My neck gets even warmer and I squirm in my seat, but I don’t deny it. “You know I do. But yeah, you’re even more beautiful in person. I just... Fuck. Iliterallycan’t stop staring.”
Miles smiles again. “You’re more beautiful in person too. Stole my breath when I first saw you in the bar.”
His confession warms me. The air shifts, and we lean in, our lips brushing. Miles makes a soft noise of pleasure and presses in for more. I trace my tongue along his lips, and he immediately opens for me. Forgetting the tacos, I reach for him, curling my fingers around his neck as we make out, trying to keep from pulling him into my lap.
Miles covers my wrist with one hand. Like he’s holding me in place. Our knees bump, and suddenly I can feel him everywhere. Especially in my pants. It’s almost alarming how quickly my body reacts. It never happens like this.
I break the kiss and look down at my plate, coughing to hide my embarrassment. For a few seconds, I can’t look at him. I poke at my food, heart racing. The food is good, but I’m not interested in it anymore. I want him. Need him. I want his hands on me, mine on his. I want his mouth, his body.
But more than that—more confusing than the desire—is how steady I feel. Like his presence is a still, deep ocean lapping at my feet and I have no fear of the ground shifting. I’m sure of things, ofhim.How are people allowed to feel this happy all the time? It’s criminal that this isn’t normal for me.
Why can’t it be normal?
For a second, we just sit there. The sounds of the city blur into the background. My knee brushes his under the table again, because I can’tnottouch him. Miles flicks his gaze at me, a knowing glint in his expression. I say nothing, nor do I pull away, afraid that if I open my mouth I’ll ask him to strip bare right here.
“Can I just say, you’re not what I expected,” he says finally, his voice timid.
My heart sinks. Is he not feeling the connection like I am? It’s combustible. “I’m not?”
He shakes his head, taking a drink. “It’s your energy, I think. It’s throwing me off. I thought you’d be… I don’t know. More reserved maybe?”
I stifle a laugh. “Oh, trust me, it’s throwing me off too.”
He seems confused.
“I’m riding a high right now, babe.”
He frowns, like he doesn’t believe me. Or maybe he thinks I’m literally high.
I lean in, placing my hand on his knee. “You showing up has thrown me to the fucking moon, Miles. I’m so happy that I don’t even know what to do with myself. Like it’s…” I shake my head. “I can’t even describe it. I never feel this way. And then there’s the whole… uh, other thing?” I raise my brows. “That’s surprising the hell out of me too.”
I wouldn’t have mentioned it, except Miles already knows how rare desire is for me. He’ll understand how unexpected this is. It dawns on me then that I’ve never had to push myself with him. Not like my other sexual partners.Why is that?
It takes Miles a moment, then his eyes get huge as he glances down, like he’s trying to see my bulge through the table. When our eyes meet again, I nod. He stifles a laugh. “Oh.”
“Yeah.Oh.” I squeeze his knee. “Tell me you feel it too.”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “Oh, I’m definitely feeling it.”
Heat spreads through me as we lean in for another kiss, but I’m so fucking happy all I can do is smile against his lips. I want this feeling to last. I want more. So much more.
I want to soak in it forever.
I inch my hand up his thighs, letting my fingers graze the inside. “Do you wanna get out of here?”
He nods quickly. “Yeah.”
We rush back to my car, which is parked in an alley between two buildings.
The second the car door closes, a quiet rushes in. Not an awkward silence—no. The thick, electric, feel-it-in-your-bones kind. I don’t bother starting the engine.
Instead, I turn to him, and his eyes immediately dart to mine, a knowing glint in their depths. But I don’t know what to do. This feeling is all new to me.
Miles leans in first, kissing me softly. My hand curls around the back of his neck. I can taste lime and spice from our tacos, but something else too. Something sweeter, like a promise.
The side of the console jabs into my ribs as I press in, but I don’t care. If I stop kissing him, I’ll get swept away by the waves of the ocean.
His fingers slip under my shirt, and I shudder, arching into him. I’m desperate to get closer, to crawl into his skin if he’d let me.
