His mouth tilted — not a smile, not exactly. Something softer. Something that made my stomach flip. “What’d you think?”
I laughed, shaky and unsteady. “Think? Ansel, you—” I had to stop. I pressed my hand against my mouth while shaking my head. “Youarehim.”
His brow furrowed like he didn’t quite believe me.
“You’re perfect,” I blurted before I could stop myself.
And there it was — the spark in his eyes, the one that always undid me.
The crew moved around us, talking, working, resetting. But it felt like the entire set had narrowed to just him. “I was so sure nobody could get Theo right,” I admitted, voice soft. “But you — God, you werehim.Exactly how I pictured. Better even.”
His throat worked as he swallowed, gaze flicking over my face like he was memorizing me.
“Junie,” he said, quiet. Like it was a confession. His hand rose, cupped my cheek in his palm.
I felt like I could melt. “I mean it,” I whispered through the tears that had sprung up, unbidden.
Even blurry, his smile was radiant. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against mine. “Your opinion is the only one that matters, kid.”
I really… don’t know what came over me at that moment. Something about the atmosphere or the lights or the rush of seeing Ansel as Theo…
I kissed him.
I grabbed the collar of his shirt and just… pulled him down to me. His lips weren’t soft, not like they’d been at the pool. They were rough, dried, overused from hours of acting, I guess.
But it wasright.
He stood, stock still, for several seconds… almost as if he was afraid I’d disappear if he kissed me back.
But when my free hand wrapped around the back of his neck, holding him close to me, he snapped.
His fingers curled into the fabric of my dress as he tugged me closer still. The hand that rested on my cheek tilted my face up towards him, thumb skidding along my jaw and sending a shiver down my spine.
Ansel kissed me like it had been waiting inside him for years — like the self-control, the rules, the pretending had burned up in an instant.
I hadn’t even lasted three fucking days in his orbit before I crashed into him.
And God — I matched him step for step. His tongue darted out, pressing softly against my lip, and I couldn’t help the way I grinned against him. Mimicking our kiss from eons ago, I shook my head, curling my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck.
But this time, he didn’t move on. He took my bottom lip between his teeth and tugged,sogently.
I gasped, and his large hand splayed across my back. There was nowhere for me to go except into his arms. So I stretched up on my toes and kissed him harder. Our lips moving together in time with the beat of our hearts. A song that only we could hear.
“Barlowe!” Someone called, and I just barely registered it behind us. The hand that had been on my cheek had shifted, tangling into my hair as he held me against the lines of him.
This right here, this moment, I had beensoafraid of letting him close because of this.
Because Iknewhow right it would feel.
God, I was so fucked.
“Barlowe!”
Ansel inhaled sharply, pulling back from me. But his eyes were filled with something that I wasn’twillingto acknowledge. Not yet.
“Sorry,” he whispered, lips brushing mine as he spoke. I blinked, worried about what might tumble out of my mouth if I attempted to speak.
“Y’okay, kid?” he asked softly, the pad of his thumb brushing along my cheek.
