Chapter 42 I Love You

The front door closed with a silent snap and I leaned my head against the cool wood feeling utterly exhausted. Content, but still tired.

After my explanation and Percy's chastising for at least ten minutes straight, the guys had finally explained why they had returned.

They had in fact never left. They had been sitting out front in one of their cars talking amongst themselves. They had spent the first few minutes, they admitted trashing me but reality had been close behind and it wasn't very long before their anger had died out and their thoughts had ultimately turned inward as they realized they were being unfair and a tad bit absurd.

They had all profusely apologized to me, hugged, me, and swore to never be that stupid again. Pierce had spoken up at that moment and told them to not make promises they couldn't possibly keep. I had stiffened and scowled at him but ironically it was his words that had cracked the awkward atmosphere that continued to linger around us.

Their chuckles had warmed my heart and I had hugged them back just as tightly, in a way I had never really reciprocated before. My hair was ruffled at least a dozen times. My shoulders clamped and patted by big meaty palms that at times felt crushing but I didn't dodge a one. The strong brotherhood I was feeling was worth any bruise that could result.

The fact that Pierce was included was the cherry on the top.

Percy and Archer were completely relaxed with him. No one could ever really remain un relaxed around Percy. He kind of made a person respond to him whether they wanted to or not. Pierce didn't appear to be an exception.

Branson, Mick, and Noah were a little more stilted at first, but Archer had pulled them away for a few minutes. When they had come back, they had made a bee line straight for me and the apologies and hugging had commenced. So had their first sincere attempts to engage Pierce and include him within our group.

Of course, Branson being Branson, he had dared to bring back the tension with his solemnly delivered dire warning to Pierce should he ever hurt me. No one had scolded Branson though. Instead all eyes had darted to Pierce for his reaction.

Pierce had met Branson's eyes straight on, his icy blue stare clear and direct as he said, "Jackson's lucky to have you all. I promise you that in time you will see that he will be just as lucky to have me, though he will never be as blessed as I am to have him."

I'd choked up as he spoke. My throat felt tight, a lump the size of a plum making it difficult to swallow. What he said, how he said it, the way he looked when he spoke; they all touched me deeply. There was no way my friends couldn't see or hear or feel the unreserved sincerity in his words.

The last of the tension had melted away after that. The gathering had convened as it was originally intended from there on. We ate, we talked, we laughed, we teased, we shared, we loved!

Pierce had relaxed more and more as the evening continued. His sharp tongue hadn't gone into hiding either. His caustic sense of humor, something I considered to be an acquired taste made the rounds. No one was safe. Funny enough, it turned out, his acerbic whit was appreciated most by Branson of all people. His laughter often boomed when he talked with Pierce, making me smile.

Mick and Noah chatted with him as well. Mick spent a great deal of time, too much time in my opinion, regaling Pierce with stories of me in high school. Everyone laughed as he recanted my miserable attempts to tutor them in math and English as well as their more miserable attempts to teach me football.

Noah joined in but he was quieter than the rest. He laughed and joked and ate but there was a troubled loneliness he just couldn't completely hide. I worried about him. I noticed that Percy and Archer were eyeing him as well. I figured something had happened before he came tonight and I had made a silent reminder to call him tomorrow to check on him.

The evening had finally wound down and goodbyes were eventually said.

With the door now shut, I rested a moment before I rolled my head and turned my body so that I could rest back fully against the hard surface. Pierce, who had been standing directly behind me as we said our farewells was now standing before me. He took a step forward so that we stood toe to toe. He leaned forward as he raised his hands up on either side of me and rested them on the wood, trapping me.

Only I didn't feel trapped at all.

I was right where I wanted to be.

With who I wanted to be with.

I smiled up at Pierce and his lips quirked in that way I loved as he stared down at me. He leaned in and lightly kissed my lips. That light kiss lingered and then lingered some more. We were both too tired to put any real effort into it, yet we didn't want it to end either.

It was a kissing conundrum.

Eventually, Pierce pulled back and reached down to grab my hand. He pulled me along with him as he walked back into the living room, past a snoozing Cissero, and collapsed back into the corner of the sofa, pulling me along with him to lay back within the vee of his legs his arms on either side of me. Pierce adjusted the pillows, angled his body along the sofa length, and pulled me more tightly toward him as he settled more comfortably. I didn't make a peep. I simply followed where he led, to mellowed out to care how we sat as long as we were together.

"You know," Pierce murmured from over my head as he rested his chin on my hair. "I talked a lot today."

I giggled softly. A smile lingering on my lips. Pierce had talked a great deal. He'd put himself out there and socialized more than I knew he liked to. It was just one of the many things I had learned over that past few months that we had in common.

