what brand of carbonated water Poppy had asked me to pick up when my phone rings.
“Liv,” I say.
“Where are you?” her voice is strained
“Just trying to find the exit of this episode of the Twilight Zone.”
“I’m here,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m here. I’m at the apartment.”
“The apartment you grew up in?”
“No. Here in Washington.”
I abandon my cart, walking toward the front of the store.
“What? When?”
“Where are you?” she asks again.
“I’m at the store, but I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in five.”
I feel like I’m on autopilot as I drive the short distance to Liv’s apartment, a thousand thoughts struggling to be heard as I question why she’s back and what happened with Matt and if she’s going to be more homesick than she was before she left?
She opens the door on the first knock. Her long, dark hair pulled over one shoulder, and she’s wearing shorts and a sweatshirt, her feet bare.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her.
“Rose called and told me what happened with my dad.”
“I didn’t mean to ruin your spring break.”
Liv stares at me. “You should have called me. You should have told me what was going on.”
“I was going to. I just didn’t want you to worry.”
“You don’t get to force yourself into my life and then block me from being in yours. That’s not how this works. I know how scary it is to let someone in—I get it, but it’s me. You’re not supposed to be scared to let me in after I’ve already let you see all the ugly in my life.”
I slide my hands over her jaw, my thumbs brushing over her cheeks. “There’s not an ounce of ugly in you.”
She licks her lips, her gaze unsteady. She looks nervous and scared and angry all at once. “I feel the same about you.”
I close the gap and seal my lips over hers, leaving restraint and doubt behind as I claim her mouth in a demanding kiss, leaving one hand on her jaw to angle her chin so I can deepen the kiss as I trail my other hand down over her shoulder and back, gripping her ass and pulling her fully against me.
Liv moans. Fucking moans, and the thin control I was maintaining breaks. Liv pulls back, her blue eyes heavy with lust and need. She takes my hand and pulls me toward her room, closing the door behind us.
She pulls off her sweatshirt, leaving her in a dark green bra that quickly becomes my new favorite color. I grab the waistband of her denim shorts, freeing the button and zipper. “God, you’re beautiful.” I kiss her temple, her cheek, her chin, her mouth, and then slide my tongue along the tender edge of her neck, already recalling the spot near her ear that made her breaths come out in bursts the other night. I cup her breast, pinching and rolling her nipple between my thumb and forefinger until her hips move against mine, and her breaths become quicker and harder. I crash our lips together again, slipping my hand over her soft skin until I reach the silk of her panties. I slide my fingers over the fabric, and she rewards me with another moan. The moment my fingers leave, she whimpers, and if I thought her moan was hot, holy fuck, I’m about to come unhinged.
I slide my finger along the inside of her thigh, following the edge of her underwear. Liv’s hands move under my sweatshirt, kneading into my back as I trace the same path again and again.
“Arlo,” she whispers my name as a warning, a plea.
I pull her underwear to the side and follow her slit from core to her clit, making her hiss with pleasure.
“You have no idea how badly I want you,” I tell her, kissing another spot on her neck to taste her skin as I move my fingers to barely touch her, only moving her wetness around and marveling in the sounds she makes.
“Please,” she begs.
“Please, what?”
Her body bucks with need. “You’re being cruel,” she says.
I chuckle. “I just want to hear you tell me to fuck you.”
Her eyes flash a myriad of shock and innocence and lust that makes her cheeks blush. “You’re a sadist,” she says.
I chuckle again, pressing my fingers against her clit with more pressure. “Not entirely. I just really like to see you blush.”
Her jaw grows slack as I rub my fingers over the small bundle of nerves that has her pushing against