“With you by my side, yes, I do believe everything will be okay.”
“I’m not sure you know how much that means to me.”
“Well, it means a lot to me what you said tonight.”
He reaches up and touches my cheek. “I meant it all.” And then he says, “Should we watch someOzarkto end the night?”
“I’d like that.” And I’d like so much more. I slide my hand nervously up to his shoulder and then behind his head. His eyes remain fixed on mine as I quietly ask, “Can you, uh, unzip the back of my dress for me?”
I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs right before he nods. “Sure,” he answers in a gruff voice. And then his hand slides around me. He grabs my zipper and slowly pulls it down for me. His fingers drag along my skin as it’s exposed.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
When I should move away to go change, I don’t. I stay fixed on him. On his grateful eyes. On his strong jaw. On his enticing lips.
Just kiss him, Penny.
What could go wrong?
He’s holding you close. His hands are on your hips. This means something. This proximity.
Just dive in.
See if there’s more.
You won’t regret it. I know you won’t . . .
A blast of courage tears through me, and before I can stop myself, I wet my lips again and sift my fingers through his hair just as I stand on my toes and press my mouth to his.
I kiss him.
I kiss the mouth that I’ve missed for the past few months. The mouth that has sent me into a tailspin of unrequited desire. The same mouth that scoured my body and made me come harder and faster than any mouth ever has before.
I take what I’ve wanted.
Unapologetically.
And for a moment, his lips caress mine. He kisses back.Yes, he wants me.And his grip on me grows tighter . . . right before he pulls away, putting a good foot of distance between us.
Breathing heavy, hand digging into his hair, he shakes his head. “Fuck . . . I . . . I can’t, Penny.”
He can’t?
My heart plummets as I feebly ask, “You can’t what?”
He motions between us. “I can’t do this.”
The hope. The belief that there might be something more, the idea we could be a couple, all blows up in smoke. Poof. Gone. Right in my face.
I was proven wrong.
My mom and Blakely were wrong.
All this time, I thought he possibly thought more of me, but itwasall in my head.
“I’m s-sorry,” I say, taking a step back. “I, uh, I just thought, well . . . never mind what I thought.” I take another step back.
“Penny—”
