“Zach?!”
I slide my hand around her throat so I can take the weight of her head in my palm and I lower my mouth to capture her lips.
“I’m trying,” I rasp when she moans into the kiss.
I can feel eyes on us, but I ignore them.
Those eyes mean shit to me. Not even Pecan’s.
Denny’s all that matters.
She’s all that’s ever mattered, and my dumbfuck, teenaged brain failed to see that.
Stupid prefrontal cortex.
She blinks. “Huh?”
Ah, shit. I said that out loud?
“If it had developed faster, I’d have been kissing you for years by now.”
The gleam in her eyes makes up for me being a dumbass.
She squeezes the hand she’s holding. “What are you trying to do?”
Ah, yeah. That portion of my verbal diarrhea was before I got waylaid with the desperate need to kiss her.
“Trying not to be a jealous Neanderthal, but it’s tough.”
Her thumb rubs over my knuckles. It’s a soothing gesture but it doesn’t work. “We can figure it out together.”
I grimace. “Not if I piss you off.”
“You piss me off every day,” she deadpans. “And you have almost the whole time I’ve known you. And aren't we still friends? Now, I’m fucking you so you’re clearly not that annoying.”
I snort out a laugh. “Here was me thinking you’d swoon over food-boarding Dyers?—”
“Food-boarding?”
“Sure. I wish he’d have choked on that faceful he took.” My lips tighten. “If he comes so much as ten feet toward you, I want to know. He’s not the type to take shit lying down.”
“He does with you.”
“Because he knows I’m not afraid to tear into him. He might not like it, but he’s a bully and they only pick on people they consider weaker than them.” I hold up a hand when she squawks at me. “I’m not saying you are. I’m saying that he’s an idiot and you know idiots never make the best decisions.”
While she doesn’t appreciate my logic… she doesn’t argue. So she knows I’m right.
“You have to go to the library, don’t you?”
“To finish my philosophy essay.” She rubs her temple. “Can this day get any worse?”
“Is Callan meeting you on the way?”
“No—”
“I should come with you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Stay here.” She curls her arms around my waist. “Thank you. I’ll see you later?”
