s honest truth.
“You’d do that for me? Leave Tulip?”
I nodded because here was the moment of truth. For real, this time. “I would Jase because I do love you. I know I’m difficult and grumpy most of the time and not at all what anyone would consider feminine, but I do love you and if you meant what you said, then yes I’ll give Nebraska a shot. For you.” Though honestly, what was even in that place other than cornfields and football?
“I love you for even considering it, but it won’t be necessary because I’m not going.”
“Jase,” I began because this couldn’t work if we didn’t live in the same town. Hell, the same state.
“Hush. I’m still talking and you’re still listening. I called the commissioner last night before I came over here and told him thanks but no thanks.”
“You did what?” I blinked, hard, because I must have heard him wrong.
“I’m staying in Tulip as a firefighter, but I’ve decided to do more fire rescue work for the county.”
That was music to my ears, but I had to be sure. “You didn’t do this for me, did you?”
“And if I did? I love you Bo, or didn’t you get that part yet? The same way you keep dark beer ice cold in your fridge for me, I’d do anything for you. Anything.” He leaned in and pressed a whisper soft kiss to my lips. “I did it for me and for us. I don’t want to leave Tulip or you, and now I don’t have to.”
“Jase. How did I get so lucky?”
He smacked his lips and shook his head. “You got it all wrong sweetheart, I’m the lucky one. You’re just stuck with me.”
“Can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather be stuck with than you, Callahan.” And then because I could, I said it again. “I love you, Jase.”
“That’s good to know, because I love you too, Bo.”
My heart beat wildly in my chest but this time I didn’t run from it, I leaned into it and let it strengthen me. Fortify me to love this man in the way he needed to be loved, to let him love me in a way that would heal and nourish me. “Good. I’m counting on you to remember.”
“As if I could ever forget,” he said and then sealed that promise with a kiss.
And then another.
And another until we were upstairs and naked in bed.
Again.
* * *
The End.
Kissing My Best Friend: A Friends to Lovers Romance Page 14
