while ago, and I’m only now getting the courage to tell you. You said once every second counts, and I don’t want another second to go by without you knowing that I am totally, completely, one hundred percent in love with you.”
Farrah stilled.
The next minute stretched on for eternity.
Silence wasn’t rejection, but he was going to be sick if Farrah didn’t say something soon.
Someone cleared their throat.
A girl with green-streaked hair appeared behind Farrah’s shoulder. It took Blake a second to identify her as Farrah’s roommate Janice—and to realize she’d heard every word he said.
Fuck.
“Er, I’m going to the library.” Janice looked like she was trying not to laugh. “I won’t be back for a while, so, yeah.”
She was definitely trying not to laugh.
Good luck, she mouthed as she slipped past Farrah into the hall.
Blake’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Luckily (or not), he didn’t have to dwell on this humiliating turn of events long.
“Um.”
Not the first word Blake wanted to hear after his confession.
“I’m sorry. I need to—” Farrah stepped aside. “Come in.”
He did, even though he wanted to run away. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what Farrah had to say.
You idiot. You stupid, stupid idiot. He should’ve kept his mouth shut. At least then, he could’ve held onto the hope that Farrah felt the same way about him as he did her.
Ignorance, as they say, is bliss.
“I need to take this off.” Farrah peeled off her mask and tossed it in the trash. Her skin gleamed beneath the lights. “I don’t know what to say.”
His chest went hollow. “You don’t have to say anything.” Blake forced a smile and tried to convince himself he wasn’t dying inside.
“No. I want to.” Farrah fiddled with her necklace. “When I met you, I told myself I wasn’t going to fall for you.”
Jesus. Her words cut like a surgical knife through Blake’s heart.
“I understand.” He needed to get out of here. “I’m supposed to meet Luke for dinner so I’ll—”
“But I did.”
He couldn’t stay here a minute longer. He needed to go—wait, what?
Blake’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”
“I did fall in love with you.” Farrah’s eyes glowed with emotion. She clutched her necklace until her knuckles turned white. “That place you’re at now? I’m right there with you. It scares the crap out of me, which is funny because I’ve always considered myself a romantic. You know, I love reading and watching romances and when I was in middle school, I read all these bridal magazines and dreamt about falling in love and getting married one day. Not that I’m expecting us to get married because obviously it’s way too soon—I mean, if it happens at all—but this is the first time I’ve been in love and I didn’t expect to feel this way and—”
“Farrah.” Blake closed the gap between them until he could count every lash rimming those beautiful eyes.
“I’m not sure if this is normal and sorry I’m rambling, I don’t even know what I’m—”
“Farrah, shut up so I can kiss you.”
She shut up.
Blake gently pried her hand off her necklace and tangled his fingers with hers before he captured her mouth with his. What started as an innocent kiss, an exploration of this new stage in their relationship, quickly heated up until Blake’s entire body was on fire. His nerve endings thrummed as Farrah swept her tongue between his lips, tasting and teasing.
He was so lost in the heat and taste of her he didn’t notice they’d moved until Farrah pushed him onto her bed and straddled him.
Blake’s jeans constricted painfully.
Her hair brushed his chest as she hovered over him, cheeks flushed, mouth swollen, looking for all the world like she’d stepped out of a dream. His dream.
“I love you,” she said. Each word came out slowly and carefully, like she was testing them out.
Blake brushed his thumb over Farrah’s cheek. Her skin was soft and warm against his. His gaze caressed her face, lingering on the delicate curve of her jaw, the gentle slope of her nose, the tiny mole above her right eyebrow, and the sweep of black lashes framing her deep chocolate eyes.
“I love you too.”
He flipped them over until he was the one hovering over her. “Let’s try an experiment.”
Farrah’s brow furrowed. “What kind of experiment?”
“This.” Blake brushed his lips over hers and reached down to caress her, reveling in her sharp intake of breath as he explored her most intimate folds.
They’d tried multiple times to bring Farrah over the