past. How many times he’d crept into my open bedroom window in the middle of the night because he wanted to make sure I was safe from the boyfriend of the week or the party my mom was throwing or simply because his dad was in another one of his moods and he was afraid he’d come for him again. It had all been innocent and safe. I wasn’t sure I could say the same about it now.
“I don’t know,” I repeated.
“Why is this time any different?” he asked.
I could feel his eyes on me, lulling words that I’d rather leave unspoken to the tip of my tongue. I shifted my eyes to meet his and realized my mistake, but it was too late. I’d already locked with his stare and noticed the almost dare swirling within the deep green and honey brown for me to answer him honestly.
“It just is,” I insisted.
“Bullshit,” he said, setting the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.
“What?” I asked, surprised by his outburst.
“I’m calling bullshit.” He shifted his body to face mine and stared hard at me. “Why is this time any different, Jules? Tell me.”
My chest flamed red and I could feel the exact moment when the color reached all the way up to my face. “It just is, Nick; we’re older. We’re not little kids anymore.”
“Bullshit again. That’s not why it’s different now. It’s different now because you like me and you know that I like you.” He was so confident in his words. So sure of himself, of his feelings. It was almost like we’d been playing a game and now he’d grown tired of it.
I shook my head and refused to look at him, especially his eyes, because he’d know my next words were a flat-out lie. “No, that’s not why.”
“Isn’t it? Admit it, Jules.”
I hesitated, gathering strength, before I tilted my head to look up at him, ready to deny my feelings verbally instead of just inside my head in the hopes that this would make me believe them finally and not just him, but the second I tilted my head up, Nick’s lips pressed against mine. My heart stopped and my breath caught in my throat as Nick continued to brush his lips across mine, urging me to react. To kiss him back.
Warmth spilled through my stomach and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to become lost in the moment. My lips moved beneath his skilled ones with ease. His hands cupped my face and his kisses grew slower, softer, before he pulled away.
“That’s why, Jules, because you know there’s something between us.” He breathed across my lips, and then pulled away a little more to look me directly in the eyes.
“You’re right,” I admitted in a whisper, finally allowing myself to feel everything that I’d kept bottled up for months now. It was like it had all been pulled out of me with each sweep of his lips against mine and I didn’t have the will power to bury it back down somewhere inside of me anymore. I was exhausted from trying to hide my feelings from myself…from Nick.
A slow smile stretched across his face and he leaned in to kiss me again, this time a little more eager. I felt his tongue gently slide across my lips and I parted them, allowing him the entrance to my mouth that I presumed he wanted from the gesture. I was glad that I had, because it allowed me to taste him, to submerge myself in him. Something I’d wanted to do for what felt like a lifetime.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NICK
“So you guys are like an official item now, huh?” Blake asked me Monday afternoon during lunch.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I grinned as I replied.
“She’s hot,” Quiet Tom said with a slight nod of his head just before taking a large bite of his taco.
“That she is,” I agreed. Words could not describe how stoked I was that Jules and I were now together.
Emily tossed a fruit roll-up onto the table and opened her Dr Pepper as she sat down across from me. “Is what I heard from Tiffany true?” she asked me directly, her tone sounding a little clipped.
“Depends on what you heard,” I
“I don’t know,” I repeated.
“Why is this time any different?” he asked.
I could feel his eyes on me, lulling words that I’d rather leave unspoken to the tip of my tongue. I shifted my eyes to meet his and realized my mistake, but it was too late. I’d already locked with his stare and noticed the almost dare swirling within the deep green and honey brown for me to answer him honestly.
“It just is,” I insisted.
“Bullshit,” he said, setting the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.
“What?” I asked, surprised by his outburst.
“I’m calling bullshit.” He shifted his body to face mine and stared hard at me. “Why is this time any different, Jules? Tell me.”
My chest flamed red and I could feel the exact moment when the color reached all the way up to my face. “It just is, Nick; we’re older. We’re not little kids anymore.”
“Bullshit again. That’s not why it’s different now. It’s different now because you like me and you know that I like you.” He was so confident in his words. So sure of himself, of his feelings. It was almost like we’d been playing a game and now he’d grown tired of it.
I shook my head and refused to look at him, especially his eyes, because he’d know my next words were a flat-out lie. “No, that’s not why.”
“Isn’t it? Admit it, Jules.”
I hesitated, gathering strength, before I tilted my head to look up at him, ready to deny my feelings verbally instead of just inside my head in the hopes that this would make me believe them finally and not just him, but the second I tilted my head up, Nick’s lips pressed against mine. My heart stopped and my breath caught in my throat as Nick continued to brush his lips across mine, urging me to react. To kiss him back.
Warmth spilled through my stomach and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to become lost in the moment. My lips moved beneath his skilled ones with ease. His hands cupped my face and his kisses grew slower, softer, before he pulled away.
“That’s why, Jules, because you know there’s something between us.” He breathed across my lips, and then pulled away a little more to look me directly in the eyes.
“You’re right,” I admitted in a whisper, finally allowing myself to feel everything that I’d kept bottled up for months now. It was like it had all been pulled out of me with each sweep of his lips against mine and I didn’t have the will power to bury it back down somewhere inside of me anymore. I was exhausted from trying to hide my feelings from myself…from Nick.
A slow smile stretched across his face and he leaned in to kiss me again, this time a little more eager. I felt his tongue gently slide across my lips and I parted them, allowing him the entrance to my mouth that I presumed he wanted from the gesture. I was glad that I had, because it allowed me to taste him, to submerge myself in him. Something I’d wanted to do for what felt like a lifetime.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NICK
“So you guys are like an official item now, huh?” Blake asked me Monday afternoon during lunch.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I grinned as I replied.
“She’s hot,” Quiet Tom said with a slight nod of his head just before taking a large bite of his taco.
“That she is,” I agreed. Words could not describe how stoked I was that Jules and I were now together.
Emily tossed a fruit roll-up onto the table and opened her Dr Pepper as she sat down across from me. “Is what I heard from Tiffany true?” she asked me directly, her tone sounding a little clipped.
“Depends on what you heard,” I
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