“Absolutely.” I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows. “I bought a very specific bikini for our mystery trip.”
His gaze heated, and he dug his fingers into my waist. “Damn it, we have to stay here at least one more hour. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”
I lazily dragged my gaze from his face to below his belt, and he groaned, yanking me against his chest and kissing me, hard.
“Your family isright there. Settle down.”
“Don’t care. They know we do stuff.”
“Do stuff,God, Christopher,” I said, laughing and shoving him away. “You’re ridiculous.”
He shrugged and ran his fingers through my long hair. “You look beautiful. I was excited for summer break, but honestly? I miss seeing you every day, all day. Is that…needy?”
“No, I know what you mean.” My face turned bright red, and we shared a look.
School had ended three weeks ago, and while we were so tired and ready for a three-month break from boogers, tears, long days, and tired nights, it also meant seeing each other took more effort. We’d hung out every other day, but I knew what he meant.
It wasn’t enough.
“You’re not sick of me yet, right?” he asked, narrowing his eyes and chewing on the side of his mouth, something he did when he had an idea. My interest was piqued, and I studied his movements.
Rigid posture. A line between his brows. My man was up to something.
“No. Why? Are you trying to break up with me?” I said, arching one brow and giggling when he shook his head back and forth too aggressively.
“Not even a little bit. The opposite, actually.”
“Wait.”
The opposite. Not breaking up would mean…staying together forever, which meant…is he proposing?
My stomach dropped, and a light ringing started in my ears. The thought of being married to him didn’t scare me. In fact, I loved the idea. “Christopher,” I said, my chest heaving as his eyes widened, and he paled.
“Shit. Wait, no. Not that. Damn it.” He stumbled over the words, wiping a hand over his forehead and cursing to himself. He took my hand and dragged us from the kitchen, up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. He shut the door, leaned against his, and angled his face to stare at me with absolute wonder. “What did you think I meant by that?”
“The opposite of breaking up is marriage.” I sat on the bed, and he sucked in a quick breath, his nostrils flaring as he neared me. He got on the floor, on his knees, so his face was level with mine, and he put a hand on either side of my thighs.
“I’ve thought about it. I think about it all the time.”
“Really?”
“God, yes.” He cupped my face with one hand and used the other to run it along my side, ending at my thigh. “Being married to you would be…the best thing.”
“Yeah.” I burst into a smile, and I wanted to throw myself at him. “It would be the best thing.”
“I thought…” he said, trailing off and looking nervous again. He gulped, and I moved to cup his face with my hands this time. He blinked, and his lips parted when I brought his face to mine for a deep kiss. He tasted like beer, and he groaned into my mouth, biting my bottom lip and pulling it a bit.
He slid his tongue into my mouth, tilting my head back so he could kiss me deeper, and God, I could get lost in the way he kissed me, using his whole body to make me feel him everywhere. I groaned when he stood up and leaned over me, kissing down my neck and jawline.
“I love you, Gilly Carter. I want to be with you every damn day. I will marry you, someday, but for right now…” He paused, lifted his head from my neck and smiled at me when I met his eyes. “Will you get a place with me? I was going to ask if you wanted to move in together when we got to the beach house.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I pushed up onto my elbows, my entire body humming with excitement. My legs shook with adrenaline. “We’re going to abeach house?”
“Shit. I ruined the surprise, huh?”
“Christopher,” I said, squealing and wrapping my arms and legs around him. “Holy shit. What beach? What house?”
“Well, I told you we’d be in the car for a while.” He cleared his throat, grinning down at me. “We’re driving to Florida.”
