around the back of his neck and pull his lips to mine. Tonight has been so perfect. The last thing I want is for him to ruin it by regretting what he just said.
7
Emerson
Holy shit, did I just say that?
I accept her kiss when she presses her lips to mine but inside I’m freaking out. Did I really just tell her I love her? Do I?
Shit.
“Thank you for tonight. It was beyond perfect.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Can we keep it up and maybe visit again?”
“Sure.”
I help her into her clothes and then with our hands locked together we make our way back to the house. Leah might know where we’ve both disappeared off to, but Gary and Levi have no clue and I really don’t want either of them suspecting anything. Not yet at least.
I know that sometime in the near future I’m going to need to come clean about my feelings for Alyssa, but I’ll quite happily put that off for a little longer yet while I get to enjoy our little secret.
I pull her to me once we’re at the gate and give her a sweet kiss to hopefully see her through the night. What I really want to do is follow her to her bedroom and climb into bed with her, but I’m worried about taking this too fast. She’s already admitted tonight that it’s been her first experiences, so I need to allow her to take the lead—as much as it’s going to kill me to do so.
My cock is still threatening to fight its way out of my sweats when we eventually part.
“You go, I need a few minutes.”
She glances down at my not-so-little issue and smiles. As much as I might want her to drop to her knees in front of me and finish off from where we left things, the innocent little smile she gives me as she pushes through the gate is almost as good.
Fuck, when did I get so pussy whipped?
I think back and I remember the moment I walked into the Perkins’ back yard when I was fifteen and Alyssa was fourteen. She was sunbathing in the tiniest of swimsuits. I’m pretty sure it was in that moment that she ruined me for anyone else. I tried like hell to get her out of my system, but it was pointless. She’s the only girl who’s ever really held my heart in her hands, even if she had no idea.
After going back to our little hideaway and turning all the battery lights off, it’s safe enough for me to walk through the house without looking like a sex-starved maniac.
“Hey, man. Where have you been?” Levi asks when I poke my head into his bedroom and find him playing on his Xbox.
“Chatting to my parents,” I lie. Guilt assaults me instantly. They’re only next door, yet I’ve only spoken to them a couple of times since I moved in here. I did go with Leah to the store the other day so I could do their shopping. That at least felt like I was supporting them somehow.
“They doing okay?”
“Yeah, or so they say.” Thankfully that’s not a lie. Both Mom and Dad assured me that they were fine and not yet going stir crazy locked up inside their home like prisoners.
“Two-player?” he asks, nodding at the ball game he’s playing.
“Sure.”
He sets the game up and we begin to play. As always, he takes the lead, but after all these years, I can read his game plan like the back of my hand. We’ve played together, both virtually and on the real court, since we were old enough to bounce a ball. I know how his mind works.
“I fucking miss the court.”
“Not as much as sex,” he mutters, stepping up to take a shot.
“That too,” I agree, but I can’t help let a little hope bubble up inside that I might not be missing that for too much longer. If Alyssa’s keenness to return the favor earlier is anything to go by, then I should be getting some kind of action very soon.
* * *
“Motherfucker. How’d you do that?” Levi complains when I win yet another game.
“Mind games. I know how you operate, Perkins.”
“Fuck off, Locke. Get the fuck out of my room.”
“I’m going, I’m going.” I hold my hands up in surrender and back toward the door. I pull a sulky face, but in reality, I’m more than happy to be sent to my room. It gets me closer to her, even