Chapter Eighteen
Jackson
“I’m, I’m sorry, what?” She caught her breath and held it, and I stumbled on with my under-planned speech.
“Yeah, see what I did there? We could’ve talked for hours, skirted the issue, had some more sex… Not that I don’t plan on us doing that anyway. But, for real. I want to see if we can keep this up. I get asked to help people, all the time. I’ve never had this much fun, or enjoyed being a part of someone else’s goals, as much as I did yesterday. I want to spend more time with you, all my free time, to be exact. I want to buy groceries with you and cook, and force you to eat real food, and…” She pushed up onto her elbow and faced me, and my voice trailed off.
“Wow.” She breathed deeply. “So, you want to meet my friends, and help me build costumes? Maybe even work in the industry, in tech? Or, you just want to keep coming out and visiting and giving me hot sex, which I am happy to receive, by the way, and see where it goes?”
“I sound crazy.” I started to pull away, but she grabbed my shoulder and held me on the bed.
“No! I just want to be clear, because I feel the same way, I think.”
“I can keep coming out to visit, or keep coming to see you from Stanford, if they take me. But, those courses? I can do them online, I mean, c’mon, most of what I have left is a thesis anyway.” I boasted.
“So, you could stay here.”
“Or we could get another place together, but I think staying here is good at first.”
“How long have we been talking? I mean, how long have we known each other?” She grabbed her phone and I could see her scrolling through her texts. I smiled a little. She’d saved all my texts.
“Almost three months. But in my defense, one of my favorite gamer buddies dated his wife for a week before they were engaged, and they were married after three, so we’re still on the fringe of normal.” I watched her check things off on her fingers.
“I really like you, Jackson. I care more than I thought I would, and some things have been a lot easier and more natural than they should be at this stage.”
I nodded. She had been as easy to be around as an old friend since the moment I had arrived. A very hot, sexy, fuckable old friend who I wanted to cook for and shower with, who would never look at another guy again… so, not really an old friend so much as the woman I wanted to spend the foreseeable future with. I kept that part to myself.
“Well, in that case, I have a couple of friends I’d like you to meet. Shelby and Cassidy are really, really, nice, and they help me with my costumes. Shelby even does make-up for movies. Cassidy helps me with sewing. If you think you can handle it, we can meet up with them and their significant others tonight. Shelby invited us to join them for dinner.”
“Would you eat?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Hell no. But, I would drink a diet soda, or a single glass of wine, and pick off your plate. Jackson, they know me. They probably invited us to make sure you get something to eat.” She sat up and looked at me, wide-eyed. “Did we just decide we’re dating?”
“Yes. Yes, we did. You having second thoughts already?”
“No. Are we telling anyone?” She looked overwhelmed, and I suddenly wished I could take it all back until after Gamercon. I had wanted to get it out of the way, so it was one less thing to think about.
“You know they’re going to guess, and if they do, I’m going to be honest, okay? I’ve lived my whole life as an open book, so I hope you aren’t too attached to your privacy, because it ends tonight.” She held up her phone. “I’m going to look hot in that dress. Plan on seeing yourself on Instagram tonight, I promise to tag you.” She strolled off to the bedroom to grab our clothes, and I sat on the corner of the bed and held my head in my hands.
I had been good at covering my tracks, and even as close to getting caught as I’d come, I had managed to stay out of trouble. But if I was going to be living in the light cast by the her spotlight I was going to have to burn it all and never look back. I looked up and she was watching me.
“What’s wrong?” Her voice trembled a little and she looked scared, like I was going to start flipping furniture and screaming at her. What exactly was I thinking asking to be a part of her life before we really knew each other?
“I’m pretty private. I’m just getting used to the idea that I have to get rid of some of my identity, in exchange for a spotlight.”
“You know how I live. How can you be surprised?”
“I’m not surprised, C.J., I’m just letting it go. Don’t you think there will be anything you have to let go, and won’t you want me to be kind to you when you do?” Anger flashed across her face, fast and hot. It was gone so fast I almost thought I imagined it.
