Page 27 of Made Better Together

We reach the park, and the sun is dipping below the skyline. The fireworks must be starting soon.

I come to a stop as we get near the sycamore tree that marks the beginning of the grassy field where Bree and I had played. Not surprisingly, given the holiday, it’s completely empty.

“This is our destination.”

Connor looks over the field, such that it is. “It’s...nice.” He clearly had to search for a word to use.

“Don’t say that just to please me. It’s a pretty basic park. Nothing to write home about.”

He turns his attention back to me. “No, but I’m glad for the privacy.”

His hazel eyes hold a hint of heat, and breathing suddenly feels hard. “Oh, yeah…”

He swallows, and then takes a step closer. “Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?”

Now breathing feels harder. “Are your glasses foggy?” I whisper to deflect my way out of my growing nerves.

“No, they are not.” His voice amused, but firm.

He brings his hand under my chin, tilting it up. His eyes dip to my lips, then land back on mine. Amusement gone, determination present instead.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Okay,” I respond softly, as he closes the gap between our mouths.

At first, he brushes his lips over mine, one, two, three times. The featherlight grazes of his warm mouth are just enough to run shivers down my body.

“So soft,” he murmurs. As our eyes meet again, a small smile rises on his face. “You don’t even want to know how long I’ve thought about this…”

What—

Before I finish the thought, his mouth comes crashing down on me, his lips moving with earnestness. His hands grip my hips, and the motion pushes my back into the tree.

Welcoming the support, I lean my body weight against it, while the kiss consumes the rest of my awareness. His tongue pushes in, tasting me.

Kiss him back. My mind finally connects with my body, and I press my lips against his with intention, matching the passion he’s bringing. I’m rewarded with a little whimper from him as my tongue slips into his mouth.

He’s in control again soon after, guiding the give and take of our kiss with his movements. I don’t even know how long we continue, or at what point our bodies end up bridged so closely that I feel him harden under his khaki shorts. Thanks to his height, his erection hits against my waist.

I’m distracted from that observation as a hand slips from my hip into my hair, threading through the section behind my ear. Impossibly, he pulls our faces closer, without missing a beat of our kiss. I need all of you, and I’m going to take it, his actions scream.

How is this so intense when we barely know each other?

Stop thinking so much, I tell myself, before darting my tongue back in his mouth. Right after he lets out another whimper in return, a bang echoes in the sky.

The fireworks.

He brings his head back, turning to look up at them.

“I guess we should return to Bree’s,” I say with a sigh. That was over too quickly.

He returns his gaze to me. “We could watch them here, together.”

The suggestion is appealing—moving from this spot is the last thing I want. Having this one night with Connor continue longer sounds like a better option.

Another cluster of fireworks goes off above us, and our heads swivel back up. After the four bangs are done, we lock eyes again.

“Okay.”