He chuckles. “Well, there’s one more, and you might love it more.”
“I doubt that.” I stick my hand into the tissue paper, feeling the softness of the object below. It’s plush but a little coarse at the same time, kind of cozy, like something that’s been well-loved. “I don’t think anything could top the—” My words fizzle, dying in my throat as I pull the stuffed animal from the bag. Its pink fur, once so bright, is pale and muted, just the way I remember, the white patch on its chest a little gray from years of dragging it everywhere, the black button eye on the left hanging loose.
I clutch my favorite bunny to my chest, inhaling the smell, the familiarity, welcoming the memories that flood my mind, and tears spill down my cheeks.
“Princess Bubblegum,” I weep into her fur. “You found her.”
“I thought maybe she fell out in the moving truck. I called the company and they let me go through the lost and found bin, but it wasn’t there. I went by the house one day and looked everywhere. Up and down the street, in the garden…I found her in the bushes by the road, half-buried in a pile of snow. She was all muddy, so I washed her up for you, and I hope—”
I crush my mouth to his, sinking my fingers in his hair, smooshing my stuffie between us. When I pull away, his cheeks glisten with my tears, lips red, hair a mess from my assault.
“This is the kindest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“Yeah, well…” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’d do anything for you, Jennie.”
“’Cause I’m your sunshine?”
He nods. “The brightest.”
“And you love me?”
“I do. Wild, huh?”
I don’t answer him. Not with words anyway. Instead, I stand, pressing a kiss to Princess Bubblegum’s head before I tuck her on my bookshelf, right next to a picture of me and Dad. Then I take Garrett’s hand in mine and tow him down the hallway.
His palm grows damp, fingers clutching tightly at mine, a telltale sign of the nerves that grow with each step closer to my bedroom.
“We don’t have to do anything, Jennie. It’s not…I’m not, like…We don’t have to do anything.” The way he fumbles over his words when he’s anxious is one of my favorites of his traits. “I’m cool to just snuggle. And plus,” he chuckles, running his fingers through his hair when I yank him through the door, “I don’t have a condom.”
“That’s okay.”
“Okay.” His body deflates with a whooshing sigh. He sinks to the edge of the bed. “Grool.” He shakes his head, cringing. “Fuck. Cool. Cool.”
“I’ve been on the pill for a month and a half now.”
Aw, he’s so cute when he looks like he’s going to be sick.
CHAPTER 35
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
JENNIE
“You want to—but I—” Garrett’s face pales, jaw hanging. He snaps it shut and shakes his head. “No.”
“No? You don’t want me?”
“No, I—” He drags his hands down his face, groaning. “I didn’t tell you I love you so you would have sex with me. If you want to wait longer, we can wait longer.”
He’s so sweet, so gentle sometimes it makes my heart ache. He’s never wanted to take anything that didn’t belong to him, but I think this part of me was always meant for him.
I step between his legs, draping my arms around his neck. His hands move up the backs of my thighs, squeezing my ass before he lifts me onto his lap. He wraps his arms around me, burying his face in my neck.
“I love when you wear my sweater,” he murmurs. “Everything in me screams mine when you do.”
“I am yours.” I kiss the edge of his jaw, working down his throat as I tug his tie free. The silk slips through my fingers as I drop it to the ground. Guiding him backward, I work the buttons of his shirt. My hands skim across his broad chest as I sweep his shirt down his arms, and when it finds its way to the floor, I admire the spectacular body below.
Garrett is solid and warm, skin kissed golden, even in the winter. The light patch of hair on his chest is soft as I run my fingers through it, and the muscles carved into his torso beg to be tasted. Before I can do that, his hands slip below his hoodie, sliding up the curve of my back, making it arch beneath his touch. When I lift my arms, he guides the thick material over my head, letting it fall behind me.
“One more thing I love about you.” The pad of his thumb scrapes over my nipple, making it harden. “You never wear a fucking bra at home.”
“It’s not good to restrict the girls.” A whimper trembles in my throat as his hot tongue rolls over the tight bud. “Gotta let ’em breathe.”
Garrett grips my hips, grinding me gently over him. A moan falls from my lips as my lower belly tightens with desire. Pushing a hand between us, I step down from his lap. He follows, and when I reach for his belt, he puts his hand over mine.
“I’m serious, Jennie. We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready to do.”
“I know what I want, Garrett, and I know my limits. Okay?”
His eyes search mine for a moment before he nods, letting me work his pants and boxers off him, his erection springing free. When I reach for my sleep shorts, he stops me, spinning me so that my back presses into his chest. His hand moves over my torso, fingertips dancing up until he finds my throat. He holds me tenderly, his breath heavy in my ear as he slips his free hand into my shorts. His chest rumbles when he finds me hot and wet, and when he skims my clit, I shudder. My shorts fall to my ankles, and he nudges my legs apart with his knee.
“You wanna know something?” he asks, stroking that bundle of nerves at the cleft of my thighs. His fingers dip, gliding through my wetness, and when he pushes one broad finger inside, I gasp. “You’re a fucking dream come true.”
Gentle fingers press into my throat, holding me to him as he brings me higher up my mountain, climbing toward my peak. His cock hardens at his breathless, whimpered name, pushing into my back, and when he adds a second finger, when his thumb finds my clit, I cry out again.
“Dreamt about my name on your lips for so long before you finally said it. Dreamt about the way you’d feel below me, the way you’d taste…but I never could’ve dreamed I’d find my best friend. That in finding you, I’d find more of myself.”
He holds my gaze over my shoulder as he works me faster, and when his fingers curl, my knees buckle. The corner of his mouth lifts as he watches me fall apart around him, and when I sob out his name, he swallows it with a kiss.
“I love you, Jennie. And I’m so fucking glad I caught you masturbating to me that one night.”
I wheeze a laugh, and he guides me down to the bed, crawling overtop of me.
“What do you want, Jennie? Tell me, please.”
“Everything, as long as it’s with you.”
“All mine?” he asks on a whisper.
“All yours.”
His forehead drops to my shoulder, and he pulls in a deep breath.
With my hand on his jaw, I coax his gaze back to mine. “Are you nervous?”
Color dots his cheek. He swallows slowly and nods. “Are you?”
“No,” I tell him honestly. “I have no reason to be. You’ve always given me everything I need, and I’ve always felt safe with you. This is no different. Your patience with me gave me all the time I needed to know this is something I want to share with only you, to trust you, to fall in love with you. I’ve never been more certain, and I’m so happy to do this with you.”
His lips cover my collarbone with kisses. “You’re right. It’ll be—” His head snaps up. “No, but you-you said…you said—”
“I love you, too, Garrett.”
His eyes come alive, brilliant and electric. “You do? Really?”
“I do, really.”
His grin is detonating, laugh eager as he crushes me to him, falling to his back, dragging me on top. “Thank fuck. I mean, obviously. Who can resist all this? About time you admitted it.”
“Garrett?”
“Yeah?”