I Fell For My Nemesis - Chapter 140

Jocelyn frowned. This was obviously a relationship of some sort since Keith had just been jealous but she didn’t know what they were exactly. It would be nice to know after so much time passing.

Being in a more committed relationship would have more pressure on it but there could be certain benefits too. She simply wasn’t sure what those would be at this point.

She didn’t want to push Keith before he was ready. He liked her but he hadn’t brought up anything about being in an official romantic relationship and wasn’t doing much physically either. It was all rather innocent.

Since she hadn’t even been sure she liked him that way at first she hadn’t minded. The space and lack of rigidly defined boundaries had been helpful. They both knew they were each other’s most important person and that had been all that mattered.

Jocelyn couldn’t help but wonder if they were ever going to get any further than this though. In a vaguely curious sort of way.

As long as they were able to be together in some capacity she was happy with whatever she could get. Whether she was Keith’s best friend or his girlfriend the most important thing was that she was able to see him every day.

She still wasn’t supposed to climb up to her loft bed but she was able to get herself down to the floor now so he didn’t have to tuck her in but he still always either came over after work since she wasn’t up for going out and walking around at the moment.

When she recovered fully it would make more sense to meet up after work and hang around Brooklyn so he didn’t have to travel so far out of his way. They could meet up on weekends when he wasn’t getting in volunteer hours or studying for the firefighter exams too. He was planning on taking those after being with the volunteer fire department for six months.

Jocelyn was really looking forward to it. And being able to walk without being in pain again.

The physical therapist warned her that she might want to wear a smaller knee brace for a while that didn’t immobilize her but helped keep things in place, especially when doing physical activity, even after she was able to take off the one that kept her knee from bending.

This had been an incredibly long and frustrating process with a lot of pain already. She didn’t have words to say how grateful she was that she hadn’t had to go through it alone.

Keith always texted her on his work breaks to check in on her and she didn’t have to spend her evenings alone with nothing to do. He was there with her as much as he possibly could be considering his own schedule.

Jocelyn loved him for that. She didn’t know if it was romantic love or not yet but she was absolutely certain that she loved the man sitting next to her with all of her heart.

She hadn’t thought she was capable of love. Only generically caring about what happened to people. Love required closeness. Vulnerability. Bonding. All things she had never experienced before he came along and lit up her dark world.

As she looked over at him watching the screen with his eyes crinkled at the corners with genuine amusement she felt so much affection for him overflowing that she couldn’t help but lean over and kiss him. It wasn’t any longer than the ones he gave her but he jumped like she had given him an electric shock.

“What’s wrong?” Jocelyn asked in concern.

Keith blinked at her. “Nothing. You’ve just…never done that first before.”

“Haven’t I? Huh.”

She hadn’t realized she had only been on the receiving end until now. He had been the one to start it though. Maybe she subconsciously didn’t want to overstep her bounds.

It wasn’t like it was anything new though. He kissed her all the time even if it was only pecks on the lips, cheeks, or forehead. He didn’t dislike kissing her based on that. The only reason he had seemed thrown off was because he hadn’t been expecting her to make the first move.

Jocelyn supposed she needed to be the one to do something first more often. That way he wouldn’t be thrown off. It would probably help him understand how much she cared about him too. That was definitely important.

Keith smiled warmly at her. “By all means, feel free to do it again.”

Something about his gaze made her blush but she did as he said. “There. You happy?”

“Quite.”

He reached out to caress her face radiating contentment and his expression made her heart skip a beat. Maybe she was less okay with the rate things were going than she thought. In that moment she really wanted to kiss him some more.

===

By the time Jocelyn’s leg finally felt well enough to walk around with a more pliable knee brace the weather had gotten much nicer. The sun was out so it was a beautiful spring day when they finally made it to the zoo.

Keith met her at her apartment since she lived so close to Central Park wearing a pair of jeans and the leather jacket he favored. She ended up putting a jacket on over her sweater solely because most people outside would likely be doing the same. She didn’t feel the cold at all.

When they made it down to the street he took her hand and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. The last time he had done this was when they went to the arcade and she hadn’t felt anything then.

His hand was warm and comforting. She wouldn’t mind walking around like this much more often.

“Your hands are pretty cold,” Keith noted. “Are they always like that?”

“…yeah. My body temperature is lower than most people’s. I don’t really get cold or hot for whatever reason. Sorry. Am I making you cold?”

“Nah. Just stating an observation. I bet that comes in handy, especially in the summer. Hey, have you ever tried making your own shave ice or ice cream? Because that would be totally awesome!”

Jocelyn burst out laughing. He had the strangest ideas sometimes. Making shave ice with her powers had never even occurred to her. Why would it? Her brain wasn’t nearly as creative as his. She would have to give that a try in a few months.

“No, but I’ll give it a shot just for you.”

Keith grinned at her. “Sweet! I’ll be sure to get the best flavored syrups. They sell them near the snow cone machines. I’m sure you’ll be able to pull it off. Maybe if you’re bored you can open up a seasonal snow cone shack. I would totally be willing to help you run it.”

“Why would I want to run a seasonal snow cone shack?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“For extra money. What if we did it just so we could go on vacation? We’ve both never left New York. Wouldn’t going somewhere be so fun?”

His enthusiasm was contagious. How was she supposed to turn down a bizarre idea like that when it was because he wanted them to go experience somewhere new together? It would be a unique challenge and would help her kill time. It was worth a try.

“Maybe you missed your true calling as a salesman. I’m sold,” Jocelyn informed him with a smile.

“Am I really that convincing or do you just want to go on vacation?” Keith asked.

“Why can’t it be both?”

“I guess that’s fair. It’ll be great though, Joss. You’ll see!”

Jocelyn was sure she would. If it ended up being a total bust at least they would get a good laugh out of it later. Nobody would ever expect Frostine and Delta to be running a snow cone shack together.

He had retired earlier than planned because he preferred taking care of her or spending time with her to hero work these days. He was still pretty busy between his day job and his volunteer fire department shifts but it was nothing like his old schedule when he spent all of his free time patrolling the city looking for trouble.

She was relieved he got out before he got hurt like she did. And that he thought she was worth giving that up for sooner than expected. She knew how much being a hero had meant to him.

This proved that she meant even more. How was she not supposed to be affected by that?

Keith had never professed his love (the word he used specifically was like) or anything to that extent. They were little more than best friends who happened to occasionally show physical affection. Even so, Jocelyn felt loved.

Did he feel loved because of her too? She sincerely hoped so. She loved him so much but didn’t want to rush him. As long as they were together it was fine.. That was what she continued trying to convince herself even as she wanted more and more.