SKIPPING TIME

Chapter 26

As Cacee came out of the bathroom in a rush, Jess stepped in front of her. She halted so fast she almost fell but when Jess put out a hand to catch her, jerked away. His hand hovered between them awkwardly for a second before he scraped it through his hair, cleared his throat and mumbled, "I'll help you clean up if you want."

Cacee's body tingled with a mixture of chills and heat as her pulse thudded against every inch of her skin. Up close Jess looked as pale as he had on their first day in the warehouse. Dark rings shadowed his eyes, and a muscle jumped at his temple. His nails were torn and ragged. She wanted to reach for him, wanted to give him a hug and ask if he was okay.

And this was her chance. She needed to do this. For their friendship, yes. And because seeing him still so sick broke her heart. But also because, at this point, he must think she was a little unhinged. He'd watched her throw a giant tantrum and then physically make herself ill--all because he'd broken up with her. Okay. Time to end this. God she wanted to end this.

Cacee opened her mouth just as Jess said, "Cace? Do you need some help?"

The words echoed in her mind, only this time she heard own voice saying them. Saw herself, clear as day, sitting beside Jess on his bed. He'd said he was going to shower. And she'd asked, "Do you need some help?"

In her memory she watched the fluid shift of Jess's muscles as he leaned closer and looked her up and down. She saw the liquid heat of his gaze and felt her stomach drop as he said, "Showering? Yeah. You can do my back, but only if I can do yours first." He'd only been teasing, but God he'd sounded sexy. She remembered knowing he wanted to be with her. Only he hadn't. Not really. He'd just wanted a girl--any girl--to hook up with. And when Ray made it clear that wouldn't happen?

Another memory. In this one Jess didn't sound sexy. He sounded flat and bored. "I'm not ready to be in any kind of relationship. I figured we both got overwhelmed coming here, and maybe thought we felt some things we didn't, but nothing actually happened. I mean, this doesn't have to be a big deal, right?"

Yeah. No big deal. She couldn't keep down food, she was running mysterious fevers, she spent most of her time either crying or sleeping and, overall, wanted to die. But this was no big deal.

Cacee's teeth gritted, and she shoved past Jess without bothering to answer. Ignoring the stab of guilt in her chest and the  clump of tears in her throat, she went to help her father clean up