Page 24 of When We Were Young

“It did, but it’s not that.” She hesitates. “It’s... I’ll miss you.” Her voice is almost angelic.

It will be the first time we have to go more than two days without seeing each other since our first kiss a few weeks ago.

I pull her to me and embrace her. She feels as though she was always meant to be right here, in my arms.

“You have no idea how badly I’m going to miss you.”

She glances up at me with hooded eyes.

“Show me?” she whispers.

I drop my bag without hesitation and cup her face with both hands, then lower my mouth to hers. As our lips connect, she buries her hands in my hair and tugs as we deepen the kiss.

After a minute or two, I’m quickly losing touch with the responsible side of me that remembers she needs to drive home tonight. I grip beneath her thighs and lift her, never allowing our mouths to part.

There’s no hesitation on her end, and she wraps her legs around me. It’s clear from her moan that she notices how hard I am for her. I groan when her center rubs against my cock.

I take a few short steps and manage to find the table near where we started kissing. I set her on it, then position myself between her legs.

She whimpers when I lift my mouth from hers, but moans when I switch to kissing her neck, then move to her collarbone.

She fists my hoodie as if she’s afraid I’ll move away if she doesn’t hold on.

Over the next several minutes, our hands roam beneath each other's shirts. Hers trace my chest and abdominal muscles while I caress her sides. It’s as far as we’ve gone, and it takes everything in me to stop. But I know it’s getting darker outside, and I want her to get home before it gets too late.

So, I reluctantly drag my hands from her soft skin and pull her against my chest, desperately needing to hold her for a few minutes before I say goodbye for a few days. It takes several minutes, but eventually our rapid breathing slows to a normal rate.

I pull back and look at her. Her cheeks have become flushed, her lips swollen from our passion, and her hair ruffled. I sweep a few stray locks off her face and tuck them behind her ear.

“You’re beautiful,” I tell her. “So damn beautiful.”

She rolls her eyes and tries to look away, but I gently prevent her from doing so.

She’ll need to get used to the compliments and me looking at her because she’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen, and I plan to stare at her like this for years to come.

I don’t care if I’m only twenty. I know in my heart she’s it for me. I’ve never been in love before now. My feelings for Lizette make that abundantly clear because I’ve never felt anything like this for another woman. Not even Ruby.

The need to tell Lizette is driving me crazy, yet I know I need to avoid scaring her. I can sense she needs more time.

I rub the pad of my thumb across her cheekbone, and she shivers.

“I’d like to take you out to dinner when you get back on Sunday,” I tell her.

Her body tenses and her eyes widen, then return to normal.

“What do you say?”

She looks off to the side. “Um... maybe. Can I let you know? I’m not sure when I’ll be back and⁠—”

We’ve done this ‘maybe, I’ll let you know’ routine several times now.

“Lizette? Please look at me.”

She slowly turns her head in my direction, but her eyes are downcast. I tilt her chin until her eyes meet mine, then search their bright green depths to see if I can figure out why she won’t see me outside of the library, other than the two times she allowed me to come to her house. I’m trying not to let it get to me, but I’m starting to wonder if she doesn’t want anyone to see us together.

Old insecurities resurface, but I force them away. This is my sweet Lizette I’m talking about. Maybe she has a good reason. I wish I knew what it was.

Chapter Ten