When we reach my dorm, Grayson parks in the lot, turns the engine off, and the silence inside the car is thick.
My pulse trips, because in my mind, I know what I want to come next.
Grayson turns toward me slowly and his gaze flicks to my mouth, then back to my eyes like he’s asking without words.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For making today a really great day,” I continue, and my voice trembles. “Even when I know it was hard for you.”
Something shifts in his face. His throat bobs. He looks away for half a second like he’s trying to get his breathing under control. Then he looks back at me.
“You made today a lot more bearable for me,” he says, voice rough. “I feel like I should be the one thanking you.”
My eyes sting. I blink fast, refusing to let the tears spill free.
He gets out of the truck, giving me a moment to myself, before coming to my side and opening my door, offering his hand to help me out.
We stand there in the parking lot, neither of us too sure about what comes next, but also not wanting the night to end.
Grayson finally moves first. He lifts his hand slowly, catching a strand of my hair that’s gone rogue, and tucks it back behind my ear. My whole body sparks under his touch, and I’m struck again by just how reactive I am to such a simple contact.
My breath stutters when he cradles my face. He just caresses my cheek with his thumb like he’s holding the most important thing in the world. Something that’s treasured.
My voice comes out small. “Grayson…”
He leans in slowly, deliberately, giving me the choice all the way to the last inch. I meet him halfway. The kiss is not gentle but controlled. I can tell he’s holding himself back but starting to lose the fight.
His mouth moves against mine, like he’s been starving, and I can’t pretend that I haven’t been. I make a sound I don’t mean to, and his breathing turns more ragged immediately. His hand slides from my cheek to the back of my neck, thumb under my ear like he’s memorizing the exact place my pulse lives and reveling in the fact that he’s the reason for the erratic rate.
Heat floods my stomach so fast it makes me lightheaded. I press closer to him, not caring if anyone can see us, fingers gripping the front of his sweater like I need something solid or my knees will give out on me. Grayson groans against my mouth, and it goes straight through me, causing a throb between my legs.
He breaks the kiss just enough to breathe, mouth brushing my jaw, my cheek, my ear.
“Harlow,” he whispers, and my name on his lips sounds like a prayer he doesn’t know which god to send to.
I bring his mouth back to mine and kiss him again, because the space between us feels unbearable. Grayson answers immediately, like my unspoken yes cut the rope holding him back. His hand slides to my waist, anchoring me.
After another minute, or maybe a few, I really have no idea, I pull back just enough to breathe, forehead leaning against his, our breath mixing between us.
“Gray,” I whisper.
His eyes search mine. “Yeah?”
I swallow hard. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to do something stupid.”
His mouth twitches. “Define stupid.”
I glare, but it’s weak because my lips are swollen, and my head is spinning.
Grayson exhales slowly, then presses his mouth to mine one more time, softer now, like he’s trying to calm my nervous system instead of setting it on fire. When he pulls back, his breathing is still uneven. His voice is a rough murmur against my cheek. “I’m going to walk you to your door.”
I can’t control the disappointment I feel about him leaving soon. “Okay.”
He steps back and holds his hand out, like he’s trying to shift back into a gentleman and not the boy who just made me see stars with a simple kiss.
I slide my fingers through his, and we quietly walk to my dorm.
Grayson stops under the overhang, close enough that I can feel his warmth but not touching me outside of where my hand is still wrapped in his. His eyes flick to my mouth again. Then he forces himself to look at my eyes.
