A pair of wings with a crescent moon behind them.
“So why did you come?” he asks me as he continues to follow me down the front walk. “You don’t look like you belong here.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I don’t need any more insults tonight.”
“It’s not an insult,” he says. “You just look … like you’re a lot better than that.” He gestures with his thumb to the loud-ass party still raging inside the house.
I stop abruptly by a row of bushes and throw up my hands. “I guess I just…wanted to feel something real for once. Outside of a textbook.”
He nods like he understands even though I don’t see how he can.
“You’re a football god around these parts, right? You probably have tons of friends.”
“People who like you because of what you do on the football field aren’t usually real friends,” he says simply. “I always try to remember that.”
“Oh.”
He touches my cheek again. His hand is warm and comforting. “You should put something on that cut.”
“I will.”
He goes to remove his hand, but I reach up and keep it against my cold skin.
His clear blue eyes trap me in place, but not in a threatening way, and he runs his thumb gently across my jaw.
“Sweetheart, are you hurt anywhere else? Somewhere that I can’t see?” He holds my gaze tight with his, and I can’t possibly look away.
I know what he’s asking me. “No. I’m…” My voice comes out raspy. “I’m okay.”
I swallow hard as I lean into his hand, and he inhales sharply like our connection has surprised him too.
Our gazes lock onto each other like nothing can tear us apart, and I take a step closer to him until our shoes touch. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t move away.
I feel raw and unguarded like I could snap from the intense energy coursing through me.
And I don’t know what it is about this boy with his kind blue eyes and mess of blond hair, but I feel the most powerful desire to be closer to him. To inhale him, and maybe then I can feel safe again in the world.
Without thinking about it, I stand on my toes and press my lips to his.
His hands go to my arms, and he holds me still, almost like he’s trying to stop me. But I cling to his mouth for several seconds before pulling back.
Emotions flicker across his face like he’s warring with himself.
But then, he tugs the hat back so my face is exposed, tilts his head, and brushes his lips to mine. So tenderly, the most tender touch I’ve ever felt.
My first real kiss.
As an introverted girl who puts her studies first, second, and last, this moment feels beyond crazy. I react to his touch by kissing him back with an urgency and a desperation that I don’t understand; I just know I need more of him. I can’t make sense of the way my stomach is clenching and my heart pounding, so I grip at Wild’s shirt like an anchor.
He kisses me slowly like I’m a fragile bird he doesn’t want to hurt, and I let out a soft moan when his tongue lightly touches mine. He’s soothing me and sending away my demons at the same time.
He curls his hand around my hip and draws me flush to him. The feel of his growing erection against my stomach jolts me back to reality. Fear once again overwhelms me as I remember what almost happened in the house. The lust that had taken over my brain disappears, and I go rigid in his arms.
He lets me go immediately. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have done that.”
I wish I could tell him yes, he should have. It was the most alive I’ve ever felt in my life.
Instead, I take off his hat and try to give it back to him. “Thanks for lending me this.”
