Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
She weaves through the crowd, going down a corridor, and I’m right behind her. She must sense someone is following her because she looks over her shoulder at me. I was wrong before when I said she looks beautiful. She is more than beautiful. She is exquisite, which makes me hate myself more because I had her and lost her. She shakes her head and turns around, stopping in front of me.
I don’t even know where we are, but the noise is behind us, and the hallway is almost dark. She looks around, making sure that no one is around and listening, before she finally says, “This game needs to stop.”
“It’s not a game,” I declare as I step closer to her. If I could stand with my chest against hers, I would, but I leave her space. Her chest rises and falls. My eyes go from her eyes to her collarbone, her neck open for me to kiss her exactly where I know her heart beats, and then down her bare arm. “You look stunning.”
“Save it, Romeo,” she hisses, and I want to kiss her so fucking bad.
“We need to talk, Gabriella,” I tell her, and all she does is shake her head furiously.
“We had our talk,” she reminds me, her voice low and almost in a whisper, “almost a week ago. We said everything we had to say.”
“We didn’t.” I swallow. “There is a lot more I need to say,” I tell her.
“There is nothing you have to say that I want to hear.” She avoids looking at me, and I know talking about it hurts her, and the last thing I want to discuss is me hurting her, but she needs to know.
My stomach is sore, my chest tight, and my hands itch to touch her. What I wouldn’t give for one more fucking moment with her. “I told you, I’m not leaving.”
She folds her arms over her chest. “What about your movie?”
“What about it?” I reply, and my hand moves before I can stop it as it twirls around one of the loose hairs that are not pinned in the back. “It means nothing without you.” I take another step forward, and I’m so close I can feel her breath on me. “I’m nothing without you.” I know that I should take it slow. I know everything has to be on her terms. That is what I was told. I know all of this. My head knows all of this, but my heart, my heart just wants her to know I love her. “I’ve been nothing without you,” I whisper right before I move my head and my lips find hers. For the first time since she walked out on me, I feel my heart start up again.
FIFTEEN
GABRIELLA
My heart is beating so fast in my chest and I’m trying to pretend I don’t care, but it is all a lie. My head screams at me, he broke you while my heart says, he can put you back together again. Every single day since he’s come back has been my own private torture. On one hand, I should be happy he’s back, begging, so I can finally tell him to go to hell, while on the other hand, I realize I miss him.
“What about it?” he replies as his hand comes up, and I stop breathing as I watch his finger touch my hair. “It means nothing without you.” He takes another step closer to me and my first reaction is to step back, but my feet feel like they weigh a hundred pounds. “I’m nothing without you.” His eyes meet mine, and no matter how many times I pretend that his words mean nothing, the next words go straight to my heart. “I’ve been nothing without you,” he says them in a whisper, and I can feel his breath on my face. My stomach flutters, and I want to say his name, but his name gets stuck in my throat, and then I don’t say anything because his lips are on mine. It’s as if an electric shock just went through me, and my heart started again. My hand comes up to cup his face, my fingertips tingling when I feel his soft scruff. He kisses me softly. Then he turns his head to the side, coming back to kiss me again, but this time his tongue slides into my mouth. My eyes flicker closed the minute it happens. My hand slides down from his face to his neck and then to his chest. Stopping in the middle of his chest, I feel his heart beating just as fast as mine. He wraps one hand around my waist, pulling me into him as the hand that was holding my hair is now holding my cheek in his palm. Our tongues go around and around in circles, and it feels like home. It’s been over eight months since I last kissed him, yet it feels like I just kissed him this morning.