Library Fun (Chloe PoV)

Jake was waiting in the usual spot. I was a bit surprised he wasn’t doing homework. Instead, he had a rather thick paperback novel. Smile on my face, I was about to rush to him when I found myself rooted in place. I tried to push down my euphoria induced smile, taking a few deep breaths. With him engrossed in his book, this was a perfect opportunity to test something I’d been wondering since he told me about his Gift.

Just how far exactly could he ‘see’ my noise?

God, it was hard to not rush over like some love sick puppy rushing to greet their loved one after not seeing them for a day.

I distracted myself by studying my boyfriend. The way his eyes moved across the pages as he read. How his chest rose and fell with each breath. His body language that screamed calm and collected. The adorable mop of hair on his head that I wanted to run my fingers through. It was hard not to lose myself in all those little details.

I blinked out of my daze as he lowered his book, head turning to look at me. His face was neutral, but I had a feeling he’d known I was there the entire time. I made a note of the distance. It was… further than I thought it would be.

Unleashing my smile, I crossed the distance in a hurry. He didn’t react as I ran my hand through his hair, a giggle leaving my lips. “Whatcha reading?” Not saying anything, he showed me the cover. I felt my eyebrow quirk. “Romance?” I released his head and plopped down in the chair next to him as I lowered my bag on the ground.

“Figured I could learn a thing or two.”

A snort escaped me before I could stop it. He stared. It was cute he wanted to learn about romance, but a cheesy romance novel wasn’t going to help him much. I’d read that one last year, and the author had a bad habit of—

He set the book aside. His eyes were on me, but distant. Like he was looking at something else. My noise? It made sense. Jake did that a lot. Made it seem like he was spacing out. It was still weird knowing that Jake’s Gift allowed him to see my emotional state, but I couldn’t deny the benefits that came with it.

And what it brought to the bedroom…

Focus, Chloe. Jesus. Two euphoria bumps and I was still…

Jake’s eyebrow raised slightly, breaking his stoic expression.

Fuck.

“Don’t,” I warned.

“I didn’t say anything,” he said in his flat voice.

“You were thinking it.”

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

I narrowed my eyes. God, I hated how Jake had the perfect fucking poker face. I got nothing from him. No tells. No hints. Nothing. Yet I was an open book to him. Super unfair.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked in a low voice as I reached out to take his hand. It was large and comforting as he gently returned my grasp.

“Wondering how you are still horny despite two—”

“You were thinking about it!” Great, now I was blushing. It was worse knowing he knew exactly how embarrassed I was. The more I tried to control my emotions, the less I could.

His hand squeezed mine. “To be honest, I find myself thinking of it quite a bit myself.”

My smile was unstoppable. Glad I made an impression. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “I enjoyed having sex with you.” My eyes felt like they were about to pop out of my head. He just dropped that without the slightest hesitation or ounce of shame. Thank Christ we were the only ones around. “The expressions you make when—”

“Okay!” I cut in as I felt my face heat. “Just because you don’t feel embarrassed doesn’t mean I can’t feel it.” Grinning, I lightly slapped his chest. “I know a good way to rid yourself of those dirty thoughts and help me at the same time.” I dug around my bag, pulling out my laptop. “You can help me with pre-calc!” I said with every ounce of enthusiasm I could muster. Dual euphoria bumps definitely helped with that.

Dead stare was all I got from him.

“Aww. It’ll be fun!” I said, unable to drop the smile. “Right?”

When he didn’t respond, I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “Right?” I asked, trying again.

He was looking through my noise again. I tried to relax, opening myself to him. Er, if that was possible. I wanted him to know he was my stoic badass. Just as he accepted me for who I was, I accepted him too.

“Very well.” I pumped my fist. With Jake helping, I’d be done in no time. I could usually work the answers out of him once he was satisfied I understood it. And if we finished early, maybe we could—

“And since we are doing that, we might as well study for the quiz too. I remember you mentioning it at lunch.”

My smile winked out. “Uh….” Eyes widened as I watched him dig around in his bag. No. No, no, no. He set his notebook on the table, opening it to flip through his notes. My god. He was serious.

Not even two bumps of euphoria could stop the regret from taking hold.

What had I gotten myself into?