“What?” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “What the fuck do you want from me, Rowan?”
The fact that she’s still refusing to call me Ro bites, but Ican’t take it anymore—months of living under the same roof, watching her, wanting her, keeping my distance because of a stupid promise I made to Logan. All the nights I’ve lain awake thinking about her, about us, about what could be if I just had the courage to break my word.
The thought makes me snap. Tightening my grip on her wrist, I yank her against me, closing the distance between us as I back her up against the lockers. Her eyes widen in surprise as my body presses against hers, pinning her in place.
“Rowan, what are you?—”
Desperate and hungry, I slam my lips down on hers, silencing her with my mouth. Her body immediately tenses up, her hands pushing at my chest as she tries shoving me away. But I refuse to let go. I can’t. Not when I’ve wanted this—wanted her—for so long.
Just when I think she might knee me in the balls, she softens. Her resistance melts away like ice under a flame as her lips part under mine. A small, desperate sound escapes her throat as her hands slide up my chest to wrap around my neck.
Drowning in the taste of her, I deepen the kiss. Her tongue tastes sweet like the punch she’s been drinking, with an edge of something darker. My hands slide to her waist, drawing her closer as her fingers tangle in the hair at the nape of my neck.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think it could be this good. Nothing like our innocent first kiss. Better than anything I’ve ever experienced with anyone else. Lizzy is kissing me back like she’s been waiting for this moment just as long as I have.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard. Lips swollen and wet, her eyes are dazed, and I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.
“Why did you do that?” she pants, her voice trembling slightly.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you the day I came back,” I admit, pressing my forehead against hers.
Her fingers tighten their grip in my hair. “Logan will kill you if he finds out.”
“I know,” I say, running my thumb across her bottom lip. “But…”
With a frustrated sigh, Lizzy drops her hands and shakes her head. “This was a mistake. We can’t do this. The last thing I want is to get caught up in you again. You and Logan are leaving after graduation and I just… I just...can’t.”
And with those parting words, she turns on her heel and hurries down the hall, back to the dance.
Deep down, I know she’s right.
Forcing myself not to chase after her, I let her go.
fifteen
My voice trails off,throat suddenly dry after talking for so long. The lake’s gentle waves fill the silence as I wait for my friends to process everything I’ve just shared.
“Holy. Shit.” Noia’s eyes are wide as saucers, shining with shock in the moonlight. “I knew you and Rowan had history, but I had no idea it went so deep.”
Sasha wraps an arm around my shoulders. “So what happened after prom? Did you guys talk about the kiss?”
My laugh comes out hollow. “No. We went back to pretending each other didn’t exist. At least until graduation.”
Noia leans forward eagerly. “So what happened next?”
“The day before graduation, I turned eighteen.” Pulling my knees tighter against my chest, I zone in on the moonlight rippling across the water. “But it’s the day after when everything shifted between us.”
“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” Sasha says gently, curiosity burning in her eyes.
“No, it’s fine. I’ve kept this bottled up for long enough.” I take a deep breath. “After the ceremony, my parents threw this huge graduation slash birthday party at our house. I spent mostof the night avoiding Rowan, which wasn’t hard since he was surrounded by people wanting to talk to him about his plans to move to L.A.”
Blowing out a breath, I rub my now sweaty palms over my jeans in a feeble attempt at getting them dry. “Later that night, after the party and everyone had gone to bed, I was coming out of the bathroom and ran into him in the hall.”
Noia gasps, a look of glee spreading across her face before she smacks her hands over her mouth. “I’m starting to sense an ongoing theme.”
My lips twitch. Typical romance author reaction.
“Yep. I’d never run into him in the middle of the night like that before.”
