She did a twirl and smiled shyly at me. “Will this do?” she asked. I could see the worry in her eyes. I hadn’t considered the fact that she might not have something to wear, but she did. The dress she was wearing looked like icing.

“You’re gorgeous,” I replied honestly.

She beamed at me and reached back to twist her long blond hair up. “Should I wear it up or is it okay down?” she asked.

“Down,” I replied, walking over to her so I could touch her. She stepped into my arms easily. “I like it down,” I repeated.

She slipped her hands up my chest and behind my neck. “You look really hot all dressed up,” she said, staring up at me through her lashes.

“Mmmm,” I replied, tugging her closer to me. “We need to leave now or we won’t be going,” I said, letting her go and putting some distance between us. If I didn’t show up for this party, Finn would be hurt. But with Jess looking like the fantasy in every wet dream I’d ever had, it was hard to give a shit about Finn.

Jess took a deep breath, and I suddenly wondered just how secure that dress was. Her chest rose and fell, teasing me with the idea that her tits might break free. “Jess?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off her generous cleavage.

“Yes?”

“How sure are you that your tits are safe from being freed?”

Jess let out a small laugh and walked over to me. She slipped her hand under my chin and made me look at her face instead of her soft, firm, tempting-as-hell breasts.

“Do you plan on tugging it down?” she asked.

I was real close to doing it now. I swallowed hard. “Not at the party,” I replied. But as far as the limo ride back, I wasn’t promising anything.

“Then I’m positive they’re safely tucked away.”

I hoped she was right. I didn’t want to have to kill anyone for seeing what was mine.

A bucket of ice-cold water couldn’t compete with the icy chill that went through me. What did I mean by “what was mine”? Jess wasn’t mine. I couldn’t begin to think of her as mine. I would be going back to Harvard in the fall. I had a life that Jess didn’t fit into. One I was currently trying to figure out. I didn’t need more complications.

I turned and headed for the door, needing to get away from her. I couldn’t talk right now, or think. I had to clear my head. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have brought her. She was getting under my skin in a way I wasn’t familiar with, and I didn’t feel safe. It was also unfair to her.

“Jason?” she asked. Her voice wavered nervously.

I closed my eyes and mentally cursed myself. I had to distance myself from her, but I couldn’t hurt her in the process. She was my date. She was in a strange city. Ignoring her completely was not an option, but I needed to remind her of exactly what we were. A fling. Just a summer fling.

I masked the panic on my face before turning to see her standing where I had left her. She was clutching her hands nervously in front of her. Damn. I couldn’t be an ass. I held out my hand. “Come on. Time to go party,” I said with a smile. She didn’t seem sure, but she placed her hand in mine and I focused on getting us the hell out of that hotel.

The limo was waiting for us, and Kane stood at the door.

I didn’t slide in close to Jess this time. Smelling her and feeling the warmth from her body was too hard to resist. I reached for a crystal tumbler and poured myself some bourbon before sitting back. Taking a long drink, letting it burn my throat and take the edge off, I remained quiet.

Jess didn’t say anything, and looking at her was out of the question. I needed more to drink first. The ride to the party wasn’t long, thankfully. When Kane parked in front of the building, I set my glass down and prepared myself for a very long night.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jess asked quietly.

I wanted to tell her that no, she had done nothing wrong. I had let this go too far. I hadn’t been careful. But instead I smiled and shook my head. “Of course not. We’re here,” I replied as Kane saved me by opening the door.

Chapter Thirteen

JESS

I had done something. I just couldn’t figure out what. Was he embarrassed by my dress? That was all I could think of. We had been talking about it when he had gone cold. I didn’t have designer clothing. However, this dress was one of my best pieces. I wasn’t talented at many things, but I was good with a sewing machine. When I had cried because I didn’t have a nice dress to wear to the homecoming dance my freshman year, my momma had gotten out the old sewing machine that her mother had left her. She had brought me several dresses of hers that she no longer wore and told me to stop feeling sorry for myself and figure it out.

It had taken me a week of staying up most of the night to figure out how to work the machine. The designing had come easy. I was good at it. Making it work was more difficult, but I had worn an original dress to that dance. Making my own dresses had become a hobby. I enjoyed it. Momma brought me costumes from the club that needed mending, and they paid me for it. I even started making new stuff for them too.

This dress was my favorite creation. If he was embarrassed by it, then he shouldn’t have invited me. I wasn’t one of these people, but I refused to feel like less than a person because my label wasn’t a designer one.

He was intent on not speaking to me, so I remained quiet. I’d asked him twice now if I had done something. He’d said no. I wasn’t asking again.

When we arrived at the double doors of what I assumed was a penthouse because it wasn’t a normal-size apartment, he rang the bell and the doors swung open almost immediately. The music was loud and the girl at the door looked like something out of a magazine.

“Jason!” she squealed, throwing her arms around him. “You’re here! We’ve missed you.”

I watched as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. I would not care. Besides, she was probably the girlfriend of his friend who was throwing the party.

“Told you I’d be here,” he replied, stepping back and scanning the room. I was almost prepared for him not to introduce us. I wasn’t sure how I would respond if he didn’t. It wasn’t like I could leave. I had no money. I hadn’t brought my purse because it didn’t match this dress and wasn’t nice enough.

“Vanessa, this is Jess. Jess, this is Vanessa, a friend of mine from school,” he said, surprising me.

Vanessa’s appraising gaze made me nervous and angry at the same time.

“Guess it’s a good thing Jo isn’t here,” she replied, shooting Jason a look that made me cringe. “It’s nice to meet you, Jess.”

“You too,” I managed to choke out.

Jason placed his hand on my back and led me inside. That small touch helped ease my fear a little, but the moment we were inside he dropped his hand.

“Jason, you’ve been hiding,” a guy said. “Talked to Jax last night, and he said you were vacationing.” The guy shifted his gaze to me, and a slow grin touched his face. “And who is this?”

“Cameron, this is Jess. Jess, this is Cameron,” Jason said in a bored tone.

“Jess, huh? Well, Jess, how have we not met before?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“Because you don’t visit south Alabama,” Jason replied, taking a shot glass from a tray as a waitress walked by.

Cameron raised his eyebrows. “You’ve been hiding out at Jax’s summer place? Why no invite?”

“Been busy,” Jason replied.

Cameron’s eyes shifted back to me. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Jason glanced at me. “I need something more than this to drink. You thirsty? I’m going to the bar.”

Those were the first words he had spoken directly to me since we were in the limo. Startled, I just shook my head. Jason didn’t ask if I was sure or take my hand. He just walked off and left me there.

Cameron, on the other hand, didn’t go anywhere. “So, you and Jason been seeing each other long?”