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I shrug. “That night wasn’t exactly a great one. I didn’t feel like coming back here after it.”
“Oh.” She’s quiet for a moment. “I wish I’d known.”
“Known what?” I turn to her. Step a little closer.
“That you were sorry.”
My chest tightens. “I wish I’d had the courage to apologize to you sooner. I was a stupid kid then, and also… I knew you were going on to bigger and better things. You were leaving this town behind, and you would probably never think about me again. So there was that.”
Her smile is soft under the moonlight. “I didn’t never think of you again.”
“Oh, yeah?” My pulse picks up.
She nods. “I thought about you a lot, actually. Wondering what you were doing, where you were living. If you ever thought about me.”
My fingers brush against hers, and I feel her shiver. “I thought about you all the time,” I admit. “Wondering what could have been if I hadn’t been such an idiot.”
Erin steps closer, bringing her body flush against mine. “Let’s not think about the past anymore,” she whispers. “Let’s just enjoy this moment.”
And then our lips meet, and it’s like a dam has burst inside of me. All thoughts of the past and future fall away as we kiss each other desperately under the moonlight. Our hands roam over each other’s bodies, exploring every inch as if we’re trying to map out every sensation.
Too soon, Erin breaks away. “Whose turn is it?”
It takes me a moment to remember what she’s talking about. That’s right. The game.
“You dared me last time,” I say. “So now I get to ask you. Truth or dare?”
She bites her bottom lip. “Dare.”
“Okay.” I’m already smiling at the thought. “I dare you to make out with me for twenty whole seconds.”
“That’s it?” Her eyes widen. “All of that guilt and anguish over ‘what could have been’? And now you’re giving me a measly twenty seconds?”
“I’m giving you what you want,” I tell her with a shrug.
In response, Erin dashes through the trees to the other end of the clearing and turns back toward me. She doesn’t move out of my view. “Ten seconds,” she calls out to me, then breaks out into laughter.
I chase after her, taking long, long strides so that I catch up to her in seconds. She laughs even harder as I spin her around to face me, then seal my mouth over hers. She tastes like beer and strawberries, and everything that’s been missing from my world for far too long.
We break apart at just about the fifteenth second. “Truth or dare?” Erin asks between breaths.
“You’re not even playing the game fairly. I dared you and you ran off.”
“I did not run off,” she protests. “I just wanted to make you work for it a little.”
I chuckle before taking a deep breath. “Okay, fine. I’ll let you bend the rules, but only because you’re so damn beautiful.”
Erin steps closer to me, and I instinctively pull her in for a kiss. It’s not like the first one we shared tonight. It’s deeper, more meaningful. Her lips are soft and eager against mine, and she moans when I slip my tongue into her mouth.
I back her up against a tree, pressing my body against hers as I deepen the kiss. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me even closer, and I’m suddenly consumed with a need for her that can’t be ignored.
We break apart for air, and I press kisses down her neck. She gasps when I find a sensitive spot just below her ear, and I feel her fingers tightening in my hair.
This moment is pure, perfect bliss. I could live inside of it for the rest of eternity.
I don’t know what I did to deserve her coming back into my life, but one thing is for sure. I won’t waste this opportunity. I’ll be doing everything right this time around.
Now that I’ve found her again, nothing in the world will be coming between us.
