Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Mariah

The fries were long gone, and my soda was flat, but Jackson hadn’t moved from his side of the car.

He was leaned back, one arm slung casually over the seat, his eyes on the faint glow of the diner’s sign outside.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was carved from stillness

calm.

It was almost funny, this version of him.

–

except I could see it, that quiet churn behind his

Quarterback. Captain. The guy every girl in Ridgeville sighed over.

And here he was, tripping over whatever this was between us.

I picked at the straw wrapper, smirking. “You know, sneaking around with you is kind of fun.”

His brow shot up. “Fun?”

“Yeah,” I said, stretching the word. “You know, very Lifetime TV movie. Forbidden love. Star–crossed hearts. Two beautiful idiots hiding from the world.”

He snorted. “You calling me an idiot?”

“If the cleats fit,” I teased.

That got me the smallest grin

—

and maybe a touch of color in his cheeks.

I leaned back, pretending to study my nails. “But seriously. I like the thrill of it. You, me, trying not to get caught. It’s like… for once, something in this boring town feels exciting.”

He looked over at me, something unguarded in his eyes. “You want to keep it that way? Sneaking around?”

I let the question hang there. “I said it’s fun, Jackson. I didn’t say it’s enough.”

That got his attention. His posture shifted – not defensive, exactly, but uncertain.

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes dropping to his hands.

“I do want more,” he admitted quietly. “I just don’t know how that looks. Or how Jessa would feel.”

I sighed, turning in my seat to face him. “That’s the difference between men and women, right there.”

He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” I said, “that women talk. You all bottle things up until they explode. Hate to break it to you, Lombardi, but your sister already knows I have feelings for you.”

His eyes snapped up. “She what?”

I grinned. “Who do you think’s been encouraging me to go public? She practically gave me a green light.”

1/4

He groaned. “Oh, perfect. So she’s fine with you dating her brother?”

“More like rooting for it.” I nudged his knee with mine. “She wants to see you happy, Jackson. She’s not clueless. She knows you’ve been carrying too much for too long.”

He looked at me like he wanted to argue but couldn’t.

The quiet that followed wasn’t awkward this time – just full of things that didn’t need words.

Finally, he exhaled. “You make this sound so easy.”

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