Pierce poked me in punishment and I squirmed. I was ticklish. That was one of many things he had not only learned about me but often times like this, used against me.

"No. Too, tired." I mumbled.

"Then behave," Pierce admonished, clasping his hands together over my stomach.

I settled back more comfortably against Pierce and placed both of my hands over his, not only to stave his movements but because I simply couldn't help myself. I loved the warmth of his hands. Holding them. They were solid and strong. They were a habit. Where one day I froze when they had come anywhere close to me. Now, not touching them seemed impossible.

"I talked a lot today, too," I commented in surprise a few minutes later.

As my mind wandered, many images of me talking and laughing and joking with everyone played through my mind. I had always been in some way apart of my friends but today I had been a part of them. It was a simple play on words yet in reality it was very complex.

"I noticed," Pierce replied. "We both did. And some pretty important things got said," he added.

I nodded my head against him in agreement. My mind wandered back to his declaration to my friends about how lucky he felt to have me in his life. My friends, too had said and shared their feelings more directly and openly than they usually did. I, too hadn't shied away from spreading the love.

"But I just realized," Pierce continued on conversationally, "That despite all the talking that we did, we failed to share the most important thing of all with each other."

I tensed. My hands over Pierce's tightened. Not in fear or anxiety though. Not in trepidation nor avoidance.

I knew what he was going to say next and the sheer overwhelming excitement I felt had locked my muscles up so tight I couldn't move. As my lungs strained, I realized I had even stopped breathing.

"I love you," he murmured by my ear.

I sucked in air to save my starving lungs and I breathed out unsteadily as the unimaginable happened. Words I once never cared to hear had been spoken and they couldn't have sounded sweeter.

I sat up and half turned so that I could look at this amazing man that had metaphorically bulldozed his way into my life. He had scared me. Irritated me. Frustrated me. Challenged me. Excited me. Trusted me. Included me. Bedazzled me.

Loved me.

I bit at my bottom lip as I looked up at him. I was surprised to find that he looked as tense as I felt. His lips were pinched and his jaw clinched. It took me a second but I finally realized he was anxiously awaiting my response.

Seeing this confidant man so affected because of me warmed my heart. The fact that he cared so much for me, needed to know I returned his feelings, to such a degree amazed me. That what I felt for him was reciprocated seemed a miracle.

My chest tight, my hands shaking, I reached up and palmed Pierce's jaw. My fingers trembled against the raspy skin. My lips wobbled as I tried to smile at him. My eyes glistened as moisture formed. Sucking in a shaky breath I offered him everything I had.

"I love you, too."

Pierce closed his eyes tightly, his breathe rushed out as he gave a groaning sigh of relief. When his eyes opened back up, I was surprised to see they were as damp as my own. A tear trickled slowly down his cheek and a small, not quite as wobbly as my own, smile appeared.

"Thank God!" he sighed out, leaning forward to settle his forehead against mine. "Thank God," he repeated, softer this time.

I sniffed and sniffled. Tears trickled as I smiled.

"You have the power to turn me into a total basket case, Jackson," Pierce groaned out, laughing slightly as he swiped at his eyes.

"Seems only fair," I replied, wiping at mine. "You've been driving me crazy since the day we met."

"So, what you're saying is that we're meant to be?" he quizzed.

I giggled.

"I'd never be as cheesy as that but the sentiment applies, I guess."

"A match made in heaven, then," Pierce quipped.

I rolled my eyes.

"Soulmates?"

"Now that's not funny," I groused, pointing my finger at him in rebuke. "You shouldn't mock soulmates."

Pierce grinned his eyes tender.

"Oh. So, you do believe in soulmates?"

"What's not t..to believe?" I replied, feeling defensive. "The term is self-explanatory."

Pierce cocked his head as if thinking about it, finally nodding his head as if he could see my point. His eyes twinkled as he looked back at me, his head still tilted at an angle that was both teasing and hot.

"Are you, by any chance, a closeted romantic, Jackson?"

I giggled with the realization that I just might be.

And so, we come to that time where we have to say goodbye. Though the words halt here, know that their story doesn't.

The banter continues. The teasing never stops. The sharing persists. The friendships never end.

Their love never dies.

Thank you so much for reading Unlikely Places.

***Stay tuned for bonus chapters!!!

In the near future I hope to upload what I will call Behind the Scenes chapters where you will get the perspectives (POV) of some of the other characters during certain moments in the story. While writing I thought of a few and thought this would be fun. If there is a specific moment you would like to know what someone, other than Jackson was thinking during that moment, please don't hesitate to request. I will try my best!