“I mean it,” he added.
She dropped her gaze and sighed. Before the sting of rejection, she’d had a great evening with him. She pulled out of his grasp, opened the door, and climbed out. She offered him a small smile before she closed the door.
“Me too.”
* * *
“What is that?”
“Is it what I think it is?”
“Oh, sweet mercy.” Jeni’s mother’s eyes went wide. “Someone is, um…oh my.”
Jeni shoveled eggs into her mouth, wishing she could slide under the table. Her mother must have opened the window near the kitchen table, letting in more than the sound of birds chirping. “It’s my neighbor. She likes to sleep with the window open.”
“That doesn’t sound like sleeping,” Rhonda quipped. “If it is, I’ll take some of whatever sleeping pill she’s got.”
“Rhonda!” their mother gasped.
“What?”
Jeni stood and walked to the window. “I’ll just close this.”
When she resumed her seat, the breakfast table was suddenly awkwardly silent, and her mother seemed unable to make eye contact.
“What time’s the appointment?” Jeni asked. It was at nine, but she needed to say something and wanted to move on from the subject of her neighbor.
Cassidy.
Usually, the woman brought Jeni nothing more than irritation. Today, she was reminded of the morning she’d first seen Logan, and her thoughts filled with him—his lips in particular. More than a week had passed since their kiss, but it felt like yesterday. She remembered how it felt to be in his arms that night, his open mouth hot against hers. She wasn’t sure what shocked her most, the fact that she’d kissed him in the first place or how much she’d enjoyed it.
Ever since that night, she’d felt an unfamiliar sense of awareness and curiosity, and she had no idea where to go from here. She’d been operating under the assumption that avoiding relationships meant she probably wouldn’t be having sex either. She’d never had a one-night stand and wasn’t currently interested in going that route.
But what if there was a third option?
“Nine.” Rhonda interrupted her thoughts.
Jeni cleared her throat, grabbed her plate, and stood. “We’d better get moving.”
Forty-five minutes later, the four of them sat in the waiting room of the oncologist’s office. Andrew had met them there and sat beside her, his knee bouncing.
Jeni’s phone dinged, and she fished it from her purse.
Logan:You’ve been avoiding me.
Jeni:Have not.
Logan:Liar.
Jeni:…
Logan:I had a good time last week.
Jeni:Me too. You know, before you shot me down.
Logan:If it helps, stopping that kiss might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Jeni:It helps a little.