“Why do you have to let anything go?”
I scoffed.
“No, I’m serious. Why can’t you be Bruce Wayne?”
“Aside from the fact that my parents are alive and well, and I’m not that ridiculously wealthy?”
“Very funny. Wait. Are you wealthy?” The anger was long gone and she sat next to me on the bed, leaning against me and laying her head on my shoulder.
“No. I’m not. My parents are fiscally very healthy, ever since a very wise decision to sell some of their land and then a little parcel that we found was disgusting with oil, you know, the Texas way. I have a trust fund that I can touch when I’m twenty-four and, believe it or not, I’ve made myself invaluable in my home town as the resident computer genius, so I have money of my own.”
“It doesn’t change how I feel. It might change what I ask for for Christmas.” Her voice trailed off and I barked out a laugh. She was the most emotionally volatile person I had ever met. She strutted off to take a shower, and I tried to stop the room from spinning so I could stand up and join her.
I planned to keep it gentlemanly in the shower, but the moment I got in, she grabbed me and started stroking me while she leaned up for a kiss. I happily obliged, but carefully pried her hand off me and backed her under the water until she frowned at me.
“You do know we’re celebrating, right?” Shit. I’d flipped the switch again.
“I got a little out of hand last time. I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
She shook her head. “Well, stop. I don’t want you to be anything but you. If that means sometimes we get a little dirty, or if you want to take it slow, either is fine. Just don’t over think it. You’re fucking Bruce Wayne, remember? Party boy in the spotlight, super hacker in secret, and the only one who knows is your eternally loyal woman.” She thought for a minute. “Does that make me Vicki Lake, or Selina Kyle?”
I laughed and it rang out in the shower. “Selina Kyle, no question.” She breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief and wiped her forehead with the side of her hand. I stepped in and pushed up against her, cupping a hand around her breast and sliding my other hand behind her neck. I kissed her softly, then slid my tongue into her mouth and searched her for the answers I wanted. God, when my hands were on her skin, she was worth every mile that stood between her and home.
She finally pulled away from me, but clutched at my arms and held on like I was the only thing keeping her from slipping down the drain behind her. I soaped up her loofah and dragged it over her chest and stomach, soaping up her torso and her arms as she steadied herself. I wasn’t aiming for sex, and this time, she didn’t try to force my hand. I covered every inch of her from the neck down in thick, fragrant lather, then ran my hands over her as I rinsed her clean. Before I let her out of the water, I picked up and carefully washed each of her feet. When I stood, she was staring at me like I’d grown a third eye while she wasn’t looking.
Embarrassed, I started washing my hair and body without making eye contact with her at all. A minute later, I felt her hands on my back and shoulders, slick with lather, and she washed my back, never speaking to me, and she even made sure to scratch it good and hard before I rinsed off.
“I think that’s the best back scratch I’ve ever received.” I admitted when we were sharing the large bathroom rug and toweling off.
“My pleasure. So, do you need a rundown of my friends, or do you want to be surprised?”
I knew I was in uncharted territory if LA was anything like the movies made it out to be. “Nah, I’ll take the surprise. I mean, they’re your friends, they can’t be too scary, right?”
She kissed me and patted my rump. “Good answer, Cowboy.”
I dressed in the living room, while C.J. dressed in the converted bedroom. There was an alcove created by the exterior shape of the building, and I stashed my stuff there, using a chair from her dining set to hang pants and my button-down shirts on.
I slid the dark, slim fit jeans over my hips and threaded my belt through the loops, thinking about what I could talk C.J. into using it for later. The tee shirt was dark enough that it wouldn’t show sweat easily, and thin and soft enough that it was super comfortable, even though I hadn’t washed it yet. I shoved my feet into my boots. It wasn’t very LA of me, but I needed a little piece of home with me, grounding me, because I could see how easily who I was could be lost in the shadow of who I was with now.