“Yep. All of them. Were you trying to send a message? I belong to you now?”
His hand fumbled a little in the dark, before he grabbed my chin, tipping it up so he could press his lips to mine.
“I think you already know the answer to that question.”
fourteen.
“Come on. Get your lazy ass up.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’ll let you do that later. But for now, get up. Come on. The sooner you do, the sooner it’ll be over.”
Reese shot me a scowl, rolled her eyes, and then pulled herself up from her seat on the edge of the fountain. “Fine, lets go.”
We ran for a few more minutes before she slowed down, but this time, she kept moving instead of completely stopping. The light jog would at least keep her heart rate up, and gave us a chance to talk.
“This is why you don’t eat two sweet potato pies by yourself over Thanksgiving,” I teased, jogging little circles around her, but being careful not to break her pace. “Cause then, you get mad at yourself, and ask your man to help you—”
“And you end up contemplating killing his ass for forgetting that you weren’t in the fucking army like he was, and that this isn’t basic training.”
“Says who?” I grinned, ignoring a couple of the strange looks I got as we jogged across the Blakewood campus. I was used to people’s reaction when I worked out by now, and hell – I’d probably be looking too if a big dude ran past me with one leg encased sweats and a running shoe, and the other replaced by my running prosthetic from the knee down.
It was early in the morning though, and still pretty quiet. Reese shot another scowl in my direction.
“Says me. You’re pushing too hard, again.”
“Nah, baby. You’re tough. My baby thug, remember? You can snatch a chair from under somebody, you can take a little tough-love training. Now come on. Move it.”
I smacked her on the ass, hard, and ran past her, grinning at the murderous look she gave me. It accomplished my goal though, and she started running a little, and then a lot faster, trying to catch up to me.
A few minutes later, I stopped her, and checked her heartrate from the tracker on her wrist. “Aiight, let’s walk a little bit. Let your heartrate come down before this last stretch.”
Reese used the arm of her running jacket to wipe away the sweat that had built on her forehead. It was cold outside, in the late November weather, but we were more than warm enough from running.
“So… I heard back about that internship in Cali this morning,” I said, carefully watching her face for a reaction.
She kept her eyes averted, head pointed to the sky as she sucked in air. “Yeah? What’d they say?”
“I got it. They were really impressed with my credentials… excited to have somebody who was former military. Asked me to finish spring semester at a school out there. Paid internship, with a job upon graduation. And the salary is bananas.”
Reese dropped her head, and tugged her lip between her teeth, before she looked up, turning to me with glossy eyes. “That’s amazing, Jay. I’m so proud of you.” She stopped walking to step in front of me, grabbing my face as she pushed herself up on her toes to kiss me. “That’s really, really good. I’m happy for you.”
I believed her. I could see the pride in her eyes, see the genuine delight she felt for me. Right behind the dejection she was trying to hide.
“Thank you,” I said, grabbing her hand as she tried to pull away. “They were in my top three choices, so it’s pretty cool that they actually made an offer.”
She playfully rolled her eyes. “Oh please. You’re you. They would have been crazy not to give it to you.”
I tugged at her, trying to keep her still, trying to get her to look right at me, but she wouldn’t. Instead, she slipped her hand away from mine and turned around, quickly brushing her eyes before she spoke.
“Let’s finish this up,” she said, her voice carrying a slight strain that she cleared her throat to try to conceal. “Let’s race. Last mile.”
I chuckled. “You really want to do that?”
“I can beat you.”
“Yeah, sure. What do I get when I win?”
“I’ll treat you to Batter Up.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Really, Reese? Waffles after a run?”
She shrugged. “If I win, you treat. Celebration breakfast for your internship.”
Yeah.
More like comfort breakfast, after the news I’d just dropped in her lap. Win or lose, I was paying anyway. “Fine. I’ll count, because I don’t trust you.”
“Whatever Jason.”
I shook my head as we walked to the next light post that lined the sidewalks of the campus. I looked at her for confirmation. “We’ll go on three, aiight? You ready?” She nodded. “Okay. One. T—”
I knew she was going to do that shit.
My mouth was barely making the “T” sound before Reese shot off, at an honestly impressive pace. I blew out a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second before I took off behind her. It didn’t take me long to catch up.
I grabbed her around the waist, pulling her off of her feet. She screamed as I pulled her against me, planting a kiss against the back of her neck.
“Put me down!”
I obliged her demand, laughing at how hard she scowled at me once her feet were back on the ground. “You know you forfeited by cheating, right? No Batter Up. Scrambled eggs and oatmeal.”
She sucked her teeth. “Whatever. I’ll probably be ending the night with a pint of ice cream anyway.”
