I kiss his lips, lingering a little longer when I get a taste of his minty breath.
His mouth lifts to the side in a crooked smile. “She would’ve loved you,” he laughs, lightening the atmosphere. My heart constricts with his words but warms knowing that he’s sharing this with me. “You two would’ve become inseparable.” – he rubs small circles on my back and the feeling makes it challenging to pay attention – “Emilie had this power to just draw people in with her light and her laughter. It was impossible not to be happy when she was around; her love for life was infectious.”
“Will you take me to her grave some time? We can take some of her favorite flowers if you want?”
“I’d like that.”
“When you’re ready,” I add.
He nods once and rolls so that I’m straddling him. He sits up until we’re nose to nose. “You’re incredible,” he breathes. “And I love you so much it scares me. You’re my missing puzzle piece, the air in my lungs, the blood in my veins. You’re my everything.”
My eyes glisten with tears. I’ve never known this kind of love and until now, I believed I was undeserving of it. Grayson makes me feel cherished, adored and loved, and the strength of what we feel for each other after such a short time is frightening. But I have never been so sure of anything in my life than what I feel for Grayson.
“You are mine.” Kiss. “And I am yours.” Kiss.
He looks at me adoringly, radiating the immensity of the imaginable love surrounding us. I shift in his lap and he stills. I giggle when I feel him harden between my legs and look up to find him blushing.
“Are you blushing?” I whisper, trailing kisses from the freckles on his shoulders to the soft patch of skin behind his ear. I nibble lightly on soft skin and find his reaction to my touch a complete and utter turn on.
He clears his throat. “No,” he says adamantly.
I deliberately rock against him, circling my hips. I watch his chest move up and down as his breathing shallows until he’s panting. His hands dig into my hips as I lift myself up and let him fill me. Our foreheads touch and I lose myself in the feel of him surrounding me, filling me, and loving me. As our bodies connected together like a puzzle, everything around us fell away and we disappeared into each other until it became too much. I bite his shoulder to stifle my moan which only serves to push him over the edge with me. Our eyes meet and the familiar crackling of electricity that flows from his body to mine blankets us. It wasn’t long before our bodies started the torturous dance all over again, causing us to miss all our morning classes.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
I walk out of my last class for the day feeling lighter and happier than I’ve ever felt. Something in me has lifted, taking the heavy burden of the secrets that haunted me with it. When I don't see Grayson waiting outside my class for, my face falls slightly. I saw him two hours ago but the thought of seeing him again so soon sends a thrill through my body enticing enough to make my toes curl.
A hand shoots out and grabs me, pulling me into the space between the two brick buildings that house our classrooms. What the ??
I scream but my mouth is soon covered by a palm. Looking up, I find Luke Bailey’s penetrating gaze on me, anger swirling in the depth of his eyes and radiating in powerful waves off every part of his body. He looks like a rabid dog about to lose it. I try to squirm out of his grasp but he pins me to the wall.
“Sshhh," he coos. The stench of alcohol hangs heavy on his breath and I squash the need to vomit. That will not look pretty on my white sundress.
I stop moving and wait to see what he could possibly want. After what he did to me at Nicky's, I have no desire to see him, let alone have a conversation with the douchebag. He can go play in peak hour traffic for all I care.
"Now be a good girl," he says, trailing a finger down my neck. "And listen carefully to what I'm about to say. You are going to tell everyone about our date, and take back the fucking accusations that cost me my scholarship and position on the swim team. We both know you wanted me to fuck you. I was just getting you...complacent. If you don't fix the mess you've caused me, we are going to have some problems." He leans in and sniffs my hair. I pinch my eyes closed and gather the courage to help myself out of this horrible situation.
A bead of sweat trails down my back, anxiety coiling deep in my belly. I swallow my fear and bite down onto Luke’s hand until I taste blood. He lets go of me and stumbles backward.
"You bitch!" he yells.
I make a run for it and smack into someone just as I reach the open space outside the classroom. I yelp when I fall to the ground and graze my arm, watching blood droplets ooze from the gash.
"What the fuck?"