“I didn’t do all of this as some sort of gesture out of the goodness of my heart, Sade. I did this to put a tiny dent into the debt I owe you. Because you’ve done more for me in the past five months than I’ll ever be able to repay you for.” He traces his thumb over my bottom lip.

And oh god, I’m pretty sure my insides just melted into a pile of actual goo. And please, god, let this be the moment he kisses me. Because there’s a good chance I might die if he doesn’t kiss me. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as much as I want, right now in this moment, for Jack Thomas to kiss me.

He removes his finger and takes a blasted step away from me. “I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. And I’m trying, I promise I’m trying to get there. I just need a little more time.”

It’s the closest he’s ever come to acknowledging this zing between us, and I don’t know where exactly there is, but I know I’ll give him all the time he needs. I still can’t wrap my head around Jack’s thinking he’s the one who needs to come up to my standards; the idea is too ridiculous to make any sort of sense in my brain.

He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I don’t expect you to wait for me or anything.”

“I haven’t even looked at another guy since I moved in here.” I blurt out the words before fully thinking them through.

And I don’t even realize the truth of the statement until I say it out loud. It’s been five months, and I can’t remember the last time I went that long without so much as a flirtation over a drink. But no one has piqued even a hint of my interest since I met Jack, even when I still thought of him solely as my nerdy, sweet roommate.

“So does that mean you think you could give me a little more time?” There’s such hope in his voice, my already melty insides turn completely liquid.

I can’t do anything other than nod and agree. Because he means too much for me to do anything else, and I want him to have that time, to feel ready for whatever the next step might be. I hold open my arms and he steps into my embrace. And we’ve hugged before, mostly awkwardly, but this is something different. His arms wrap around me, his strong hands flat on my back, pulling me close. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, letting my fingers tangle in the curls at the nape. I breathe in every inch of him, holding on for as long as I can.