I couldn't force the words out. Couldn't work out how to tell them they were beautiful together. That they were perfect, and I wanted to be a part of that perfection.
"She liked it," Drake answered for me. "Her body wants us."
"But does her mind?" Dane asked, taking a step closer. "Do you, Belle?"
"Yes," I whispered, caught in their undertow. "I want both of you."
As one, they reached for me, pulling me to them. A mouth caught mine in a kiss, and another landed on my neck, licking and sucking.
I hadn't believed this could be real. That they could feel as passionately about me as I felt about them.
“How?” I panted. "How is this happening?"
"Babe, it was only a matter of time."
I fell into them, letting them lead. Letting them guide me.
"Fuck, she's sixteen," Dane muttered, pressing another needy kiss to my swollen lips. "I'm sorry, Belle, but we can't—” he broke off, kissing me with abandon.
"We won't do anything," Drake promised, his voice harsh even as his hands gently palmed my butt. "Just play a little—"
Outside, a car crunched up the gravel of our driveway. We froze, locked together in an intimate embrace.
The garage door made a sound of protest, and we immediately moved. Drake snatched my hand and pulled me after him, Dane's hand on my back as we ran for the stairs. Up into the house, across the living areas, and up the stairs toward our bedrooms.
They paused at my door.
"We're leaving, Belle," Drake told me in a hurried whisper. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe a month. But we're heading out. Gotta make something of ourselves."
"But we'll be back," Dane promised, one hand coming up to caress my cheek. "We'll come back to you."
The sound of my parent's muted voices and movements floated up the staircase.
"I love you," I whispered. "Both of you."
They grinned but still stepped back.
"Wait for us, pretty girl."
It had taken a month between them first signing up and finally leaving for boot camp. A month of awkward interactions at the dining table. Of heated glances and lingering touches. Of stolen kisses in dark corners.
And then they left, and there was—nothing. No phone calls or emails. Each year they'd send a birthday card and a gift. But otherwise—nothing. They didn't return while on leave. They'd never referenced our moment together again.
And I'd grown tired of waiting for something, of wanting something that I was convinced would never happen.
Are you sure it'll never happen?That insidious little voice broke through the cloud of memories.Yes,I told my inner voice firmly.They're a couple. They don't need me.
But they want you.
Not anymore.
Are you sure?
My phone beeped with an incoming text.
Honey
Sorry again about the lack of bed space. If it’s really bad I can set up the tent and kick my cousins out.
