When she doesn’t respond right away, I send another.
Me: Holley, are you sure you’re okay?
Leaving things the way we did tonight was hard. Harder than I’d ever have imagined something so simple would be after surviving the Hell Week portion of SEALs training without ringing the bell.
But emotional challenges, it seems, are unique. They exercise an entirely different muscle—the heart. And when one of the body’s most important organs gets involved, it’s hard to stop a situation from feeling like life or death.
I watch as the bubbles wiggle in my text thread and disappear. Over and over again, she seems to be typing without ever coming up with something she deems worthy of sending.
With a flick of my wrist, I toss the covers to the side and jump from the bed, heading to my closet to get dressed. It’s impulsive and not at all thought-out, but there’s a simple need inside me I can no longer deny.
I need to see Holley.
And I think she needs to see me too.
Thankfully, Chloe is spending the night at Hailie’s, so my decision is easily made.
I yank on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and smash the switch in the closet to turn off the light. I stalk to my bed and pick up my phone, but there’s still no reply from her.
I start typing immediately.
Me: What’s your address?
The bubbles start to move again, but this time, a message comes through when she’s done.
Holley: 848 Longmire Rd.
I don’t bother with a reply. I make my way through the silent, dark house on quiet feet, grab my keys and a pair of shoes, and lock the door behind myself before firing up my truck and pointing it in Holley’s direction.
I raise my hand to knock on the front door of Holley’s townhouse-style home in one of the quiet sections of San Diego, but it disappears, swinging back into the entry to reveal a wild-eyed Holley, before I even make contact.
She looks electrified with both upset and exhilaration, her jade eyes glowing brightly in the moonlight and her hair down around her shoulders. She’s wearing an open satin robe, a big, simple V-neck white T-shirt underneath, and the lengths of her long, tanned legs are bare.
My heart thrums in the silence between us, beating against the bones in my chest as I try to hold myself back enough to keep from scaring her.
I’m not sure what changed or when it did—or if it even had to. Maybe this feeling for Holley has been here all along, and I’ve just been too confused to realize it.
She shakes her head, raises her shoulders, and opens her mouth to say one simple word. “Jake.”
And that’s all it takes.
I move, launching myself through the door and slamming my lips down on hers. They’re open thanks to her gasp, and I slide my tongue inside immediately, settling both of my hands on the smooth line of her perfectly delicate jaw.
There’s a brief, minuscule moment of surprise—and then she returns the affection in earnest.
Groping hands and exploring tongues, we’re a tornado of activity as we sink into the feel of each other and allow ourselves complete and total emotional freedom.
I run my tongue down the line of hers, and she moans. My dick practically bangs at the zipper of my pants, begging with a desperation I’ve never known to be inside her.
I kick the front door shut behind us and pick her up by the ass, carrying her down the hall. I’ve never been inside her place before, so I don’t know the way to anything, but I’m not exactly in my most discriminating mood. I’ll literally fuck her on the first flat surface other than the floor I can find.
“Bedroom,” Holley breathes, prying her mouth away from mine momentarily to direct me. “Down the back hall.”
I slam my mouth back down on hers and do my best to follow her directions without the aid of sight. We bump into a few walls as a result, but the way it makes Holley giggle is more than worth it.
She smells freshly like lavender, like she took a shower not long ago, and I suck a huge gulp of scented air into my lungs and try to hold it there.
The sound of her groan as I run my tongue down her neck forces me to let out a breath, though, along with a grunt of my own.