He nuzzled my face, breathed in from my hair, and pressed a line of kisses down my cheek.
“Fucking finally,” he murmured.
“Finally what?” Why did I ask? I didn’t want to hear it.
“I get to feel you again.”
Yeah, I was lying to myself. I did want to hear it. I wanted those little nuzzling kisses, dreamy gazes, and whispered admissions. I craved them as much as I craved that cock.
He made me come one more time, inhaling my cries of pleasure, and then we lay on the bed face-to-face.
“I’ve made dinner,” he said. “I have pulled beef in the oven, veggies chopped, and blue corn tortillas on the stove. I only need to heat them up.”
“You’re spoiling me.”
He gently brushed a lock of hair from my temple. “How long can you stay?”
“Until nine in the morning? I promised Monty I’d go with him to the ice-skating rink tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“So, dinner? I’m hungry,” I said.
“Just a minute. I have to…” He twirled the strand of my hair between his fingers and heaved a long sigh. His hazel eyes turned so impossibly adoring, and my heart started jumping around my ribcage.
“What is it?” I whispered.
Chase opened his mouth and closed it again. He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling.
A beat of silence.
And then he turned his head to look at me and said,
“Jay, I’m in love with you.”
My pulse skyrocketed, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d ever be able to breathe again.
He just told me he loved me like it was something simple and easy.
Trying to keep my expression from crumbling, I slowly pushed out air through my nose.
Fucking shit.
I should have ended it a long time ago. Now Chase would get hurt.
I would hurt this vibrant, beautiful young man who made me dinners, massaged my back, and asked about my day because he cared and wanted to hear the answer.
He always listened.
“Chase…” I choked out.
He glared at me, fierce and determined. “Don’t you dare tell me that I’m too young for you.”
I was about to compose something along those lines. Before I could come up with anything else, he plowed on.
“You’ve gotten to know me, Jay. Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? Do you think I don’t know what I want? That I’m so dumb and immature that I would pursue a relationship with you without thinking about the implications? Because I haven’t been thinking about anything else for weeks now.”
I blinked. I had nothing. I had done my best to build a fucking fortress around my heart, and this boy had smashed it with a few words.
