Page 124 of Under the Waves
I paused, saying nothing for a minute. A million thoughts rushed through my mind, but with one look, Jasper Ridge seemed to silence them all.
“I’m not above begging you,” he groaned, resting his head against my stomach. Those small brown curls fanned across my skin as each of his deepened breaths flooded straight to my core that was getting warmer with each passing second. “This is the desperate man you turn me into, Wellsy.”
I chuckled, messing up his curls a little. He had this perfect-imperfect charm to him; this golden glow that matched the playboy charm that fluttered in his gaze. As much as I wanted to believe him, I knew it was only the drink talking. I’d gone through this cycle with my mother countless times to know the difference now. Still, it didn’t stop my traitorous heart from beating to each word that fell from his lips.
“If you could hear yourself now, you’d have a heart attack,” I laughed but the sound was anything but humorous.
In one smooth motion, Jasper had guided his arms around my waist, hugging my body tightly to his. “You think I hate you,” he breathed heavily, “you don’t have to say anything, Wellsy, I know it’s true. I’m sorry for what happened with everything, you never deserved any of it. Hell, you were just a little kid…I know this is years overdue, and I understand if you continue to hate me afterwards, but just know, I never hated you. You were my ocean, Poppy. My entire fucking ocean. You make my heart beat likeboom, boom, boom,” he hummed against my stomach, tapping his fingers against the back of my legs to a rapid pace. “You’re not so complicated, Poppy Wells. Even if you think your past is hideous and broken, I’d draw a million stars around it if only you gave me a pen. Your secrets would be safe with me, Wellsy.Youare safe with me.”
He whispered the last part so quietly against my skin I thought I’d imagined it. Each passing breath caught in my throat and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. The weight of his words dawned upon me with the force of a million suns.
You’re my ocean too, Jasper Ridge.
The words fell onto my tongue and it took everything inside me to stop them from being released into the big wide world.I…I wasn’t ready to admit that, just yet. At least not to him.
He was being vulnerable and you didn’t even have the human decency to do the same?
My god, you are that pathetic, aren’t you?
He was always more than you’d ever deserve, Poppy.
He was everything you’d never be.
You’d break him.
Destroy him.
Just like you did to Oliver.
Just like you’ve done to everyone else you’ve ever dared to care about.
“Why are you taking care of me like this, Poppy? I thought youhatedme.”
My fingers paused their movement, tangled in his golden-brown curls.
“Everybody needs help at some times,” I quoted. “Even Spiderman.”
He laughed, the sound soft and sweet like a kid opening presents at Christmas. Jasper hid his growing smile from me as he pressed his face further against my stomach.
“Am I your Spiderman, Wellsy?”
I gently stroked the underside of his jaw before tilting his chin up to face me. My thumb continued brushing small strokes across his cheeks as I said, “Am I your Gwen Stacy, Ridge?”
“Mm-hmm,” he hummed in contentment, the sound letting butterflies loose in my stomach. His eyes glinted as he pulled back to look up at me. “Nice curls.”
I stifled laughed, motioning to his chest that happened to be bare after he’d rolled down the Spiderman costume so it hung around his waist. “Nice abs.”
“Nice ass.”
That time I couldn’t help the laughter that escaped my lips. Playfully, I pushed his face away as my cheeks heated. “Ever the gentleman, Ridge.”
“For you? Always, love.” He added with a wink, grinning widely.
“Yeah, Yeah,” I mused, shaking my head. “Keep your pretty words, Spiderman.”
After a moment, he asked quietly, “If I’m your Peter Parker, what does that make you?”
“Your broken, fucked up fake girlfriend?” I teased.