“I don’t know,” she says, turning a nice shade of pink. “It’s fun flirting, but it would just be while he’s here since we live too far apart for anything to get serious.”

“Hmm…” I say, nudging her and she playfully nudges me back.

“Don’t say anything, Jessa,” she requests and I nod my head.

“I would never, Sam. You know that. Just enjoy yourself while he’s here,” I tell her, and she smiles before standing up.

I follow her lead and she gives me a hug before placing her hand on the doorknob. “I really came in here to make sure you’re okay,” she says. I inform her that I’m just fine, especially now that Grant has filled my room with pictures of people that love me.

After I shut the door behind Sam, I go into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Seconds after climbing under my sheets, the urge abruptly hits me. I know this is a bad idea, but part of me feels as though it would give me peace to rip it up. Opening my nightstand drawer and snaking my hand under it, I feel the corner of the photo, secured by tape. Of course my parents wouldn’t have found this.

Staring intently at the picture, I see how my smile has changed since then. It seems forced, and I also notice the way Jason has his arm slung over my shoulder, pulling me into him, as though I’m his possession. Anger fills me as I think about how stupid I was, and I start ripping the picture to shreds. Tossing the last bits of my past into the trashcan by my bed, I take one last look at the photo on my nightstand and turn off my light, knowing that was the end of Jason invading my thoughts. I’ll no longer let him have this hold over me. The image of Grant and me laughing on that deck brings peace over my body, allowing it to succumb to sleep.

Grant

I’m awoken by her screams. Throwing the covers off the bed, I run out of my room and down the hall, busting into her bedroom. I grab her and pull her into my arms. Her sobs are uncontrollable as she pushes back from me but I hold her tighter. She thrashes her body back and forth to get out of my hold, and I see her parents in the doorway, looking on with a mixture of fear and sadness in their eyes. I continue to whisper in her ear, hopeful my voice will calm her. A few minutes later, she relaxes in my arms and I loosen my grip. Her dad starts to step into the room, and I’m not about to stop him. But when Jessa pulls back slightly and places her hands on my cheeks, he retreats back to his wife’s side.

“Grant,” she sighs. I tell her again to calm down and that everything will be okay. She buries her head in my neck. I crawl into bed with her and let her snuggle close to my side, wrapping my arms around her. Her dad gives me a small nod, letting me know that he’s giving me permission to stay with her, and her mom smiles while shutting the door.

“It’s okay, baby,” I say to her, soothingly stroking my hand up and down her back.

“It was horrible,” she stutters, still trying to catch her breath.

“It was just a nightmare, baby, I’m here now,” I tell her, but her breathing is still erratic.

“You left me, Grant. You found out I wasn’t who you thought,” she reveals.

“You never have to worry about that.” I scoot down in the bed, bringing the blankets over us. God, having her next to me feels so right.

When I first went to bed by myself tonight, I tossed and turned, finally putting some music on to help me go to sleep.

Her breathing eventually starts to even out. Thankful, I relax my grip on her, remembering my own nightmares after Lizzy. I know I have to tell Jessa about her, although it seems completely ridiculous at this point. What I had with Lizzy doesn’t compare to what I feel for Jessa. But Jessa deserves to know the truth about what happened that night. It’s the last secret I’ve been keeping from her, and the sooner I tell her, the faster we can move on.

I know, without a doubt, she’s the one for me. I love her with every ounce of my being. Her dad says I brought her back to them, but she ignited something inside of me that was never there. She gave me hope that a life filled with admiration, encouragement, and love for one another can exist, making me crave it.

Her light snores tell me she is finally asleep, so I cuddle her closer to me, hoping to find sleep myself.

Trey is already downstairs by the time I get up, and I briefly wonder if he even slept here last night. Mrs. Harrison is making breakfast and Sam sits on a bar stool, chatting with her mom. I’m in awe of Jessa and Sam’s relationship with their parents. There’s a mutual respect that the whole family has for each other that I’ve never seen before.

“Hey, baby, you ready to be killed on the slopes today,” Jessa teases, smacking my ass on her way into the kitchen.

I quickly grab her hand and pull her back to me. “Not so fast, sweetheart,” I say and kiss her. “Good morning,” I murmur against her lips before releasing her.

“So what’s the plan?” Brady asks, walking into the room. “Just so we’re all aware, Sadie isn’t much of a skier, so she’ll be at the spa most of the day.” He takes his seat next to me at the table.

“Oh…the spa. Count me in,” Sam chimes in and Jessa rolls her eyes. “Join us, Jessa,” she requests.

“No way, I have to annihilate Grant first. Maybe after,” she says and shrugs her shoulders.

“Alright. Jessa, you can ski with Grant this morning and then meet us there afterward,” Mrs. Harrison suggests.

“The spa…” Jessa sighs. I can tell she feels obligated when she sees her mom’s hopeful face. “Fine,” she reluctantly agrees.

“Great, I’ll go make reservations.” Mrs. Harrison puts some food on the table and leaves the room.

Jessa comes to sit on my lap. “Sorry about last night,” she apologizes.

“Don’t be.” I feed her a bite of the eggs from my plate and she moans. “I’m your boyfriend, it’s my job to keep you safe and feeling secure,” I tell her, smiling.

“I guess at least you got to come and sleep in my room,” she jokes, and although I don’t find the humor in it, I chuckle slightly.

After we finish breakfast, we all get our snow gear on and head out in the two rentals cars. Once we get to the ski resort, Sadie, Sam, and Mrs. Harrison leave for the spa, and all the guys and Jessa head over to buy our lift passes. We make our way to the chair lifts and Jessa is all smiles, I assume happy she’s back home on the mountain slopes again.

My eyes keep scanning for places to get her alone, but unless I want to do it on the snow or up against a tree, I’m out of luck. Not to mention, her dad’s with us and there’s no way I want to get caught by him, bet or no bet.

We get up to the top of the mountain. Jessa positions her goggles over her eyes and looks my way. “You ready, Bishop?” she asks cockily.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be waiting at the bottom of the hill for you. You can even have a head start if you’d like,” I say arrogantly.

“Enough talk, let’s go. 1…2…3.” We both shove off the hill and she has me from the start. I’m shocked, but I know I shouldn’t be; she did grow up here. Her ass is mesmerizing as she weaves back and forth down the hill. I’m concentrating on her and have to quickly shift my hips to avoid running over a woman in front of me. I don’t bother telling her she should be on another slope. Before I can catch Jessa, she stops at the bottom, smirking my way as I follow a few seconds after.

“You lost, baby!” She starts doing a hip shaking dance in her skis. Suddenly, I’m thinking the tree idea doesn’t seem so bad right now.

As we wait in line at the lift again, I smack her ass and then give it a slow rub. “Keep doing that and I’m going to let you win.” She smiles and I chuckle, leaning over and kissing her.

We get on the ski lift and I turn her way. “This would have been a good place,” I say, “except for the fact that we could plunge to our deaths. But if you were wearing a skirt right now, I could relieve you a little.” She takes a deep breath, obviously aroused just thinking about it.