Page 79 of Made Better Together

“I know it’s risky, but I…how do you feel about seeing each other, exploring this…but keeping everything secret for now?”

She swallows. “So you stay in your job and we hang out anyway?”

“Yes, but not only hang out. I want to take you on a date, Eden. Dates. I’m not…”

“Not…not what?”

Rolling the dice, I say the second scariest sentence of my life. “I don’t see this as casual, assuming you feel the same way.”

She bites her lip, but I spy a grin underneath. “Despite the night we had last year, I’m not a ‘no strings’ type of person normally. So, yeah, same…”

Okay. This is going…well.

She continues, “So we date, seriously, but in secret. I don’t have anything to lose, but you do. You could get fired? Mess up things with Milo? Are you sure you want to do that?”

“There’s no doubt in my mind.”

She grins broadly at my swift, confident answer. “I want to try then. It’s been quite a bumpy ride, but maybe it’ll be smooth sailing now.” She shakes her head, laughing. “I think I mixed metaphors⁠—”

She’s so cute, I can’t help myself. I bring my left hand over to the back of her head, gently cradling it.

A split second later, I lean down and finally, for the first time in over a year, fucking finally, kiss her.

As soon as our lips touch, a moan escapes her mouth, an exhale of emotion. I feel something similar, as the rightness I’ve been chasing since we last kissed surges forward, settling in, like an ember pushing out a steady heat within my chest.

With the emotion circulating and the newness, I try to take it slow, melding our lips in light strokes. Her soft, warm mouth mirrors my movements, letting me lead. We’re testing the tether that seems to draw us to one another, and I try to stay gentle.

But when her hand grips my bicep, it’s a cue to stop restraining myself, and I crash our mouths together. A louder groan comes from her throat, and I dip my tongue between her parted lips as she squeezes my arm harder. I want more of her noises, but I’m the one who ends up whimpering as she takes a turn at nipping my lips.

The kiss evolves into a confident exploration, both of us becoming more adventurous. I start getting hard—nothing to do about that right now—and distract myself by cupping my hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Her tongue meets mine, our upper bodies inching closer after every beat.

Her taste is so sweet, the kiss so perfect, I start to lose myself in the moment. All that matters is her, her pleasure, this attraction I can finally let loose.

Only an ambulance’s blaring siren in the background brings me to the present. A reminder that we’re in a car, in public, in the middle of the Tolliver campus.

Shit. I stop the kiss and pull away slightly, placing a peck on the top of her forehead.

“Mmmmm, that was nice.”

“It was…” She looks blissed out.

“Sorry to stop. It was the last thing I wanted.” Truth.

“It’s okay, we’re in public—oh wait, what time is it?”

“Almost eight.”

She eases into the seat. “Oh good, I’m supposed to go out with the team tonight. I still have tons of time to get ready.”

“Yeah, we can get you home.”

Her eyes flick up to mine. “It’s at Jake’s house, to be totally transparent. But I have zero interest there.”

As I stare at her lips, puffy and red from our kissing, I don’t have a concern in the world about this other dude anymore.

“I know.”

“Good.”