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“Would you . . .” He looked down at his feet, suddenly unsure of himself.
But I didn’t let him finish. I didn’t want the night to end, either.
“Yes. I’d love to take a walk to the park,” I said. “If anything, to work off this food.”
As we started down the street, he reached for my hand and laced our fingers together. My palm tingled from the contact. So I didn’t question it—just let my heart lead me.
“Ella?” I sucked in a breath when Qui
I peeked at him from beneath my eyelashes and reddened cheeks. “Yeah?” I wasn’t sure if he realized how his finger outlining my skin was affecting me. He seemed lost in deep thought.
“Did . . . um,” he fumbled, hesitant to ask. “Did your brother Christopher used to play video games, too?”
“A little,” I said. “He liked solo games more, like Skyrim.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to pry,” he said, his voice soft. “It’s just . . . your family seems so tight. So I found myself wondering where he fit in.”
“I think about that all the time. I mean, he and I were close, definitely. But there was this other side to him that he kept hidden,” I said. “That’s . . . that’s the only way to describe it. It’s hard to explain.”
“I get what you mean,” he said, and I realized that Qui
“I definitely didn’t know. It’s probably one of those things that will haunt me for the rest of my life,” I said, and I felt his hand stiffen in mine. Maybe he had something he lamented, too. Or someone. “Guilt and regret are powerful things. But they can destroy your life. Somehow you have to learn to forgive yourself so you can move on.”
Qui
“I’m sorry that this is a heavy conversation,” I said, concerned I had brought up some sort of painful memory for him.
“No. I started it, remember?” he said, moving forward again. “So how is it that you . . . got past that?”
“I got help. We all did. Grief groups, grief counseling, individual therapy.” It wasn’t something I was ashamed of. If I had been, how could I become a psychologist someday? It was part of being human. “I’m a pretty optimistic person, I’ll admit. One day it hit me that Christopher was somewhere looking down on us. And we were wasting all of this time. Always sad and quiet and crying. He must have been saying Move on already. So I did.”
“That’s . . . impressive, really.” Qui
“Yeah, well. The pain never truly goes away, so you have to . . . file it away. And then get busy living your life.”
He looked up to the sky, lost in deep thought, and then to the tops of the pines where the stars hung so low they were like the toppers of Christmas trees.
I wanted to change the subject but I also wanted to ask him who was haunting him, too. I could see it in his eyes. But maybe he wasn’t ready to share it with me. For some people, it took time. I’d always been open about it, wanting to share, talk things through. I knew that it helped. But some people were more resistant.
“So, here we are.” I motioned to the sign. “See how close it is?”
As we walked through the park entrance and found the trail that led to the pond, I said, “Today wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“Meeting your family?” We came upon the water’s edge and Qui
“I’m glad,” I said, letting out a breath.
The pond was surrounded on all sides by tall pines lending to the feeling of privacy, outside of a couple of walkers across the way. I tossed a rock in the pond as well but could only hear its splash. The crickets chirped their nighttime lullabies and there was a gentle breeze in the air that did nothing to cool my heated skin.
“My mom likes you,” I said, biting my lip. “I can tell.”
“Yeah?” He turned to face me, his voice softening. “You think she can tell that I like her daughter?”
My breath caught in the back of my throat. Something had shifted in the air between us. It was heavy and heated. Something so commanding I felt it down to my toes. My heart was thrashing so loudly against my chest, I was sure he could hear it.
He moved closer than any two friends should rightfully stand and his spicy scent enveloped me. Oh Lord, if I didn’t get a taste of those full lips I would die on this very spot.
Right this very instant.
When I looked up into his face, his eyes had become hooded.
Words were shouting inside my skull. And then they worked their way onto my lips. They were hanging there, dangling for dear life.
Just take a chance, damn it. Take a gamble, Qui
Kiss me and let’s find out what this magic is between us.
But he’d been the one who’d held back that other night, so the ball was in his court.
“It’s not just me who feels this, right?” Qui
The words that had been so readily available just moments before had flitted away on the wind. I’d wanted this moment for days. Weeks. Maybe even years.
“There’s something here, Ella. Between us,” he whispered. His lips were a breath away and I momentarily shut my eyes to gain control of my erratic breathing.
“I don’t know what this is or what the hell might happen,” he said, rubbing his finger along the edge of my earlobe. “But I do know one thing.”
Still, I couldn’t move or even speak. I was motionless—hypnotized by his eyes, his lips, his words. Finally, my hands became unstuck and I slid them up his chest to his shoulders as he shuddered against my touch.
“I know I need to put my mouth on those pretty lips and kiss you,” he said with so much conviction, it felt like a swarm of butterflies had been let loose in my stomach. “Do you know that, too?”
His eyes now held me prisoner and all I could do was mouth the word Yes.
Then his lips closed over mine and I hummed against their warmth. His hands shifted upward and clutched at my hair, essentially holding me captive.
We stayed that way—lips joined, gazes locked, and breaths stolen. As if the world had stopped spi
And then his tongue fluttered against my lips, demanding entrance, and I was lost.
Entirely over-the-moon lost.
He groaned as his tongue slid past my lips, filling my mouth so completely, as he explored every inch in a languid rhythm.
And he tasted . . . God, he tasted like the best kind of dessert. Like banana cream pie and fried dough mixed together. As he caressed my tongue, my teeth, the roof of my mouth, I was sure the rush I felt had nothing to do with sugar.
I slid my hands down his biceps to his waist and pushed firmly against him. I wanted to get as near as I could in case this was the first and last time I’d have this opportunity.
He released my mouth and dragged his lips along my jaw and then down to my neck. I felt his hot tongue against my skin as he bit and licked his way to my ear.
His hands slid down my back to cup my ass. “Damn it, Ella. You’re sexy as hell.” He hauled me tightly against him and my entire body thrummed. We fit so snugly together that I could feel his arousal pulsing against my stomach.
I couldn’t help the noise that erupted from the back of my throat.
He paused in his perusal of my neck and looked up at me, his eyes dark. So damn dark.
“You drive me insane when you make that sound.” Then his lips crashed against mine, hard and insistent, as my fingers clawed at his shoulders. His wet tongue probed the seam of my lips and I parted them so he could deepen the kiss.