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“Me too,” he grumbled. “Where are we going? The staircase has me all excited.”
“Just a picnic at our spot.”
Our spot. Even though he was missing his alone time, he loved that she’d called it their spot.
After a few seconds of gazing into her eyes, she poked him in the side, and he nearly fell down the stairs.
“Oh, that’s it,” he said, his competitive side taking over.
Her eyes widened, and she jumped down the stairs two steps at a time. But the dog walks had given him the exercise he needed, and in no time, he caught up to her before she could make it to the front doors.
He poked her in the side, making her laugh loudly. Smiling really did send relief. “Hey, girls,” she called.
He turned to see the two main receptionists eyeing them. He dropped his hands to his sides and gave them a curt nod. “Afternoon, ladies.”
Hannah covered a laugh with her hand and hurried out of the building. He waited until he was far enough from the building before chasing her all the way to the fountain. The two of them took turns poking each other’s sides, and what probably appeared juvenile to a bystander was more of a miracle to him.
Suddenly, she dropped her bag by the fountain and then backed up to the cement wall, her hands in front of her in surrender when he kept poking her side.
“No more,” she laughed. “You win.”
He dropped his hands and chuckled. “All right.”
A sneaky expression crossed her face, and she stuck out her finger to jab him again. “Oh, just one more.”
But this time, he grabbed it in time and held on. Holding onto her finger, he yanked her closer. But he pulled too strongly, and she came stumbling toward him. He caught her well before she fell into him. Her arms tightened around his neck, and he held onto her sides.
A look of horror passed over her face, and she tried to back away, but it was already done.
“Wait,” he said.
Her hands froze around his neck. No needle-stabbing sensation.
Relief flooded his entire body. “Will you let me test this?”
She nodded and stared at him, wide-eyed. He pulled her closer, so slowly. So carefully. One hand moved up her back urging her closer, and the other held the back of her head. With very little prompting, she leaned against his chest. He took a deep breath as every nerve in his body seemed to vibrate.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
Warmth washed over him from his head to his toes as he pulled her even closer and moved his hand from her head down to her back and pressed her against him so that there were no gaps.
“I think...” His mouth was a cottony nest. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I think this is okay. I’m hugging someone.” The words felt so foreign to his ears. He was actually doing it. After years of yearning for this type of feeling—a feeling of warmth instead of pain—he was actually doing it.
Her hands moved down his back and tightened around him. “We’re hugging, Jason.”
He swallowed the knot building in his throat. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been hugged.”
She buried her face in his chest and squeezed him. The annoyance and frustration from the work week, living together, and trying to mesh their very different lifestyles washed away, and the heart flutters returned.
“Do you think...” He backed away, needing to see her eyes, and tried again. “Do you think I’m capable of having a relationship with... someone?” He had wanted to say, with you, but the words wouldn’t come out.
He searched her eyes, looking for the answer before she said it. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she gave him a negative answer.
His gaze fell to her lips, and a new desire grew inside him. Lips were one of the most sensitive parts of the body, though he hadn’t experimented with that much. Kissing his mom on the cheek on graduation day had been trying enough. Since then, he’d kept his lips to himself.
But what if he just . . .
Jason lowered his mouth ever so slowly. When he was inches away, she closed her eyes, spooking him. He jerked backward. What was he doing? He couldn’t kiss someone. “I’m sorry, Hannah.”
