Kinda thinkingwas enough for me. I wasn’t expecting him to be sure of anything—the only thingIwas sure of was that I didn’t want to lose him. Not now, not over a meaningless argument we’d only had because we both felt insecure.
Devin whimpered as he kissed back, fingers fisted tight in the fabric of my hoodie. He was as needy and desperate as I felt, and that had to be a sign that this wasn’t over.
If I had my way, it was only just beginning.
I got the feeling we were being watched by at least a dozen pairs of eyes.
I didn’t care. Devin was the only person in the world to me right now.
“You’re all covered in mud,” Devin said, shrugging his hoodie off and reaching out to me, wiping at my face. “What happened to you?”
“Got in a fight with the path up here,” I admitted. “Now that it’s basically mud.”
Devin’s eyes widened. “Youclimbedup? In these conditions? Forme?”
“Well, I was driving.” I shrugged. “Van got stuck in the mud, like you said it would.”
“I’m very smart,” Devin agreed, wiping mud off my eyebrow, brushing dirt off the shell of my ear. “There,” he said, stepping back to admire his handiwork. “All better.”
I doubted one brush of his fingertips had actually cleaned the worst of the mud off, but I didfeelall better.
Not all was lost, after all.
I swooped down to kiss him again, beyond caring about the crowd now. Devin was the only thing in the world, the only thing I was worried about. He smelled exactly like I remembered, and his lips were ridiculously soft, and the needy noise he made when I nudged his nose with my own was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard.
Kissing Devin was my new favorite thing, and I was so relieved that it looked like I’d get to keep it up.
“I love the way you do that,” Devin murmured, eyes closed, fingers curled into the front of my sweater. “You could do it again if you want.”
“And make you miss your start time? No way,” I said.
Devin looked up. “But you were right. This is all just… about Brad’s opinion of me. It doesn’t matter whether or not I win, not really, andyoudon’t want me to do this, so…”
“Changed my mind.” I took a deep breath, stroking the side of Devin’s neck with my thumb. “Thing is, this is your life. This is the kind of thing you love to do, and more than that, youneedit. Even if it makes me nervous. You wouldn’t ask me to give up my flowers. I can’t ask you to give this up.”
“Morgan, it’s—“
“It’s exactly the same and it’s not fine,” I interrupted. “Whichever you were gonna say.”
Devin smiled wryly. “You oughta take mind-reading classes from Julie.”
“She reads minds?” I asked, distracted from what I was planning to say.
“It’suncannyhow she just… knows what you’re thinking sometimes,” Devin said, wrinkling his nose. “She could’ve warned me ahead of time not to be an idiot in this specific way.”
“You’re not an idiot,” I said. “And I will teach youeverythingI know if it’ll make you feel less like you are, but you don’t have to learn it. You’re smart, you’re talented, and you’re so determined. Look at what you’ve accomplished here. You couldwinthis.”
“I don’t care about winning,” Devin said. “I mean, I appreciate the support, but I’m just… realizing a lot of stuff. I think… I think I’m about to change a lot.”
“Can’t wait to meet the new Devin,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “If you think you can handle the finals in these conditions,Ithink you can handle them, okay? I’d like to watch you do it. That’s what boyfriends are for, right?”
“Boyfriends?” Devin asked, hope dawning over his face like sunrise.
I’d seen hundreds of sunrises, but this one was the prettiest.
“Boyfriends,” I said, trying to sound less nervous this time. “If you want.”
“I want.” Devin grinned, springing forward to close the distance between us again, dragging me down with one hand curled around the back of my head and kissing me for everyone to see.
