It started with a one-night stand and turned out to be everything I ever wanted in a relationship. Everything I craved with a partner. Fun. Smiles. Jokes. Silly moments. Understanding. Deep conversations. Friendship. Safety. The bike part is a sweet bonus. Yet the love part is where it gets blurry.
I don’t expect him to love me right now but will he be able to?
Will he give us a chance?
Does he see something else between us?
Does he want me for more than one summer?
Truthfully, his career seems more important than exploring what we can be right now as it should be and I need to embrace it.
“Don’t make us less than what we are.” The muscles in his neck stretch as he swallows hard.
“What are we?” I ask, needing to know what goes on in his head.
Silence.
I take a guess, “A summer fling?” My eyebrows pull together slightly. “Roommates?” Then they rise upward. “Riding bodies? A fucking big mistake? What is it?” I raise my voice a little as the emotions plague me.
That fucking silence is like a symphony of chainsaws in my ears.
“We don’t owe each other anything.” Those were my words but his arrow flies toward me at an incredible velocity, slashing through my flesh and cutting farther into my heart—and I’m the one who wears it around her neck while he is supposed to be the bow.
I cross my arms over my chest, “Okay.”
“Blakely…”
The acid in my stomach whisks when I hear him using my full name. “Just go, Meadow.”
I take a few steps forward, but then he extends his arm to hold my hand gently, cupping my cheek with the other. Urging me to look at him, I slant my head toward him,catching the determination in his eyes that I saw every day that I spent in this place.
“Two fighters who don’t want to fight unless they fight each other. Two hearts that are sick and tired of hurting. Two kinky people who can’t get enough of each other. How’s that?”
The flakes of yellow in his irises hypnotize me as the late sun flares hit his green eyes. I stand still but his words twist my stomach and carve their way deep into my bones at the same time.
Pulling my face closer to him, he brushes our lips. “I will fight for us but you have to fight me back.” Forehead against forehead. “Fight me.”
Our mouths crash and our kiss turns rougher. We suck each other’s lips, tasting cigarettes and bitter-sweet memories that we thoroughly erase with every roll of our tongues.
This is the fork in the road, I don’t know which path to take. My body craves his merciless touch that heals me every moment we spend together. And my mind is telling me to forget about him and switch lanes so he can move on. But my heart… hurts, knowing I can lose him.
“Fight for me,” he adds, the words are loaded and equally painful.
Our lips search the other, craving that taste again, that warmth and comfort. My body wobbles as I squeeze his palm.
“I’ll always protect you from unwanted company. I’ll always hold your hand when we’re in public and behind closed doors.” He kisses me again with so muchpassion it leaves me breathless but hungry for more. “I’d kiss you, hug you, and always find a way to touch you because I want to feel you closer. And every day you will know how much you mean to me. I’d find the time and place. All you have to do is trust me. I’ll be that man for you.”
Removing my lips from his makes my chest ache but it’s time. “We’re just going to hurt each other,” I whisper against his mouth. It’s already painful, if this keeps going it’ll be ten times more.
It’s the same experience I had with my ex—I am a secret yet Meadow is also a secret. If the word gets out, they will blame me. His agent will blame me. He is determined to keep Meadow concentrated on what is important to his career, and I don’t want him to suffer the consequences.
Meadow
Why does she think we’re going to hurt each other?
That doesn’t sound like the girl who looked at me a minute ago with fire in her eyes and confidence. Those aren’t the words of Blakely Wilder.
A summer fling.
