I step back and watch her drive away, my chest tight with hope and the absolute determination to prove to her that I’m not that scared kid anymore.
Tomorrow, I’ll show her what she means to me.
Tomorrow, I’ll prove I’m worth the risk.
SEVENTEEN
willa
Willa: Help! What do I wear on a surprise date with someone who has already seen me naked?
Josie: Where are you going?
Baby: Something that shows leg. And cleavage. Both if possible.
Willa: I have no idea. He said to dress warm.
Baby: Warm can still be sexy.
Josie: Where’s he taking you?
Willa: He won’t tell me. It’s a surprise.
Baby: Oooh, mysterious. I approve.
Willa: You’re not helping.
Josie: Jeans and a cute sweater? You can’t go wrong with that.
Baby: BORING. Wear a dress. Make him suffer.
Willa: It’s November in Wyoming. I’ll freeze to death.
Baby: That’s what Alphas are for. Body heat
My phone buzzeson the bathroom counter, and I grab it with one hand while trying to finish my eyeliner with the other.
Jake is on his way in ten minues!
Ten minutes. I’m still in my towel.
My heart does this stupid fluttering thing that I hate. That I’ve been trying to ignore all day. Ever since last night, when he had me pressed against my car, his fingers inside me, making me come apart like I was made for it. Like my body remembered exactly how good it was with him, even after all these years.
Fuck.
I set the phone down and grip the edge of the sink, staring at my reflection. My cheeks are flushed, have been since I got out of the shower. Since I started getting ready for this date. Since I woke up this morning with the memory of his hands on me, his mouth on mine, the way he tasted me like he couldn’t get enough.
My Omega is practically vibrating with anticipation. She wants him—hell, she’s wanted him since the second I saw him again. And my body knows exactly what it wants, too—more of last night, more of his hands, more of the way he makes me feel claimed and safe and wanted.
But my heart… my heart is screaming at me to be careful. To remember what it felt like when he walked away. When he chose his fear over me. When he made me feel like I wasn’t enough.
He was just a kid. You were both kids.
I know that. Logically, I know that. But logic doesn’t make the old wound hurt any less. Doesn’t make it any easier to trust that this time will be different. That he won’t panic and run again when things get real.
And they’re getting real. Fast. Too fast.
My Omega doesn’t care about any of that. She just knows he’s coming, and she wants to be ready for him. Wants to look good for him. Wants to smell good for him. Wants him to look at me the way he did last night—like I’m everything he’s ever wanted.
