Dare to Stay (Puppy Love Romances Book 3)
Page 27
“I was. But then…” Sydney grinned at her. “I took your advice.”
Brow furrowed, Jessica asked, “What advice was that?”
“I have spent the past three weekends exploring your city.” The fact that Jessica’s eyebrows shot up in surprise made Sydney laugh out loud. “It’s true.”
“What did you see?”
“I went to the museum. The art gallery. The falls. I hit a baseball game. I’ve tried six restaurants in the past two weeks. I did a wine tour. I saw a play in the new theatre downtown.”
Jessica’s jaw had dropped open.
“You know what?” Sydney asked. “You were right. Your city has a lot to offer. There’s an LGBT film festival here in the fall, isn’t there?”
Jessica nodded, words seeming to have left her for the moment.
“I want to do a story on it. I’ve already talked to Brad about it.”
There was more silence, but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was kind of awesome. Sydney bit into an egg roll, smiled at Jessica as she chewed.
“I…I don’t even know what to say,” Jessica finally told her. “I’m…shocked. Amazed. Impressed.”
“You’re a lot of things.”
“I am.” Jessica sat back against the couch and just studied her. “So…you’re staying? For a while at least?”
“Yeah.” Sydney nodded. “I like it here.”
“That’s…” Jessica stared off into space for a moment. “That’s good to hear. It’s good.” She nodded, turned a tender smile toward Sydney.
“Yeah? Well good. Because I wanted to talk to you about one more thing.” Sydney swallowed hard, did her best not to show how nervous she really was about this particular subject.
“What’s that?”
“Us.”
“Us?”
Sydney nodded. And waited.
“Is there an us?” Jessica asked quietly.
“I think there could be.” Sydney cleared her throat. “I mean, I’d like there to be.”
Jessica gave a slow nod, as if she was absorbing the idea.
Sydney shifted in her seat so she was a bit closer to Jessica, close enough to lay a warm, gentle hand on her thigh. She drew nervous circles on the denim with her thumb. “Look. I know we’ve had a couple of rough patches. My fault.”
“Not completely your fault,” Jessica interjected.
“But like I said,” Sydney continued, undeterred. “I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching, and even though I’ve figured so much out about myself and I’ve made some adjustments, it still feels like there’s something missing.” She looked up at Jessica’s face. “I think that something is you.”
Jessica returned the gaze with those big, beautiful blue eyes, her expression a combination of hopeful and guarded.
“I just feel like we could have something. If we gave it a real chance.” When Jessica still didn’t answer, Sydney gave it one last try. “I’ve missed you.”
Jessica looked down into her lap and when she raised her eyes again, they were watery. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Sydney hadn’t really known what to expect out of tonight. She hadn’t known what Jessica would say, how she’d react. She didn’t even know what she wanted her to say, but this? This right here? This was perfect. I’ve missed you, too, was absolutely the best thing she could have hoped for her to say.
“We can go slow,” Sydney said softly, leaning in closer. “We can take our time. There’s no hurry at all.” She pressed her lips tenderly to Jessica’s, so elatedly happy, she could hardly believe it. Her thoughts were cut short, though, when Jessica’s hands came up, grasped her face, and kissed her. Really kissed her, deeply and with tremendous passion.
Sydney had no idea how much time had passed when Jessica finally pulled back, but she didn’t care. Her head was swimming and she was so achingly turned on she wasn’t sure what planet she was on at the moment.
“What if I don’t want to go slow?” Jessica whispered.
“If you kiss me like that again, you can have anything you want,” Sydney said breathlessly.
“Anything?”
Sydney nodded.
“Take me to your bedroom.”
Sydney’s eyebrows flew up. “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
“You’re sure? I mean, we can talk more if you want.”
“Sydney. Do you need to talk more? You said you think we have something. I agree, and think it’s worth exploring. I’m in my thirties. I don’t need to analyze something I know I want.”
The idea of Jessica not only wanting her, but saying so, made Sydney’s core tense up—in a good way. She nodded again and stood up. She held out a hand. Jessica grasped it and Sydney led her to the bedroom door.
Where Jessica stopped them dead. “Wait.”
Sydney turned to look, almost afraid to, almost expecting her to change her mind, back out, say goodbye, tell her she was just kidding.
“I need you to know something.”
“Okay.” Sydney braced.
“I need you to know that I’m not leaving tonight. If we do this, there’s no running off when we’re done like some one-night stand. Okay? I don’t work like that.”
Sydney felt her own smile form and grow. “Good.” She glanced over Jessica’s shoulder at Millie, snoring softly, still at the base of Ella’s cat tower. With a suspicious squint, she looked back at Jessica and said, “Wait a minute. Is that the real reason you brought Millie?” Her eyes widened. “Did you know you’d end up staying?”
For the first time since she’d arrived, Jessica looked slightly uncertain, gazed down at her feet, but didn’t let go of Sydney’s hand. “Is it bad that I hoped?” she asked with hesitation, her voice small.
“Not even a little bit,” Sydney said, more certain than she’d ever been about anything in her life. She kissed Jessica softly on the mouth, and led her into the bedroom. “I plan on holding you all night long. I hope you’re ready for that.”
“I’ve been ready for that since I first laid eyes on you.” Jessica seemed surprised by her own words, but then smiled. “True story.”
“Then come with me,” Sydney said, and led her into the bedroom.
The End
By Georgia Beers
Novels
Finding Home
Mine
Fresh Tracks
Too Close to Touch
Thy Neighbor’s Wife
Turning the Page
Starting From Scratch
96 Hours
Slices of Life
Snow Globe
Olive Oil and White Bread
Zero Visibility
A Little Bit of Spice
Rescued Heart
Run to You
Dare to Stay
Anthologies
Outsiders
www.georgiabeers.com