A laugh bubbles from her and warms me to the bone. “Presumptuous, are we?”
“I want you,” I whisper over her lips as I close my mouth over hers for a lingering moment. “You’re the only girl for me, Lucky Madden. And I’m going to have you—again and again.” Our lips fuse in one hot exchange as my tongue probes her, loves her the way I’ve been dreaming of this entire last week. Lucky has come back to me, to us. In a turn of events I couldn’t have predicted, we have stitched ourselves back together, sutured the wound we sliced open with our own indignations.
Lucky pulls back, and that tension we’ve been living with surfaces again.
“Lawson”—her forehead wrinkles in a series of worry lines, and my stomach tenses up in knots once again—“we can never be together.” Her lips bounce as she tries to control her emotions “Jet—he’s—”
“Going to get used to us.”
She struggles to break free from my embrace, but I’m too stubborn to let her go. “Everyone I lovedies!” she roars over my face like a nuclear blast.
“Jet is still living!” I fire back.
She lets out a desperate groan, still attempting to twist free from my arms. “That’s because Jet isstubborn.”
“Good thing I’m stubborn, too.”
A weak laugh bucks through her as her body, her hardened features begin to soften, and she stops struggling. “So, where does that leave us? Are you saying you’re taking your chances? You’re willing to take your life in your hands just to have another shot at my private laundry service?”
My eyes close a moment as a compressed idea of a laugh strums through me. “Yes.” I lean in and steal a sweet kiss off those cherry lips. “I’m in love with you, Lucky. I’m so in love with you, there’s no stopping me from risking it all just to be with you. I would gladly give up anything to be with you. Life or limb, you are worth it all.”
She draws a full breath straight into her open-mouthed smile. “You said the L word to me.”
“Yes, I said Lucky.” I give a little smirk, and she swats me.
“I know we’ve exchanged that four-letter word, but so much has happened since that day. I just thought…” She shakes her head as if shaking the thought out of it. “Never mind. I love you, too, Lawson,” she whispers from under her lashes. “Say it again,” she commands, her lilac colored eyes widen and round as softballs.
“I love you.” It comes out plain as day, as if I’ve said those words to her a thousand times. I pitch my head back and laugh. “I love Lucky Madden!” I shout so loud my throat rubs raw.
She starts in on a swatting spree. “Are you nuts? My brother is at that bar across the street!”
“Well, then we’d better get the hell out of here.” I swing her in a half-circle and pause as the moon washes her an ethereal shade of sparkling blue. “In fact, we still have three days left of spring break. I have just the place we can spend it.”
Her brow spikes into her forehead like a fishhook. Lucky is sexier than hell with every curious facial expression she doles out. There is not a single move this girl can make without getting my dick worked up in an impossible way.
“Does it have a laundry room?” She cocks her head to the side, that sly smile peaking at the corners.
“That it does. But more important, it will have you—and me, alone with all the time in the world for me to worship you properly.” I pull up her hand and land a tender kiss to the back. “We don’t have to do anything.” I try to shrug it off like it were no big thing, but I’m openly frowning at my own non-proposition.
Lucky belts out a laugh. “That is such a Grant Jones’ line. The next thing you know, you’ll be saying that you’re open to playing board games all weekend. Ava told me all about their time at the Happy Squirrel.” Her eyes enlarge as she dips her knees a moment. “Are you taking me to the cabin?”
“Yes,” I say with a false confidence that begs for this to be true. Technically, I need to place a quick call to my father to make sure it’s free. “And if you want, we can and will play board games.”
“Are you kidding me?” She reaches up and roughs up my hair. “Is that Frat Boy 101 or something? Offer up a variety of non-technological entertainment options to save face in the event you’re about to get shut down?” She bubbles with laughter at the thought.
“No, but if Grant made the offer, I figured it was safe to duplicate it. Ava and he seem pretty tight.” I pick her up and spin her.
“Are you kidding? They’re a done deal.”
“So are we, sweetheart. So are we.”
Lucky and I seal our newfound affection with a wild and carefree kiss right here in the middle of campus—hard kisses, soft kisses, determined exploratory kisses, everything holy and right kisses.
Lucky and I are a done deal.
And tonight, everything will be just that—holy and right.
Iwaitfor Lucky at the base of Cutler Tower and text Dad, who lets me know that Scarlett and Rex have the cabin this weekend. I text Rex and tell him to get the hell out of the cabin, thus starting a texting war with both Rex and Scarlett, which is exactly why I texted Rex in the first place—in an effort to avoid my sister. I’m pretty sure Scarlett isn’t enthused knowing I’m bringing a girl up with me. I’m sure she’s less enthused considering the girl is Lucky, and she’ll have to keep that little sexed-up tidbit from Daisy and Jet. Siblings shouldn’t be aware of other siblings’ fucking schedules. It’s against the laws of nature.