Reese pulled her hood up over the two fat cornrows she’d tamed her hair into. Not because she was cold, because she was trying to obscure her face. I talked to her, teased, tried to get her back to playful, but she was all one-word answers as we headed back to the car.
We were just a few feet away from the parking lot when I grabbed her hand again, pulling her against me. I tugged her hood down, bringing her face out, and I wasn’t surprised that it was wet, or that her eyes were rimmed in red from crying. I brought my hands up, wiping her cheeks. “I don’t think I’m taking the internship in Cali.”
Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “What? How can you pass up that kind of opportunity?”
I shrugged. “It’s a nice opportunity, but a company here offered something similar. Only difference is that the internship isn’t paid, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. I have savings, and it’s only six months. I like it here. With my family, in the city where I grew up.”
Fresh tears sprang from Reese’s eyes as she shoved me away. “So you knew that, and you made me think you were leaving?!”
“I was just telling you about it! And… I won’t lie. I wanted to see your reaction, see if you cared.”
She twisted her face. “For what?! Is it funny to you?”
“No!” I scrubbed a hand over my head. “Not funny, not at all. I’m saying… I wanted to know how you’d be upset by the thought of me leaving, because you matter in the decision, Reese. If you’d been all blasé about it, that would’ve let me know that you’re not wrapped up in me like I’m wrapped up in you. And that would have made it a helluva lot easier to leave!”
“So you are leaving!” Reese shook her head. “Fifty time a day, I’m thinking about you, wondering about you, hoping that I’m showing you that I care! As much as I care about you, do you really think I’d be okay with you leaving? Is that the impression I’ve given, that I want to be without you? Cause I don’t!” She covered her mouth with her hand, turning to walk away, but I caught her again.
“No.” I pulled her flush against me, one arm around her waist, one hand gently gripping her chin. “No,” I repeated. I’d made that decision, just then. What sense would it make to move thousands of miles away, away from a woman who made me feel like Reese did?
We were barely approaching two months, but in that time, we’d grown so close that I barely remembered what it was like to be without her. We read, cooked, worked o
ut, slept, chilled, damn near everything together. She’d challenged and encouraged, nurtured and insulted her way right into my heart, and I was no expert on it, but… something told me she was the woman I was going to be spending my life with.
Not that I was going to be saying that shit out loud any time soon, but still. It mattered.
“I’m not leaving,” I said one more time, just to reinforce it to her. “I’m taking the internship here, not just because I like it here, not just because I want to be around my family. Because I want to be around you, princess.”
Her hard expression immediately softened, and she nodded, sniffling as once again, her eyes welled with tears. “Thank you.”
I pressed my lips to hers for a kiss, and she eagerly kissed me back. Full tongue and everything, right in the middle of campus. We laughed our way back to the car, hand in hand, and as we approached the passenger side, Reese squeezed my fingers.
“Please don’t ever scare me like that again,” she murmured, looking up into my eyes.
I gave her a smile, then kissed her sweaty forehead. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Good. Cause I’m gonna kick your leg from under you if you do that shit again.”
My eyes went wide, and met hers as she lifted an eyebrow at me. “What the fuck, Reese?” I laughed, shaking my head. “You are… I swear… I love you.”
Her lips parted in a little gasp, and then the corners of her mouth tipped into a smile that made warmth blossom in my chest. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, Sgt. Wright. Because I love you too.”
- the end –
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Christina C. Jones is a modern romance novelist who has penned more than 20 books. She has earned a reputation as a storyteller who seamlessly weaves the complexities of modern life into captivating tales of black romance.
Prior to her work as a full time writer, Christina successfully ran Visual Luxe, a digital creative design studio. Coupling a burning passion to write and the drive to hone her craft, Christina made the transition to writing full-time in 2014.
With more than 17,000 books sold or borrowed, Christina has attracted a community of enthusiastic readers across the globe who continue to read and share her sweet, sexy, and sometimes scandalous stories.
Most recently, two of Christina’s book series have been optioned for film and television projects and are currently in development.
Other titles by Christina Jones
Love and Other Things
Haunted (paranormal)
Mine Tonight (erotica)
Friends & Lovers:
Finding Forever
Chasing Commitment
Strictly Professional:
Strictly Professional
Unfinished Business
Serendipitous Love:
A Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Didn’t Mean To Love You
Fall In Love Again
The Way Love Goes
Love You Forever
Trouble:
The Trouble With Love
The Trouble With Us
The Right Kind Of Trouble
Trouble Don’t Last (2016)
If You Can (Romantic Suspense):
Catch Me If You Can
Release Me If You Can
Save Me If You Can
Inevitable Love:
Inevitable Conclusions
Inevitable Seductions (2016)
The Wright Brothers:
Getting Schooled – Jason & Reese
Getting Schooled (The Wright Brothers Book 1) Page 17
