She blushes even harder and darts her eyes to the side. “For us to see each other, for any of it.”
“Why?”
“My dad won’t like it.”
She tries to pull away, but I cup her face and wait for her light brown eyes to find mine. “I’m going to be completely honest with you. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers.
“I don’t give a fuck what your dad likes or doesn’t like.” Her eyes widen in surprise, but I don’t stop. “I like you, Evie. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I want to see you again.” I smile and run my thumb lightly over her bottom lip. “And I really want to kiss you.”
“Why?”
I laugh at the absurd question but stop when I realize she’s being completely sincere. Her brow is scrunched in worry, and she looks so fucking vulnerable.
“Well,lapochka, I want to kiss you because I think you’re beautiful, and I want to know what you taste like.” I smile at the way her cheeks heat up. She’s embarrassed, and I wonder if she even realizes the way her lips have slightly parted at my words. She may be nervous, but her body knows what it wants. “And I like you because you’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met. You intrigue me. You’re sweet and funny and down to earth. I enjoy being around you, and I want to know you better.”
She’s not used to compliments and they make her uncomfortable, so she ignores them and instead focuses on something else. “What doeslapochkamean?”
“I’ll tell you on our next date.”
She smiles before she can stop it, and when I lean closer, she doesn’t back away. I can feel the heat of her breath against my lips, and I’m already rock-fucking-hard and wishing I could spend the whole day in bed with her. When I run my tongue over her bottom lip, she lets out a soft moan that’s not at all for show. It just slips out because it felt so good to her she couldn’t stop it. Embarrassed, she pulls back.
“I’m sorry. I should go.” She fumbles with her bag and is about to reach for that damn door handle again when I cup the back of her head and pull her towards me, capturing her lips with mine and kissing her like I’ve been dying to ever since I first saw her looking scared to death after she’d rear-ended me.
For the briefest moment, she stiffens, but then I feel her whole body soften as she lets out another moan and opens her mouth to me. I give her bottom lip a soft suck before sliding my tongue between her lips and delving inside with a groan of my own. I want to possess every goddamn inch of her and claim it as mine. Her tongue runs over mine, timid at first and then hungrier as her instincts take over, and soon she’s reaching up to cup my face, pulling me closer and sucking on my bottom lip hard enough to have me fisting her hair and nearly dragging her onto my lap.
By the time she pulls away, the windows are fogged up, including her glasses, and she lets out a small laugh before taking them off to clean them with her shirt. Hooking a finger under her chin, I tilt her face back up, seeing her for the first time without them.
“You’re so beautiful, Evie.” She always looks gorgeous to me, but without the glasses covering half her face, her beauty is stunning.
The sound of the bus has her putting her glasses back on and grabbing her bag. “I’m sorry. I need to go. Thanks for today, Valeri.” She hesitates for just a minute before leaning forward and kissing me one last time.
“Text me when you get home so I know you’re okay,” I tell her before she can rush outside.
“I will,” she promises with a smile and then shuts the door and runs for the bus stop.
I wait, giving her a wave when she turns back for one last look before disappearing onto the bus. Wanting to give it enough time to get ahead of me so it’s not obvious I’m following her, I check my phone that’s still hooked to my charger, groaning when I see the messages from my brothers. When I open the group chat, the first thing I see is a photo of me holding the door open for Evie outside the diner.
The first message is from Vasily.Ilya just sent me a nice photo, little brother. Who’s the girl?Then he adds,You seeing this, Volodya?
I’m seeing it all right, and I’m laughing my ass off. Valeri out with a woman who he obviously didn’t pick up from a club? Who is she? We want answers.
I put my phone away without answering and instead follow the bus that Evie’s on. I’ve already memorized the route, so I veer off onto a side street, parking so that I can see her house but she won’t be able to see me. A few minutes later, I see her walking down the sidewalk, and just the sight of her has me smiling again. The smile dies when I watch her hide behind her dad’s truck, hurrying to pull her work coveralls back on and then put her hair up. I watch her transform before my eyes. She’s no longer the smiling girl who was just in my car kissing me like she’d never be able to get enough. Now she’s the girl I first saw, the one who looks scared, always tensed and waiting for the next blow, and it makes me want to kill her dad.
Unlocking the front door, she walks into the house like she’s trying to be as quiet as possible, and I’m guessing her dad is passed out drunk and she’s hoping he’ll stay that way so he won’t realize she’s coming home later than usual. I don’t realize how tense I am until I feel my phone vibrate and I see that it’s a text from her and feel my whole body relax, knowing that she’s safe in her room and didn’t get caught by her dad.
Just made it back. Thanks for breakfast. I had a really great time.
I smile and type out a response.I had a great time too. Thanks for waiting for me, and again, I’m really sorry I was late.
You were worth the wait.
So are you, Evie, although I hope I don’t have to wait so long to see you again. I’ll be thinking about that kiss we shared nonstop. It’s going to drive me crazy.
I watch the moving dots, seeing them stop and start over and over again, knowing she’s flustered and trying to figure out what to say.
I’ll be thinking about it too.
