Then all William hears is their typing.
For now, all he can do is hope his instincts about Tiffany are wrong.
CHAPTER 46lorena
After dinner, I return with William to his room. As soon as we cross the threshold, I notice the newest addition to the place.
“Abed?” I ask, arching my brow at him. “A bit presumptuous, isn’t it?”
“I did not mean it in the dirty way you are implying. I only meant that if you are going to make a habit of staying with me until morning, you will need your sleep.”
“What ifImeant it in a dirty way?” I ask, my heart pounding because I’m not usually this forward.
When I lean toward him, William’s mouth responds with the speed of a magnet. Our tongues meet, and his winter bites into my summer, turning my exhales shivery.
We pull off each other’s blazers and unbutton our shirts. Goose bumps spread across my skin as he circles his arms around my naked lower back, reeling me in close. Then he presses into me as we kiss, pushing me back until my head rests on the mattress, and we’re both on the bed.
While we make out, William strokes up and down my leggings. His caresses are torturously slow, inching the slightest bit higher with each stroke, making my heart rev so hard that I’m afraid it will shoot out of my chest.
My lips are practically numb by the time his hand reaches the edge of myskirt. When his fingers skim even higher, my pulse must be an earsplitting gong to him.
“Is this okay?” he murmurs into my mouth.
“Mm-hmm,” I say.
His hand travels back down my thigh, giving my pulse a rest. And this time when it restarts its climb, he grazes the bottom of my underwear. I hold my breath, and when William’s fingers pause for a beat, I know he senses what’s happening to me.
He shifts his hips as his fingers sweep back down, and when they restart their climb, I feel every pulsation of my heart.
This time, William goes all the way up to the waistline of my leggings. He snaps gently at the elastic band, as if he were knocking and asking for entry.
“Yes,”I say at once.
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
His fingers burrow under my leggings, and my breaths shorten as I drown in a sea of pleasure. Every muscle in my body quivers, the tremors building until I collapse, and I’m unable to move a limb. The world around me is hazy and dreamlike.
“I love you, Lore,” he whispers in my ear, and what follows feels like the biggest smile I’ve ever produced.
“I love you, too, Will.”
WEDNESDAY MORNING,I wake up floating.
After another night spent in William’s room, my body is still sensitive and tingly, and I feel the imprint of his lips on mine. I come back to my room while my roommates are asleep and grab my toiletries. After showering, I go upstairs to change.
“Morning,” says Salma sleepily as I’m pulling on my jeans. “Good night?”
“Great night,” I say, and I notice Tiffany’s pink bonnet moving a little. “Tell you later.”
When we get to breakfast, William is the first one at our table. He stands up when he sees me and slides out my chair.
I sense the wave of reactions from across the dining hall. The whole school is gossiping about me, and for the first time, I feel too good to care.
I’m happy.
I look at my plate, and it’s already filled with a scoop of scrambled eggs, two slices of bacon, and toast. William even knew to pick the crunchiest bacon pieces, the ones just shy of burnt.
