Two Steps Back (Hunter Hayes fanfic Bk.3)

Plagiarism

Bethany guffawed, shoving her face into the crook of his neck to stifle her laughter. He used his foot to open the glass door, the spun her through it seamlessly. She had just enough time to see Hunter glaring at her through the panes. If he hadn't been staring at her before, he certainly was now.

"You're carrying me in a newlyweds hold, you know." Bethany gave Jordan a look as he winked at her. "At a rehearsal dinner for a wedding."

He laughed. "The irony is not lost on me," he chuckled. "Now, be a dear and fish the keys out of my pocket."

She did as he asked, but her mind pondered what he was doing. If he had simply picked her up and carried her to the car, she would have thought he was being gallant. But his mention of Hunter just before he did it made the move seem calculated and possessive. She had just told him about her previous engagement to Hunter, after all, and it was something that was difficult to take in. She didn't have long to think about it, though, as Jordan had managed to unlock the passenger seat and was placing her in the chair. He even went so far as to click her seatbelt in place.

He was so close to her, his arm grazing the exposed skin above her dress's bust line. She gasped, and he looked at her with concern in his eyes. She knew he wouldn't find any pain in her eyes.

Jordan kissed her then; he kissed her like a man possessed. He had never kissed her like this, and it thrilled her to no end. Her heart beat faster, and her forehead began to sweat. She grasped the front of his blazer, pulling him closer to her.

But, as always, he came to his senses, though maybe not as much as usual.

"I have to get you home first," he breathed, kissing her neck briefly before he ran around the front of the car and hopped into the driver's seat. Bethany's skin flushed, watching him click his own seatbelt and put the car in reverse. He pulled out, and as soon as they were driving down the road, his hand was on her thigh, stroking her skin and creating an even brighter fire.

He kissed her again, finagling the seatbelts away from their skin. He groaned, tossing his door open and leaving her blubbering like a fish for a moment, before he made it to her side and threw open her door, too. He picked her up again, and bumped the door closed with his hip.

Practically running, he entered the building and headed towards his apartment, kissing her wherever he could reach all the while. She just let him, squirming in his arms.

She broke into laughter when he knocked her head against the doorframe, and he apologized profusely.

He finally set her down when they made it inside, and he kissed her deeply, backing her up against the door.

Bethany balked. "No," she cried, the memory of Trenton storming in so vividly she thought for a moment it was happening again. She tamped it down painfully, like swallowing too much food at once. "Um, let's go to your bedroom," she purred, trying to wipe the quizzical look off Jordan's face.

He followed willingly enough, but his was much gentler with her now. His kiss was slower, less fiery.

She laughed again, and he pulled back to ask her, "What's so funny?"

Her hands wrapped around his back and she answered in a whisper. "I left my shoes in the car."

His laugh warmed her heart, and in that moment she knew she had never liked him this much. The growth of her affection gave her the strength to push away the last of that horrid memory, and she reached for the straps of her dress to push them down her arms.

He watched intently, but before she got them very far, he stayed her hand and searched her eyes intensely.

"Bethany, are you sure you're ready? Because we don't have to do this if you're not."

"I'm sure, Jordan."

"You're sure you're sure?"

She just nodded, going to work on her straps again, but he took both her hands from her shoulders and kept them in one of his.

"Bethany, at the door...you didn't seem so sure."

She sighed, the mood effectively broken. Backing up until her knees hit the soft down of his bed, she flung herself onto it and put her face in her hands.

"It's another long story, Jorge."

Jordan took his blazer off, pulling a hanger out and placing it in his closet. He took off his shoes as well, then held up one finger to a puzzled Bethany and took a shirt and a pair of shorts into the bathroom. He emerged soon after, his dress pants, shirt, and tie neatly folded. He plopped them down on his dresser before he joined her on the bed.

"Well, Beth, we have all night. And I really would like to hear these stories before we do anything. You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine. Sound good?"

She groaned, but nodded. "If you insist." She curled up under his arm and stretched her sore knee out on top of his. "But you're much more comfortable than I am," she pouted, drawling a circle in the white cotton fabric of his nightshirt.

He laughed, leaning away from her to pull another shirt from his nightstand.

"It's all I can offer you, I'm afraid." He winked and point to the bathroom, and Bethany obliged, heading in to change.

She could tell right now: it was going to be a long night.

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His stories were so tame compared to hers. Three exes: one cheater, one crazy girl (Jordan actually laughed all the way through the telling of that story), and one girl that just didn't work out. He had a few girls he had dated casually since, but all things considered, his dating history was fairly standard.

Bethany bit her lip and prepared herself to tell her own tale as Jordan finished the last of his. One of his hands was resting in between her shoulder blades, and the way he was rubbing her skin softly through the cotton of the t-shirt she had borrowed was immensely distracting.

She tried to tell him her history in as few words as possible, but there was a lot of material that was necessary to get a complete view of the relationship she'd had with Hunter. She had to tell him a bit about the fling she'd had with Trenton too, in the interest of full disclosure, but she was, of course, required by law not to explain the details that would let him know she was working with the government. The judgment Jordan was feeling was almost palpable when she admitted to having dated Hunter's best friend right in front of his eyes, but by the time she was done talking, his seemed much calmer, less disapproving.

"So, what do you think?" she asked warily, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

Jordan blew out a breath and rubbed his thigh. "It's a lot to process, Beth. I mean, you were engaged to this guy. That's tough to compete with." His free hand scratched the back of his neck.

Bethany wanted so badly to reassure Jordan that the relationship she had shared with Hunter was over. Her lips wanted to prove that there was nothing left to be worried about, no feelings that would get in the way of their happiness. But she thought back to the little Hunter figurine she had bought not but a few months earlier, how it was still sitting in her nightstand drawer.

The song Hunter had written for her popped into her head suddenly, and the tune nagged at her. She borrowed words from it now, knowing they were the only conciliatory things she could say.

"Jordan...you're everything I never thought I could be."

That peaked his interest, and he gave her a look. The moment stretched on and on, almost seeming infinite until finally, he closed the distance between them. His lips searched hers for the words they hadn't uttered, and she gave as much as she could.