I swallow.“Thank you. These…” My throat tightens.“These meant the world to me. Every night. I didn’t even want to admit it to myself, but they made me feel better.”
I bring the flower to my nose, then open the note.
“Oh, Ethan…” The words hit something in me I didn’t know was still bruised. I place the note on the bed and throw my arms around him.“Thank you,” I breathe into his neck.
“Walk me out?” he asks, and I nod.
He takes my hand, guiding me down the stairs, silent, careful not to wake anyone. Each brush of his fingers sends tiny shivers up my arm, a whisper of what’s to come.
At the last step, he pulls me into his arms with his good arm, chest pressing against mine. His lips brush my ear.“Finally have you to myself.”
Heat curls through me at the words. He trails a kiss down my neck, lips feather-light, fingers resting possessively on my waist. My breath hitches. Then his eyes find mine, those green depths, unwavering.“I don’t want to leave.”
“I don’t want you to,” I whisper, my voice small, shy.
His lips find mine, slow at first, testing, letting the tension build. I lean into him, hands sliding up to his chest, feeling the warmth beneath the hoodie, the steady strength beneath his touch. His hand draws me closer at the small of my back, pressing us together.
He begins to walk me backward, never breaking the kiss, until my back meets the entrance wall. His mouth drifts to my throat, leaving a trail of heat, fingers ghosting under my hoodie across my bare back, tiny circles that make me melt. My knees threaten to buckle. I’ve kissed before, but nothing, nothing ever made me feel this weightless and burning at the same time.
Ethan finally slows, forehead resting against mine, breath ragged. He brings his hand back up and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, gentle, intimate, and I feel undone in the best way.
“You consume me,” he whispers, voice low, serious, like he’s admitting a truth he can’t take back.
Then a slow, wicked smile curves his lips.“I can’t wait to take you on our second date.”
“Second?” I blink, chest still pounding.“But we cancelled the first.”
“This was our first,” he murmurs, green eyes dark, fingers brushing my neck, sending tiny tremors down my spine.“And apart from Mia feeling sick, I wouldn’t change a thing. Sittingnext to you on the couch, smelling you, seeing you in my hoodie… watching you laugh. That was perfect.”
My chest tightens, cheeks warming.“You mean it?”
“Summer,” he whispers, lips brushing mine again, teasing, deliberate.“We could be in the middle of a desert with nothing to do, nowhere to go. If you’re there… if I can touch you, kiss you, taste you…”
His hand pulls me impossibly closer, pressing me to him.
“…I’m the happiest man alive.”
I gasp softly, shivering, heart racing, completely lost in him.
He looks at me, a lopsided grin forming slowly.
“See you tomorrow.”
He kisses me again, gentle, quick, leaving me thirsty for more as he reaches for the front door. I follow him out, drawn to him without thinking.
He stops, turns, eyes sweeping over my face.
“You keep looking at me like that and I’ll never leave.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
My smile is small but unstoppable.
He studies me, something warm and dangerous in his expression.
“Goodnight, Summer.”
He walks backward down the porch steps, watching me until the very last second. Then he smiles, turns, and heads for his car.
