A Beautiful Choice (Beautiful, #5)

“Okay.” She giggled. “And because they’re pink.”


“I knew it,” I said, laughing.

“You caught me.”

For a few seconds we just stared at one another before Sarah jumped onto me and started to tickle me.

“Tickle monster!” she yelled.

“You’re not even tickling me!” I laughed.

“Oh yeah?” she asked. “You think you could do any better?” she taunted.

Placing my hands on her hips, I flipped us so I was laying on top of her. Part of her shirt was pushed up so I started to tickle her stomach. “Tickle! Tickle!” I said over and over again.

Instead of yelling at me, Sarah laughed. “Oh my God, Gabe! Stop! I’m sooo ticklish.”

“Keep going?” I laughed. “Okay, only if you say so, Sarah!”

“No!” She laughed. Her head fell back and her mouth was wide open.

I couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked in that moment.

Opening her eyes, Sarah looked up at me and smiled. I quit tickling her and held onto her wrists. It wasn’t tight, but a firm grasp.

I watched as Sarah’s mouth slightly opened and her eyes got big.

Lifting her arms, I placed them above her head and leaned my weight onto her.

“Gabe,” she whispered. “What are you doing?”

“Staring at you,” I said.

Letting out a low breath, she asked, “Why?”

“Because you are so goddamn beautiful.”

I watched as her eyes slowly fluttered closed.

My mouth was so close to hers. I wanted to kiss Sarah badly, but I wanted her to want it, too. I didn’t want this to be like the night of the party again.

Opening her eyes, Sarah looked at me. “What are you doing to me?”

I wasn’t sure if she meant to say it out loud or not. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what do you want with me, Gabe Prescott?”

“I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to kiss you so damn bad right now.” I paused. “But I want you to want it, too.”

“Gabe,” Sarah whispered.

“Yes,” I asked, leaning in to her. Our lips grazed and I could feel myself getting hard. I knew she could feel it. It was kind of hard to cover up when my legs were on either side of her waist.

Her eyes moved back and forth between mine, staring at me. “Kiss me,” she said.

“No.”

Sarah’s breath hitched and her eyes lowered. “Why?”

“Because I want you to kiss me, Sarah. I want to know—” Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “No, I need to know that you want this, too.” As I started to open my eyes to look down at Sarah, I felt her hands wrap around my head and pull me down to her.

The feel of her soft lips against mine was unimaginable. It was so much better than our last kiss because this time we both wanted it. Moving my body to get more comfortable, I felt Sarah move her legs and wrap them around my waist. Placing my hands on either side of her, I rested my weight on top of her.

Every part of me was touching a part of her. I allowed Sarah to take control of this kiss. I didn’t want to push her. A part of me was also curious to see how far she would go with this kiss.

Tilting her head to the side, Sarah opened her mouth and swiped her tongue along my bottom lip.

As I groaned into her mouth, I placed my hands on her hips and held her there. I could feel myself getting rock hard and I knew she could feel it, too.

With her legs wrapped around my waist, I felt Sarah start to rock back and forth against me.

Oh Jesus Christ, she needs to stop that. I knew if she didn’t stop we would go too far and I didn’t want to push this. I didn’t want her to regret this later. “Sarah,” I said breathlessly. Opening my eyes, I looked down at her face. Her beautiful, red lips were wet and a little bruised from kissing. Her mouth was slightly opened and she was breathing heavily.

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

Sucking in a breath, I said, “We have to stop.”

“Why?” she quickly questioned.

“Because I don’t want to push this,” I whispered. “I like you, Sarah. A lot.” Pausing, I sucked in a breath. Closing my eyes, I shook my head and muttered, “I don’t want you to regret this later on.”

Sarah held my face still. “Open your eyes, Gabe,” she whispered.

Doing as she said, I could see her eyes were filled with tears. “Sarah, please don’t cry.”

Releasing a breath, she looked straight at me.

A little part of me felt like she was looking into my soul. They say the eyes are the opening to your soul. I never really believed that. I thought it was bullshit. But then the way Sarah looked at me, I knew it was real. I felt it.

I watched as her lips slowly and hesitantly twitched up into a slight smile. She started to open her mouth to say something but closed it. As she closed her eyes, and kept them closed, I looked at her. I could tell she was trying to figure out what to say. “Take your time, Sarah.”

A minute or two later, Sarah’s eyes slowly opened. “I’m not going to regret this.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Emily McKee's books