“I am nice.”
He cupped my jaw.“Oh, sweet honey, I know you are.It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
“Yeah?What are some of your other favorite things?”
He grinned and moved closer, his lips bypassing mine.He nipped my jawline.“That little sound you make when I kiss you here.”He pressed a kiss to my neck, and I hummed.He growled in response.“And the way your fingers curl into my shirt, like you want to pull me closer.”
I realized I was gripping his shirt in my fist and released it.
He chuckled.“And the way you care about the people around you.Make everyone feel special.”
“It’s the teacher in me.I know everyone has something to offer, something special, and it’s my job to find it and make sure my students see the good in themselves.”
“And that’s one more thing I lo—like about you.You’re always finding the good in others.”
Was he about to say love?My heart skipped at his hesitation.
“Should we go to bed?”
“I don’t have any condoms,” I blurted.“I kept meaning to buy some, but I never did.”
“We don’t need condoms, Reegan.”
“Yes, we do.Sorry, but it’s… I…”
“I’m not saying because of that.”He pulled back.“Although I feel like we need to talk about it.”
I shook my head.“No, it’s fine.We don’t have to talk.”
He exhaled a laugh.“Despite my efforts to get Evie ready to go, the last two weeks were chaos.I swear there were a hundred things she needed to get.I thought I’d have more free time.I haven’t been avoiding you.I know it seems like I have.”
“I didn’t think that,” I lied.
He kissed me softly.“Yes, you did,” he whispered against my lips.“And I’m sorry.”He sat back, giving me space but not letting go of my hands.“I was a little unsure what to say when you told me you don’t want kids.I always assume everyone does.And that’s on me.”
I shook my head.“It’s a normal thing.”
“Normal is something we say to hold everyone else to the standards we set for ourselves.That doesn’t mean it’s the right thing.”
I tilted my head.No one had ever given me the space to feel like my choice was okay.
“I know you’re leaving.And I guess I never really thought about kids with you because of that.But I also never really thought about kids because Evie’s almost an adult.When she was younger, I wanted more kids.I was an only child, and I wanted siblings, so I wanted my daughter to have a sibling.That wasn’t in the plans, but it also wasn’t a good reason to have more kids.”
“True,” I agreed.
He exhaled a laugh.“At this point in my life, I’m not looking to start over.If you wanted kids, and we were planning a life together, then I wouldn’t say no, but that’s not the case.”
I swallowed roughly.There were so many things about what he was saying that I needed to tell him.Would he change his mind if he knew I was thinking of staying?If he knew I’d spent the last few weeks researching schools in the area and applied for a bunch of jobs?
There was a big difference between the theoreticalI don’t want kidsand the reality ofthe person I’m with doesn’t want kids so I can’t have kids.I didn’t want him to resent me.To regret being with me.
And I didn’t want to resent him.
“I am enjoying being with you, Reegan.More than you know.More than you can imagine.I am not going to push you into staying here or having kids or anything else.I… It’s going to hurt like hell to say goodbye to you, but for tonight, I don’t want to think about that.I want to worship your body and make you come so many times you can’t think about leaving just yet.But we don’t need condoms because I want you to feel good.My clothes are staying on.”
“That’s not fair,” I protested.
“It’s the only way, beautiful.I would never do anything that risked putting you in a position you didn’t want to be in.”
