Free Before by Nicola Marsh Page A

eased back.
    Our faces were so close. And damn if Jess wasn’t staring at me with blatant adoration, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted.
    I wanted to kiss her.  I should kiss her.
    But I’d sworn I wouldn’t give into mindless urges anymore, especially not with a girl who deserved so much more than I could give her.
    “Thirsty?” I released her and turned away so I wouldn’t have to deal with the hurt in her eyes. “We worked up quite a sweat.”
    She laid a hand on my shoulder. “Jack?”
    I knew what she was asking. With that simple touch, she was asking what the hell was going on between us, but fucked if I could give her the answer she wanted.
    “I’ll get us a couple of soft drinks, unless you prefer beer?” I stepped away and she followed me.
    “Soda’s fine,” she said, sounding surprisingly calm when I half expected her to push the issue with the way we’d danced. “Now that you’ve educated me with your music, time for me to educate you with iconic romantic movies.”
    “Chick flicks,” I said, sounding suitably disgusted, when in fact I’d watched a few and enjoyed them. Wasn’t much to do in the outback after dark so I went through DVDs like Mrs. Gee went through sugar. And I wasn’t ashamed to admit I sniffled during The Notebook, my closet favorite.
    “Not a chick flick. The chick flick,” she said, as I returned to the pokey makeshift lounge room/bedroom to find her brandishing a DVD of Dirty Dancing. “Seen it?”
    “What do you reckon?” I handed her a soft drink and grabbed the DVD while wrinkling my nose. “As you saw from my demonstration over the last half hour, I’m more of a slam dancing kinda guy.”
    “Pity. Something tells me you’d be real good at dirty dancing.” Her gaze deliberately swept me from head to foot in a bold move that would’ve normally had me saying screw the movie and let me screw you.
    Instead, I popped the DVD out of the cover and slid it into the player.
    “No popcorn or chocolate?”
    I glared at her. “I cooked you penne alla matriciana for dinner and you’re still hungry?”
    “That pasta was superb.” She rubbed her stomach and I glanced away, instantly struck by how much I’d like to do the same. “But haven’t you heard? Women have a second stomach for sweets.”
    “But you had a piece of pav too.” I loved her appetite. Nothing sexier than a woman who appreciated her food. And continually told the chef how great it was.
    “Fine, just turn on the damn movie.” She folded her arms and pretended to sulk, which was exceptionally cute.
    As long as the movie was all I turned on tonight.
    Once I hit play, I sat. As far away from her as I could on the old plaid couch. I’d never cared how small the one room shack was before, but with Jess in it? Felt like the four walls constricted by the minute.
    “God, I love this movie.” Jess sighed, and curled her legs up beneath her as she sipped from her soft drink can.
    Her gaze was riveted to the small flat screen TV for the duration of the movie, while I kept sneaking glances at her. And all the while, that lilac fragrance she wore wafted over me. It probably clung to my skin; we’d been dancing that close. Just one more thing to torture me.
    By the time the credits rolled, I knew exactly why she loved this flick.
    Innocent teen falls for older off-limits bad boy. Yet they had a happy ending. Go figure.
    “So, what did you think?” She half turned away from me, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her pinkies, before turning back.
    “Not bad.”
    “Not bad?” She screeched, swinging her arm wide to whack me in the chest. “That’s like me saying to you that your Aussie rock is reasonably okay.”
    I clutched my chest and fell to the side like she’d wounded me. “You’re comparing AC/DC to Patrick Swayze?”
    “Neanderthal,” she muttered, tilting her nose in the air in a pretend huff.
    “You’re cute when you’re ruffled,” I said, gazing up at her from my semi-upside