He leans back in the office chair he rolled out of my mom’s office down here. “Like what?”
Maybe he just needs to hear it to feel a bit better. “You’re graduating high school. You have a 4.0 GPA. You were signed to the Milwaukee Warriors at eighteen with a straight path to the pros. That sounds pretty in control to me.”
He rolls his eyes, as if his dreams coming true aren’t enough. “And what about you? Luca and I are about to leave, and you’ll be all alone.”
I chuckle. “I do have friends outside of you two, you know.”
His gaze falls to my fiddling hands, and he reaches out, grabbing my freshly tattooed wrist. “Friends that you share tattoos with? Nope. Because this was your first one.”
“You don’t know that,” I challenge him, and his eyes flick back up to mine. “I could have fifty hidden beneath my clothes right now.”
“I’d have seen them. I’d have heard about them at least. You can’t keep a secret from me if you try.” He sits up taller, his finger gently circling around the ink.
Okay, he may be right about that, but still.
“You don’t know everything about me, Jensen Donnelley.”
“I know that if you had another tattoo on your body, I would’ve noticed it.” His voice is heavy and weighted, like a blanket pressing against my chest. His eyes darken. “Trust me.”
Oh God, he cannot say things like that. Not when we’reusand he’s leaving.
My gaze falls to the floor, and he tugs my hand forward, pulling my body along with him until I’m positioned between his legs. “I’m going to miss you, Lainey.”
My eyes burn, and I avoid his gaze, wiggling my nose to fight the tears. “I’m going to miss you more.”
“Impossible,” he murmurs, bringing my knuckles up to his lips and kissing them softly.
My mind melts, my heart going into overdrive as those plump, full lips press against my fingers once more.
“JD, hurry the fuck up!” Luca shouts from the main level, again trying to ruin my life.
Reality sinks in around us, and I pull away from Jensen, who stands up and grabs the garbage bag.
“I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Yeah,” I murmur, fighting the tears that I know will come the moment he’s gone.
Momentsare all Jensen and I have—and all we’ll ever have. A moment of lust, or longing, or love. A moment as fleeting as life itself. Maybe one day, we can have a moment more.
CHAPTER 5
LAINEY
PRESENT
His hand coversmy mouth as my lungs burn for relief, the sharp edge of his blade digging into the side of my neck. It breaks the skin, slicing into me, and wet warmth trickles down my collarbone.
Fight! Fight, Lainey! Fight!
My heart sinks to the floor as my body fails me—my arms, my legs, my voice all shutting down. Tears burn my face as pain erupts in my core, every second worse than the last.
Just kill me. Just kill me. Please. Make it stop.
My lungs catch fire as I force air into my nose, contemplating holding my breath to make myself pass out. I should kick him, punch him, do anything but stay still.
As hard as I urge my limbs to move, nothing happens.
“You’re so beautiful,” his dark, twisted voice pants into my ear, his words like knives dragging down my back.
