Page 17 of Stopping Short

“It’s alright, Boots.” He drapes an arm around my shoulders and presses a soft kiss to my head. “I forgive you for royally messing up everything.”

“Jackson!” I swat at his chest, making him chuckle.

“I'm kidding. But maybe next time you ask me to visit you, warn me if you decide to get engaged to someone else, even if it isn’t real.”

“Why? You want to punch them too?” I peek up at him with a grin.

“Really? You want to go there? I was trying to defend your honor!”

He tickles me, making me shriek and squirm around on the boulder. I try to get away from him and I almost fall off of the rock entirely. Jackson catches me and pulls me into his chest.

“I’ve got you, beautiful,” he murmurs, holding me closer to him.

My heart skips a beat when he calls me beautiful. He’s only ever called me Boots or Harper. I don’t know what to do with the term of endearment.

“Do you promise not to keep things from me again? I'm supposed to be your best friend. I want to know about everything going on in your life. Got it?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

He’s so close. I could lean forward an inch and our lips would touch. It’s so tempting, but I can’t do that. Not after what happened between me and Evan just last night. I’d give anything to make Jackson mine, but I don’t want him to think he’s just a rebound. He’s so much more than that.

“I’ll call you and tell you about every second of my day.” I grin, needing to put some space between us. Not long term, but long enough to make sure I know what I'm doing and I can make it clear to Jackson he’s always meant something to me. I don’t want him thinking I'm falling into his arms because I lost my boyfriend.

“That sounds perfect. Especially when you sneeze and pee yourself.”

“Oh my gosh! That happened one time!”

“And I’ll never let you forget about it.”

“Yeah, well… I was there when your bathing suit fell off on the boat.” I grin even wider.

“That was your fault! Your dad let you drive the boat and you gunned the engine. I had a choice to hang onto my suit or the tube. Since I didn’t want to get left behind, I chose the tube. Plus, you didn’t see anything.” He rolls his eyes.

“That’s what you think,” I singsong.

“Oh, c’mon, Boots. You were like seven.” He lays back on the rock, taking me with him. He tucks me into his side and lets out a sigh. “This is all I wanted when I thought of this weekend.”

“What do you mean?” I peek up at him, taking in the scruff on his jaw and the way his hair is a mess right now. He looks so much like the boy I fell in love with. The one I dreamed about forever with but never believed it could actually happen.

“I just wanted to spend time with you. Not friends. Not parties. I wanted it to be you and me. No plans, just spending time together. This is what I’ve missed the most since I went away to college.”

“That seems like a lifetime ago,” I whisper.

“Because it was. So many things have changed and for once I want to feel like nothing has changed between us.”

“Me too.”

“What are you doing after the semester is over?” He never once looks at me. I don’t know if that’s because he’s enjoying staring up at the sky or if he’s giving me the chance to answer without being watched, either way, I love it. It’s giving me a moment to memorize every inch of his face without him noticing.

“I don’t know. I’ve applied to a few different law schools, but I'm waiting to hear back from them. I kind of applied late, so I might take a year off and just work. Honestly, I don’t know what I want to do. I applied to a bunch of jobs all over the country, but I’m not sure I want to move further away from home. Sophia told me I could come work at the bakery if I wanted to. I'm thinking of just moving home and then worrying about everything later.”

“If you could plan out your dream life, what would it look like? I want you to think about it for a few minutes before you answer me. I don’t want some quick, off the top of your head answer. I want the real answer.”

Chapter 12

Jackson

She’s quiet as she thinks and I'm happy she’s taking my question seriously. I want to know what her dreams are so I can help her achieve them.