Being Jamie Baker (32 page)

“Did too.” He grinned. “You said, ‘why did that ruin everything.’ Meaning you agree that it happened. You said it. Can’t take it back. You love me.”

Learning to control my powers was child’s play compared to keeping a straight face right then, but I couldn’t give in to his smugness. He was just so sure of himself. “Do not.”

“Do too.”

“Do not.”

“So do too.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Even if it was true, which it
so
is not, how would it make everything your fault?”

“Well, apparently, when Mr. E. agreed to let us partner for that assignment, we were supposed to hate each other and end up like you and Mike. I was supposed to make you feel even more miserable so that he could sweep in and be your hero when you fell apart. But then I made you fall in love with me, and suddenly I was your hero and you didn’t need to be rescued anymore.” I couldn’t hide my skepticism. “The guy jumped you with chloroform. He could have been talking about pink elephants for all you know. ”

“Scout’s honor.” Ryan lifted up three fingers with a grave expression. “He was apologizing for kidnapping me at the time. He said he never would have done it, but after I’d made you so happy, I left him no choice. So you see, it really is all my fault. It’s my fault for being so irresistible.” Yeah, he was being serious.

“So,
anyway
…” I said, obviously changing the subject just to annoy him. “I have some good news.”

“Better news than you being in love with me?”

“Do they have you on a morphine drip or something?”

“Denial is very unhealthy for a person, Jamie.”

“Do you want to know my good news or not?”

Ryan raised one of his eyebrows into a perfect arch.

“I’m not showing you my eyes, Ryan.”

“Oh, come on, I totally earned it! I almost
died
for you today.”

“No, you almost died
because
of me today.”

“Yeah! Which means you so owe me!”

“Ha! You just admitted it was all my fault!”

Ryan took in a deep breath. “Are you going to tell me your good news or what?”

“Hang on a sec,” I said, then disappeared and returned before he could even reply.

Ryan eyed my hands behind my back. “Another trip to Monterey?” I revealed the light bulb I had in my hand. “Go ahead.” I offered my free hand to him. “Do your worst.”

Ryan stared up at me for a moment and comprehension slowly crept into his face. He tried to hide his excitement and looked at me skeptically before taking my hand in his. He laced his fingers in mine and then pulled me as close to his bed as he could. With one more suspicious glance to me, he began trailing his free hand up my arm, leaving goose bumps wherever he touched my skin.

Let me tell you, it felt so good that I shuddered, and it had absolutely nothing to do with any electricity that might or might not have been jumping around inside my body. Ryan noticed me tremble and glanced up at the lightbulb in my fist. It was still completely dark. “You’re going to have to do a lot better than that, Miller,” I teased.

Ryan looked up at me, completely dumbfounded that I was not just giving him the go-ahead to touch me, but actually egging him on—like it was all too good to be true. “Maybe I am high on morphine,” he whispered, “because I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating right now.” When Ryan didn’t kiss me, my lack of patience got the better of me. I dropped the lightbulb and eagerly pressed my lips to his.

There weren’t actual physical sparks, and this time there wasn’t any pulsing energy, but that magnet effect? The one that always pulls me to Ryan whenever I get too close? Yeah, apparently that had less to do with my powers and more to do with my hormones because just like the first time we kissed, it started out just my lips against his, and then quickly spun out of control.

I could feel the moment Ryan realized that this was a one hundred percent normal kiss, because the hesitancy disappeared and he kissed me back in a way that he’d never even come close to kissing me before. A way that not even my dreams had been able to do. I felt that kiss all the way to the tips of my toes and then some.

Then the next thing I knew, I had climbed onto his bed and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was probably detaching all kinds of wires, but I simply couldn’t help myself. When I finally managed to pull my face away from his, Ryan looked at the way I was straddling his lap and laughed. “Déjà vu.” We laughed for a moment, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of happiness I felt. I’d planned to make him sweat it out for a good few days at least, but in the heat of the moment, the words just slipped from my mouth. “I love you.”

Ryan grinned like a fool for a moment but quickly recovered and plastered that perfect Ryan smile on his face. “Told you so.”

###

Kelly Oram recently escaped the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles for a small town in Arizona, where she is a stay home mother of three children. Being Jamie Baker is her debut novel. Visit the official website at
www.BeingJamieBaker.com.