Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Our foreheads touch, and I lick my tingling lips, wanting to taste the sweet remnants of Grayson. “What are you doing to me?” I breathe, repeating his own words.
He rubs his thumb over my swollen lips before finally pulling away. My eyes sweep over his bare chest before flickering to his lap—
Oh.
Wow…
I wasn’t expecting that.
Grayson is sporting a massive erection under his towel. My jaw gapes open, and he lets out a choked sound once he realizes where my attention has gone..
He drags my pillow over his lap, covering his erection. “It’s a bodily reaction, I can’t really help it. You’re fucking beautiful and your lips taste like goddamn sweet honey,” he explains in his gravelly voice. “I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable. I can go to the bathroom and— never mind. You’re smirking, Riley.”
Grayson is flustered and I don’t know why, but that makes me want to tease him even more. He’s not shy, but there’s something about the flustered look he’s giving me that has me feeling things I’ve never felt before.
Wanted.
Desired.
Seen.
“Now at least I know you find me attractive.”
He scowls. “I’ve always found you attractive. You’re fucking beautiful, Riley. I’d be a stupid man not to find you attractive.”
My whole body flushes at the praise. I’ve been told I am beautiful by many people, but this is the first time I’ve heard a man say it with such reverence.
“Well, you’re kinda aloof and hard to read.” I raise an eyebrow. “I can never tell what you’re thinking, and your words always end up puzzling me.”
His eyes narrow on me. “What did this kiss mean to you?” he abruptly asks.
I inhale sharply. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve done casual relationships before,” he tells me slowly. “I’ve had sex. I’ve kissed girls…but this is not it. You’re not a casual kiss or a fling, Goldilocks. I need to know we’re on the same page. So, what did this kiss mean to you?”
The pitter-patter of my heart doesn’t cease. It’s like a booming drum in my ears; it’s so loud, I wonder if Grayson can hear it too. “This is the first time I’ve been kissed so sweetly,” I finally confess to him. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means that…I want you, and you want me. Our feelings are complicated, if you ask me — even I can’t explain these emotions. But we can make it simple, Riley. If you want to. We can figure it out together.”
My heart thuds. “Okay.”
“Okay?” He tilts his head in question.
I slowly grin. “We have an hour to figure it out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Grayson — 18 years old (three months later)
Riley lies down on the blanket. She tugs on my hand, taking me with her. I lie on my back with her.
We’ve been together since the night of the Christmas gala, though we’ve never explicitly said that we’re a thing now, that we’re dating. It kind of just naturally happened. A flow of events, and we just went along with it.
We kissed that night, a whole fucking lot. Until we were both breathless and aching, but we somehow kept falling back into each other’s arms. Tasting each other, exploring our needs, and wanting more. I couldn’t get enough of her, and she was just as needy with her touches.
The next Monday, at school, I was holding her hand for everyone to see. She didn’t protest though. Riley had just been blushing, with a sneaky, pleased smile on her lips. Lips that I had been craving since I’ve tasted her. And then we kissed some more. Under the staircase, where no one could see us. In my car, hiding away from the rest of the world, in our own world where only she and I exist.
I was finally able to take her on a proper date today.
But it wasn’t until we got to the restaurant that I realized something was wrong. Riley wasn’t eating. At first, I thought she didn’t like the food. But that wasn’t the case.
She was anxious. Uneasy in a public setting.
And uncomfortable to eat in front of so many people.
When I saw her picking at her food, barely eating anything on her plate, I had the servers pack our food in takeout boxes. If being in a restaurant makes Riley uncomfortable, then we’d go somewhere else.
And here we are. It’s not a lily field, but it’s a meadow nonetheless. The best place for a private picnic. I knew it was the right spot to take Riley when her eyes lit up and she bounced happily across the meadow and found us the perfect spot under a tree.
Riley curls into my right side, pressing her body against mine.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, anchoring her to me. “Are you cold?”
She’s wearing a black dress, a leather jacket, and white sneakers. Her golden hair is in a loose, messy braid. Riley makes a sound of denial in the back of her throat. “I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s quite warm today. Spring is finally here.”