Mia: WE ALL KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. But for real, Em, if you’re smart, you’ll go commando. It’ll drive him wild.
Cassidy: Facts.
Maya: And for the love of god, turn your phone off so you don’t hear from these weirdos.
Annie: Excellent idea.
Me: Thanks, guys.
Hannah: You can pay us back with a play-by-play description of your weekend.
Me: No, you creep.
Hannah: You love me.
Me: I do, but I’m going now.
“Our friends are insane,” I said, but I was smiling.
“They really are,” Maya agreed. “And Poppy’s right. You’ve earned this.”
Ihadearned this. After weeks of slow burn tension, of fleeting touches and stolen glances, of all that making out until we were both breathless and desperate, I was about ready to combust.
I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
“Wait!”
I turned back to Maya with a raised brow.
“Panties off.”
“Oh, right.” I quickly took them off and shoved them in a side pocket of my overnight bag and started for the door again. “See you on Sunday.”
“Text me when you get there, so I know you arrived safe!” Maya called after me.
“Har har,” I shot back over my shoulder.
My heart thudded against my ribs as I crossed through the back gate into Cam’s yard, but it wasn’t nerves. Not anymore. It was anticipation, hot and liquid in my veins. I wanted this. Wantedhim. More than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
He was waiting on the back porch, leaning against the railing in jeans and a faded gray t-shirt. No shoes. Something abouthis bare feet on the wooden planks made my breath catch. He looked relaxed, casual, but his eyes tracked my every movement as I climbed the steps.
“Hey.” The roughness of his voice had goosebumps rippling over my skin.
“Hey yourself.”
He pushed off the railing and crossed to me in two long strides. He reached up, thumb brushing over my cheekbone as he pressed a featherlight kiss to my lips. “Dinner’s ready. Wine’s breathing. I was thinking we could eat on the porch, maybe put on some music?—”
I dropped my bag and kissed him properly.
For a second he went still, surprised, but then his arms came around me and he kissed me back. Slow at first, sweet, but I didn’t want slow. I’d had enough slow. I’d had years of telling myself I couldn’t have this, that I wasn’t allowed to want it. I was done with that.
I pressed closer, my hands sliding up into his hair, and felt his sharp inhale against my mouth. His grip tightened on my waist, fingers digging in through the thin fabric of my dress.
“Emily.” He pulled back slightly. His eyes were dark, pupils blown wide. “What about dinner?”
“What about dinner?” I kissed along his jaw, feeling the scratch of stubble against my lips.
His chest rose and fell hard beneath my palms. “I had a whole plan. I was going to wine and dine you, be a gentleman?—”
