Actually Love - Jessie & Zach (5 page)

Also, she couldn’t speak for Zach, but she knew that she would be an excellent tenant. She would pay her rent on time. She would hardly be there, so it wasn’t like she would put a lot of wear and tear on the place. And unlike the college-aged kids who had “paraded” through, Jessie never entertained. So in fact, by feeding into the delusion that she and Zach were a couple, she was
really
helping Margie by making sure that she had responsible tenants.

Decision made. No guilt over the tiny white lie. Jessie quickly filed that back in her mind under ‘resolved.’

Second issue: She had a roommate.

This one was not too big of a deal. Jessie had shared a room with her younger sister Becca from the time she was one year old until she’d left for college. Then in college, she had had several roommates. After graduation, she’d spent a year living on her own. Then she moved back to Harper’s Crossing with two of her three sisters. The brownstone was plenty big enough for two. It had two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, not to mention ample living space. And again, she worked long hours and planned on spending every other weekend going to see her family, so she wouldn’t be there that much.

Decision made. Having a roommate was not a problem. Jessie mentally filed that under ‘resolved.’

Third issue: Her unbelievably strong, totally uncharacteristic reaction to aforementioned roommate.

Jessie tried desperately to reason that one away. She hadn’t had sex in almost a year—maybe she was just horny. That didn’t fly though because she met men every day and
never
had she felt like that. Maybe it was a pheromone thing. If that was the case, with each interaction, her response should weaken as her body built up an immunity to the visceral reaction, to the potent hormone chemical Zach was putting off.

That had to be it. Nothing else made sense. Yes, he was incredibly good-looking, but she hadn’t even seen his face and her body had been exploding with fireworks like it was the Fourth of July. Okay, so if it was pheromones, they would lose their potency with time, and she could ignore them until then.

Decision made. She could totally handle her body’s reaction to Zach Courtland. Filed under ‘resolved.’

“Here you go.” Zach set down both a water and a clear cup filled with caramel-covered liquid and ice.

“What’s this?” Jessie asked as Zach sat across from her.

“Venti, iced chai tea latte with soy milk and sugar-free vanilla syrup,” Zach stated as he opened up his own bottle of water.

No. Way. He’d remembered her drink order? Jessie felt a flash of heat spread through her from head to toe as the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up at attention.

Maybe she had shut the file on her body’s reaction to Zach prematurely.

*     *     *

Zach watched as Jessie’s eyes widened and her lips parted in shock.

Had she seriously thought he couldn’t handle getting one drink order right? Oh well. He was used to surprising people. He’d been athletic all of his life, so most people had categorized him as a dumb jock. He wasn’t. He’d scored 2040 on the SAT.

Deciding to ignore her reaction, Zach took a drink of water and asked, “So are you psychic or something?”

“What?” Jessie’s brow furrowed as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

“Your slip on the sidewalk.” Zach tilted his head towards the front door. “That didn’t remind you of the story you told the ladies of how we
met?
”

“Oh my God.” Jessie’s eyes lit up as she smiled from ear to ear and she shook her head slightly from side to side. “That’s right. I didn’t even think about that. I was too busy trying not to lo…”

A blush crept up Jessie’s face as her words trailed off. Zach had never met anyone who seemed to be as much of a contradiction as the girl sitting in front of him. Usually, he could read the opposite sex within a few minutes. What they were about. What they were trying to hide. What they wanted.

It wasn’t just the opposite sex. Zach had always been able to read people in general. Their weaknesses, strengths, insecurities, fears. It had come in handy in his career. Boxers always had tells for when they were at their weakest, hurt, or even sometimes scared. Zach instinctively knew the exact moment to go in for the kill. Which was why he was undefeated. He held a twenty-and-o record with sixteen knockouts.

“You were too busy trying not to what?” Zach asked, hoping to get a clue to this mysterious beauty.

He watched, captivated, as several different emotions played out on her flawless face. A strand of honey-blond hair gently fell across her forehead, and Zach’s fingers itched to touch it. His palms grew moist with sweat at the thought of the silky feel against his fingertips.

A thought occurred to him like a light bulb turning on in his head. Maybe the reason that Jessie seemed to be so unreadable to him was because he couldn’t seem to control his response to her. Every time she spoke, smiled, looked at him, did
anything,
it was like his body didn’t just take notice. It consumed him.

His physical reaction must have been clouding his usual people-reading skills. All of his instincts were on the fritz because his hormones were on circuit overload. Since the first moment she’d looked up at him with those huge brown eyes, all he’d wanted to do was strip her naked and drive himself inside of her. His overwhelming desire for her was all his mind could process.

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand dismissively as she lifted her chai tea to her mouth, wrapped her pouty, pink lips around the plastic straw sticking out of her cup, and sucked the amber liquid up.

Damn.
Zach had never been jealous of an inanimate object before, but he would give his left nut to be that straw right now.

As she set the cup back down, she took in a shaky breath. Placing her hands flat on the table top, she said, “I realize that we have found ourselves in an unusual position. I’ve been thinking about it, and I feel like we can make it work so that we are both satisfied with the outcome.”

Holy hell.
He knew he was in trouble when just Jessie’s speaking the words ‘
satisfied’
and ‘
come’
in the same sentence made his dick grow so hard that he was worried it would lift the table.

“What do you have in mind?” Zach’s tone sounded much raspier than he’d meant it to.

Jessie lifted one dark-brown brow, and a small smirk pulled at her lips as determination burned brightly in her glowing brown eyes. “Well, I want the brownstone, you want the brownstone, and Margie wants to rent the Brownstone to
us
.”

