Pulling away, I open my mouth to apologize, but she laces her fingers behind my neck.
The next word from her lips is a whisper. “Again.”
The world falls away as I’m consumed by all things Ash. Her lips. Her taste. Her smell. Her touch. This time, Ikiss her hard, wrapping an arm around her back. I never want to come up for air.
We don’t separate until the movie ends. Only noticing because what replaces it is a bright infomercial.
She jolts, and I’m forced to release her. When she doesn’t say anything, I smile. “Well, there’s that.”
She laughs, dropping her head to my shoulder, but not before I catch a glimpse of the pink blooming over her cheeks.
Goddamn, she’s cute.
Lifting her head, she gives me a tight-lipped grin before standing. “Thanks for tonight.”
Mid-stretch, I whip my head in her direction.
“Oh, you think you’re leaving?” The corner of my mouth lifts, and I shake my head as I stand. “No fucking way. I’ve been waiting a year for you to come back, now I may never let you leave again.”
She giggles as I pull her into me.
“I mean, it’s pretty late already. Don’t you have to open the shop tomorrow?”
I kiss the top of her head and say, “If you really want to go back to Gran’s, I’ll let you, I guess, but wouldn’t it be so much easier if you stayed here?”
Her brows pinch when she pulls back. “You want me to stay here?”
“If you want. If it’s too soon, it’s fine. I just?—”
She shakes her head. “No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised. Last night I went home thinking you didn’t like me, and now you’re asking me to stay. I think I might have whiplash.”
I laugh, wrapping my arms around her and lifting her off the ground. “Ash, I’m fucking crazy about you.”
27
ASH
MAY 6 YEARS AGO
“Ican find you a T-shirt to sleep in if you want,” Gabriel says as we step into his bedroom. His apartment’s about what you’d expect from a twenty-year-old guy. There’s no decor, and everything’s a little messy. But it’s not as bad as Shane’s room used to be.
He’s clearly the tidier of the two. I was here last summer, but with everything that’d happened with Max, I didn’t pay that much attention. This time, I take in every detail.
His bed sits on the right side of the room with blue flannel sheets. Posters of cars and motorcycles are tacked up on the walls. I’m a little surprised there aren’t clothes strung across the floor.
He pulls a shirt from the dresser in the corner and tosses it to me, nodding to the door that I know leads to a bathroom.
I smile, moving across the room and closing myself inside to change. Even his bathroom’s cleaner than I’d expect. His mother must be very proud. I slip out of myclothes and into his black T-shirt as a wave of butterflies flutter across my chest.
I’ve not dated much. And my lack of experience in this department makes my hands sweat. Jordan’s the only guy I’ve had sex with. I don’t know what Gabe expects.
If I stay, is he going to expect me to have sex with him?
My stomach clenches.
Coming out of the bathroom, I’m stopped dead in my tracks by a shirtless Gabe standing beside his bed. A black raven tattoo that matches his leather cut covers the majority of his back with the wordsThe Ravens Ridge Ridersarching above and below the bird. Every muscle is visible under his skin, causing my cheeks to heat.
I must have a look on my face because when he glances at me, he says, “What’s wrong?”
