Read Online Falling Sweetly (Starling Falls #2) by Aidan Willows - Free Book Online
Authors: Aidan Willows
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Hey. What are you doing up here?”
“I… I…”
I have no words to say apparently. For goodness sake, just say something... anything.
“Food,” I said abruptly, showing him the filled plate in my hands.
Why are you such a failure at being a normal human being?
“You came up here to show me your plate of food?” he asked with a confused frown. I felt my cheeks flush.
“No, it’s for you. You disappeared without eating anything, so I thought I would just bring you something to eat,” I spoke the words so quickly I wasn’t sure if he’d actually understood anything of what I had said.
“Thanks, Niki,” he said quietly, “Though, you didn’t have to do this. I would have emerged from hiding sooner or later,” he said with a small hollow laugh that was so unlike him it made me frown.
I shrugged. “It was no big deal. You didn’t seem like you wanted to be around people, but you should still probably eat something.”
“I haven’t been feeling all that hungry lately,” he said flatly.
“Oh my God. Jacob Jameson, not hungry? I feel like I should be looking out of the window for flying pigs,” I blurted out surprised. Besides Liya, the man had the most voracious appetite of anyone I had ever met.
My wide eyes and genuinely shocked expression seemed to shake Jake out of his funk a little, as he snorted before smiling at me.
“Yeah, I know right? Be on the lookout for blue moons too.”
I smiled warmly at him. “Can I come in?”
“Of course. I feel about fifteen again, worried that Aunt Deb is going to bust in here and ground me for sneaking a pretty girl into my room.” He moved back on the bed to make space for me to sit.
Ignoring the stupid flutter in my stomach that made an appearance when he called me pretty, I asked him with a laugh, “Sneak in many girls, did you?”
“Well, I didn’t. But Josh sure did, or he tried to at least. As many of them found out the hard way, that trellis against the house is not easy to climb,” he said with grin. I sat on the bed and carefully placed the plate between us.
“I thought you guys shared a room? Didn’t that get awkward when he tried to bring girls here?” I asked curiously.
“Whenever he had erm… company, I would just go crash in Caleb and Alex’s room or up in the attic with Nate.”
“Fifteen, huh? He sure started early.” I smiled and watched as he pulled the plate towards him and started picking at the food.
“Thanks for the plate, Niki. This is a surprise though,” he said before he took a big bite of a hotdog, “It kinda seemed like you were going to avoid me forever.”
I felt my face get hot again. “I haven’t been avoiding you,” I protested weakly.
“Niki…c’mon,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “You drove into the gas station the other day, saw I was there and then drove straight back out again. You saw me when you were paying at the pet store, just threw your money at the cashier and ran out without your change. You-”
“Okay, okay,” I cut him off before he could mortify me any further. “I may have been avoiding you a little bit.”
I tried not to stare as he moved onto a chicken wing, and licked some of the sticky glaze off his thumb.
I’m sure it’s not normal to be aroused by the sight of someone eating wings.
I felt a pang in my chest when a wounded expression shadowed his face.
“I could have gotten frostbite from the cold shoulder you were giving me. Were you pissed about me taking you to my room on New Year’s Eve? Because-”
“Jake, no. I’m sorry that you thought I was annoyed with you. That’s not it at all. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
His brows drew together as he swallowed another mouthful. “Then what was it about?”
“I was embarrassed!” I blurted out.
“What do you have to be embarrassed about?”
“That night! I don’t remember most of it but, oh my God, the way I behaved…” I buried my face my hands. “I’m sorry.”
He made a noise of
“I… I…”
I have no words to say apparently. For goodness sake, just say something... anything.
“Food,” I said abruptly, showing him the filled plate in my hands.
Why are you such a failure at being a normal human being?
“You came up here to show me your plate of food?” he asked with a confused frown. I felt my cheeks flush.
“No, it’s for you. You disappeared without eating anything, so I thought I would just bring you something to eat,” I spoke the words so quickly I wasn’t sure if he’d actually understood anything of what I had said.
“Thanks, Niki,” he said quietly, “Though, you didn’t have to do this. I would have emerged from hiding sooner or later,” he said with a small hollow laugh that was so unlike him it made me frown.
I shrugged. “It was no big deal. You didn’t seem like you wanted to be around people, but you should still probably eat something.”
“I haven’t been feeling all that hungry lately,” he said flatly.
“Oh my God. Jacob Jameson, not hungry? I feel like I should be looking out of the window for flying pigs,” I blurted out surprised. Besides Liya, the man had the most voracious appetite of anyone I had ever met.
My wide eyes and genuinely shocked expression seemed to shake Jake out of his funk a little, as he snorted before smiling at me.
“Yeah, I know right? Be on the lookout for blue moons too.”
I smiled warmly at him. “Can I come in?”
“Of course. I feel about fifteen again, worried that Aunt Deb is going to bust in here and ground me for sneaking a pretty girl into my room.” He moved back on the bed to make space for me to sit.
Ignoring the stupid flutter in my stomach that made an appearance when he called me pretty, I asked him with a laugh, “Sneak in many girls, did you?”
“Well, I didn’t. But Josh sure did, or he tried to at least. As many of them found out the hard way, that trellis against the house is not easy to climb,” he said with grin. I sat on the bed and carefully placed the plate between us.
“I thought you guys shared a room? Didn’t that get awkward when he tried to bring girls here?” I asked curiously.
“Whenever he had erm… company, I would just go crash in Caleb and Alex’s room or up in the attic with Nate.”
“Fifteen, huh? He sure started early.” I smiled and watched as he pulled the plate towards him and started picking at the food.
“Thanks for the plate, Niki. This is a surprise though,” he said before he took a big bite of a hotdog, “It kinda seemed like you were going to avoid me forever.”
I felt my face get hot again. “I haven’t been avoiding you,” I protested weakly.
“Niki…c’mon,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “You drove into the gas station the other day, saw I was there and then drove straight back out again. You saw me when you were paying at the pet store, just threw your money at the cashier and ran out without your change. You-”
“Okay, okay,” I cut him off before he could mortify me any further. “I may have been avoiding you a little bit.”
I tried not to stare as he moved onto a chicken wing, and licked some of the sticky glaze off his thumb.
I’m sure it’s not normal to be aroused by the sight of someone eating wings.
I felt a pang in my chest when a wounded expression shadowed his face.
“I could have gotten frostbite from the cold shoulder you were giving me. Were you pissed about me taking you to my room on New Year’s Eve? Because-”
“Jake, no. I’m sorry that you thought I was annoyed with you. That’s not it at all. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
His brows drew together as he swallowed another mouthful. “Then what was it about?”
“I was embarrassed!” I blurted out.
“What do you have to be embarrassed about?”
“That night! I don’t remember most of it but, oh my God, the way I behaved…” I buried my face my hands. “I’m sorry.”
He made a noise of
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