Page 23 of Playing With His Heart

The new building was a constant reminder that her time with him was almost up, and she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to handle living without him. They’d lived every day to the fullest, and not once did he mention her leaving. She was afraid to bring it up. In the beginning, she’d had trouble trusting him, but Zayn had weaseled his way into her heart and found a place there that she didn’t want him to leave.

“Come on already, what are you waiting for? I’m ready to scrub your back.”

He held up the loofa and her favorite body wash.

She put a smile on and stripped out of her work clothes. That was another thing she’d gotten comfortable with, being naked in front of him. He made it easy. There was never any judgment.

Jenna climbed into the bathtub and settled herself between his outstretched legs. He immediately ran the water over her shoulders and made soft circles with the soapy loofa.

“This is a nice surprise. What’s the occasion?”

“I was hoping we could talk.”

“You surprised me with a bubble bath for two so we could talk? That kind of scares me, Zayn.”

“Really? I promise it’s not bad.”

Yeah, right!

“Okay, spill already. You know I hate anticipating the worst.”

“I told you it’s not bad.”

She turned and gave him one of her accusing looks.

“Alright, alright. I wanted to talk about the obvious elephant we’ve had in the apartment for the last few weeks. I’ve picked up on your change in moods.”

“What do you mean?” She knew exactly what he meant, though. She couldn’t lie, she was freaking out.

“Jenna, your apartment building is almost done. You can’t honestly tell me you haven’t thought about what’s going to happen when it’s all finished?”

She sunk back against his chest.

“I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

“Why?”

“Because, Zayn, I’m not sure I can leave you, and go back to living on my own.”

“Hey, look at me. Please?”

She turned again but couldn’t look him in the eyes. He used a finger to move her chin up in his direction.

“I want you to know that I never had any intention of letting you move out of here, Jenna. This is your home, our home. I don’t want you to leave.”

“You don’t?”

“Not at all. The best day of my life so far was when you moved in here. No way am I giving you up. I love you and I want this to be a forever thing. So much so that I already had Jerry start searching for renters for your unit. If you weren’t sure but your apartment wasn’t available, you’d have to stay.”

She was speechless. Of course, it's what she’d wanted as well, but hearing him say the words was more than she expected and it meant the world to her. She couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face.

“Oh honey, don’t cry, this is a good thing. Right?

She nodded, trying to smile. “It’s what I want too, I just didn’t expect it to happen.”

“Really?”

“Well yeah, our circumstances were a little bit unusual.”

“I have to admit, I was very guarded from the beginning, skeptical, and afraid of opening up my heart. I’ve been burned more times than I could count. I’ve avoided women for that very reason.

Awe, he thought I was playing with his heart.

“Well, I can promise you, I’m definitely in for forever.” She kissed his lips so sweetly. “I love you, Zayn.”

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