The spot on my face was mostly numb. However, I swore I could feel flames lick across my skin at his light caress.
“You aren’t going anywhere, Ollie.”
There was no mistaking that his words were a threat, and I should be very, very worried about whatever was going to happen next.
Interestingly enough, being worried wasn’t at the forefront of my mind as he hovered over me.
Huck
I recognized the look in Ollie’s eyes when she declared it was time to go.
I was intimately acquainted with that special kind of tension that tightened your entire body and made your heart hurt when the person you cared most about might be in danger. I was sure I looked the same way back in the day when I realized exactly how crazy Sawyer was and how much danger Ollie was really in. She wanted to protect me.
I wasn’t having it.
She’d pushed and pushed until I was forced to open the vault I’d locked all my affection for her in. I wasn’t about to let her disappear into the dark. I’d been there and done that myself and knew how tough it was. I knew exactly how awful things could get when you took responsibility for a tragedy that wasn’t your fault. It was a game of what-if that refused to end. It was confusion and conflict that took up more time and space than it should. It was regret that held me back and made me question important choices every step of the way toward my future. Holding onto blame that wasn’t mine meant my hands were too full to grab other opportunities that came my way. It left me feeling frustrated and angry at the person for whom I was ultimately willing to risk everything.
A few weeks ago, I would say Ollie was getting exactly what she deserved. I convinced myself that I hated her. I started painting her and Sawyer with the same brush because that ugly night was tangled up in my mind. Regardless, I wanted her far, far away from me because I knew when I looked into her chocolate-colored eyes, I would have to face the truth.
I couldn’t hate her no matter how badly I wanted to.
I braced an arm above her head and sighed at the feel of her soft hair brushing against my skin. I used my free hand to hold her face still so she couldn’t look away as I slowly started to lower my head.
I always thought I would be the winner when it came to the games she and I had played since childhood… but it seemed like I didn’t stand a chance against her.
I decided to cut off any argument she might have before it started. She kissed me out of the blue first. It was only fair I got a turn to kiss her back. After all, everything between us was about balance and a little bit of give and take, push and pull.
She gasped against my lips as they touched hers. Her hands curled into the fabric of my shirt, holding tight even though she was trying to convince me she wanted to get away a second ago. I didn’t pretend to play nice or give her any time to adjust to the sudden onslaught. Since her lips were parted, I dived in, immediately tasting every warm, wet corner of her mouth. The kiss was a little bit sloppy and totally uncoordinated. It was much more aggressive than the one we’d shared while rolling around on the floor. She’d been trying to tease and tempt me into giving her the upper hand.
I kissed her to warn her where we were going. There was no stopping. No going backward. No more looking at each other and seeing who we were. I kissed her to show her I was fully investing in who she was now. There were a lot of benefits of reconnecting now that we were older. Changing the way we spent our time in bed together was just one of them. Childish naps and innocent cuddling still had their place. But heated bodies rubbing against one another and soft gasps of surprised pleasure were so much better.
I kissed her breathless and used my teeth and tongue to make her squirm underneath me. I wanted her to have no doubt that I wanted her and that a stolen kiss was just the beginning. I no longer saw my playmate when I looked at her. I no longer thought of