Zach nodded as a smile spread on his face. He was really starting to enjoy the fact that, in one moment, Jessie seemed vulnerable and open and in the next, she seemed totally in charge and unstoppable.

In an all-businesslike tone, the blond bombshell continued. “I don’t mind having a roommate. I’m not going to be around much. I work long hours and have family close by that I plan on visiting often. My only stipulation is that I take the master with the attached bathroom. But I am willing to pay ten percent more of the rent for it, which would leave your share at forty percent, and then we can split utilities fifty-fifty.”

When Zach didn’t answer immediately, Jessie reached out her hand and asked in a challenging tone, “Deal?”

The look in her eye made him feel like she was
daring
him to shake on it. Raising his hands in mock surrender, Zach asked lightheartedly, “Don’t you think we should get to know each other a little bit before we do anything
crazy
and
permanent
like a handshake deal?”

Irritation flashed across Jessie’s flawless face before she quickly masked her reaction and lowered her hand. With an unreadable expression, she stated flatly, “No. I don’t see any reason that would be necessary. Unless there is something in your background that would prevent us from getting the place. Do you have a criminal record?”

“Not even a speeding ticket.” Zach had gotten into some trouble as a teen, but once he had become an adult, it had been expunged from his permanent record.

“How’s your credit?”

His credit was great. His mom’s was the one that had suffered because of all of her medical bills. “Good.”

“Do you know your credit score?” she shot back.

This girl really did not beat around the bush. He liked her style. “Eight hundred and twenty. Do you know yours?”

Jessie’s lips pursed, and for a moment, he didn’t think that she was going to answer him. Zach couldn’t care less what her credit score was, but he found himself anxiously waiting for what her next words would be. She wasn’t predictable, and he was finding out that he
really
liked that.

Finally, tilting her head, she let out a small sigh. “Seven hundred and ninety.”

It was blatantly obvious that the admission had pained her. Zach tried not to smile, but he felt his lips twitch in amusement. “It’s not a competition.”

“Everything is a competition,” she stated firmly as she separated the two applications, handing one to him. Looking straight into his eyes and using a no-nonsense tone, she asked, “So do we have a deal?”

“You honestly don’t have any other questions for me?” He had no idea why this girl would be willing to move into a house with a complete stranger. But for some reason, it bothered him. Sure,
he
knew he was a good guy, but she didn’t.

Not missing a beat, she answered, “Your credit and criminal record are all I’m interested in.”

“Really? That’s
all
you’re interested in?” Zach honestly had not intended to imply anything sexual in his question. But as the words had left his mouth, he’d felt the energy between them shift.

A flush rose up Jessie’s neck, and she licked her lips nervously. “Yes,” she breathed.

Zach’s body immediately noticed that Jessie’s voice was not nearly as strong as it had been just a few moments before. It was now laced with a sensual tone.

“Well, what if that’s not all I’m interested in?” Again, the question came out sounding much more lascivious than he’d meant it to.

The energy between them was so hot that he wouldn’t be surprised if they set the small corner coffee shop on fire. Zach’s eyes lowered as his gaze was drawn to the small line of cleavage that was peeking out. Up and down, her chest rose and fell as her breaths became heavier.

“Fine. What are you interested in?” Jessie’s soft-spoken question sent all kinds of fiery darts of arousal, spiraling through Zach’s entire being.

That was a loaded question.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Her almond-brown eyes narrowed. “Are you hitting on me?”

Leaning forward slightly, being pulled to her like she was surrounded by a magnetic force field, Zach felt a slow-building smile spread across his face. “If I
were
hitting on you, I promise you wouldn’t have to ask.”

Tilting her head in suspicion, she asked, “Then why are you
interested
in my relationship status?”

“I don’t want to have to have kick some guy’s ass who shows up and isn’t happy about our potential living situation.”

“Oh.” Jessie’s eyes looked a bit surprised. Then, sitting up a little straighter, she once again was all business. “No. I’m not seeing anyone currently.”

That piece of information made him
much
happier than it should have. He wasn’t quite at the Tom-Cruise-jumping-up-and-down-on-Oprah’s-couch level of happy, but it was getting dangerously close to that territory.

“What about you?” Jessie countered.

“I don’t date this close to a fight.”

Zach never let his personal life interfere with his career. He’d tried a few serious relationships, but they never worked out. In the early days, before he turned pro, he would break things off with whoever he was seeing about six weeks before a fight. Now, he just never took things to that next level. Casual. That was the name of his game.

“A fight?” Jessie’s left brow rose once again, and it sent a shot straight to his ever-hardening length. He’d never considered eyebrows sexy, but something about the way Jessie moved hers made him want to pull her across this small table—or better yet, lay her down on top of the table.

“I’m a boxer,” he said, trying to stay focused on the conversation they were having because it was important. This conversation was going to determine his living situation for at least the next year. “My next fight is in eight weeks, on New Year’s Eve.”

“I see.” Jessie’s expression was unreadable.

Usually, people (women) had a lot more to say or at least a clear reaction to that little piece of information about his life. But he honestly could not tell what she thought about what he’d just told her.

After a few moments of sitting in silence, Jessie asked, “So is that it? Are we good?”

For some reason, it bothered him that she seemed to be in such a hurry to get out of there. Which was a problem. One of several that made him more than a little hesitant to move in with her.

First of all, the chemistry they’d shared in the basement, in the kitchen, and now sitting across from each other at Rise and Grind, was more intense than anything he’d ever felt before. And Zach was fairly certain that it wasn’t one-sided. If they were to
live
together, odds were they would end up acting on it. In his opinion the only thing worse than dipping your pen in the company ink, was shitting where you eat or in this case live. Zach
never
slept with his neighbors, much less a roommate.