“No,” Zach says, shaking his head. “I should’ve asked you before, but I wasn’t sure what was going on between us. I was waiting for you to pull away, but you keep wanting to spend time with me. And I don’t want to share you with anyone. I don’t want to wonder anymore…” He takes a shallow breath. “Finley May Harris, will you be my girlfriend?”
“It’s about damn time,” I say, just like I did when Zach finally kissed me the first time. Now we meet in the middle, locking lips, my arms around his neck, his hands holding my waist steady, neither of us wanting to let the other go.
25
Zach
“This was such agood idea,” Finley says, using her hand to cover a mouthful of fries.
She sits across from me on the couch in my gaming room, fast food on a tray between us. Because we went wild in the drive-thru, there’s enough to feed four people.
I swallow a chicken nugget. “This wasyouridea.”
She points at me, mouth still covered. “Exactly!”
I like that we’re messy in the same way. Volk had a fit every time he caught me eating anything in his house, especially in my room. Kennedy was a bit more relaxed—something Volk probably hates, but he’d gladly clean up her mess every day for the rest of his life to keep her. I’d learn to clean up my act, my mess, and anything Finley desires to keep her too.
“So you, uh, want to watch a movie?” I ask, flipping on the TV.
She sits up taller, turning toward the screen as I scroll through Netflix. Finley picks up the tray with the remaining food and carries it to my desk. I’m momentarily frozen, watchingher move so comfortably around my apartment, wearing black leggings and a thin green tank top that looks incredible with her bright blond hair. She tips her head back while sipping her drink, the long column of her neck on full display.
Finley catches me watching and grins. She comes to me in a flash, dropping one leg to either side of my body, straddling me. “A movie sounds good,” she replies breathlessly.
My cock instantly hardens, and I freeze. Finley suggested fast food and hanging out somewhere relaxing. I brought her to my apartment because the Harris house is full of people we’re hiding our relationship from. I don’t want her to think I set up this entire evening to get in her pants, that sex with her is my end goal.
She sits back on her heels, her weight resting on my thighs. “I’m sorry,” she says, tucking strands of hair behind one ear. “I thought it was code.”
“No… I, um… I didn’t expect—” I sigh, thrusting a hand through my hair. Finley’s arms cross over her chest, and my stomach sinks. Can I—for once—say the right words? “Do you want it to be code?”
Finley abruptly stands, her hands still covering her chest. “I’m an idiot. I assumed—”
“I’m not going to talk in code with you,” I cut in, standing and taking her hands in mine. “It’s not me.”
Her gaze bounces to our entwined hands, then back to my face. “I like that about you, Zach.” The tip of her tongue darts out to wet her lips, a brief flash of pink. She lets out a deep sigh. “I’m so out of my depth here. I’ve never had a… normal relationship.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing either,” I admit. “I’m not what people expect from professional athletes. I’m kind of an idiot, sometimes in a way people laugh at, but a lot of the time, they sigh in disappointment. I don’t haveexperience, because I’vespent my entire life chasing a dream. And I almost always say the wrong thing.”
Finley’s hands land on my shoulders and push me gently back on the couch. “I like what you say.”
She drops back into my lap. I inhale sharply at the contact.
“Yeah? Then I hope you like this.” I mold my hands to her hips, kneading the skin with my fingertips. “I want you so badly, I look forward to waking up at the crack of dawn to see your smile. So badly, I’m desperate to be around you. So badly, I’m painfully hard and barely holding it together.”
“You are the highlight of my day,” she whispers before placing her lips on mine.
There’s no hesitation in this kiss. It’s the kind of kiss that communicates we both know exactly where this is going. I follow her cues, my lips gliding between Finley’s at her quickened pace, tasting her cherry soda. I grip her biceps and guide her off me and onto her back. The vision of her underneath me—hair spread across my blue couch, lips pink and swollen—undoes me. It wrecks me because nothing else will ever compare to the sight.
I lower myself, covering her body with mine, melting into her. My lips worship her neck, sucking softly every place I touch as I move to her collarbone, her chest, until I reach her stomach, lifting her tank top to give me access to her skin. My lips land above her navel, pressing a kiss there before lifting her tank top above her head.
Her hands are on each side of my head, gently tugging my hair toward her. “Not there.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Ohcome on, it’s not like you can’t tell.”
I rise off her, thinking I did what I always do and messed up. But her legs dart up to wrap around my waist and keep me in place. I guess there’s relief in that, but my mind whirs with possibilities about what’s bothering her.
“It’s not that dark in here. I know you can see the lines on my stomach. My weight fluctuated a lot when I was younger, and it left me with a permanent gift.”
