“You can’t make that promise.”
“I can.” He takes a step into me.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m about to kiss you.”
“That’s not fair to either of us.” My voice cracks half-way through.
“Look me in my eyes and tell me you don’t want me to.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“You keep saying that.” He shouts this time, throwing his hands into the air, and putting space back between us. “But it is Tatum, it really fucking is.”
“It’s not.” I feel the tears trickling down my cheeks.
He turns and glares at me, storming over until he’s standing in front of me, and even with the look in his eyes, I’m still taken aback when he wraps his hand into my hair and pulls me close to him. Slamming his lips down to mine, claiming all of me as his… forever.
Reaching my hands up, I press against his chest, pushing him away. “Stop. Please.” My sob finally breaks. “You can’t do this. We don’t have that kind of relationship. You’ve expressed nothing like this before. In fact, quite the opposite. I mean, fuck, you left me at bike week with a plane ticket because I can only assume that things got too fucking serious for you, I gave you the chance last year to tell me not to leave, to see if this was something… fucking anything, and all of a sudden you just want to raise someone else’s baby with me?”
“You’re right. I may not have, and that’s on me.” He steps up to me again, his hands coming to my arms, and he looks down at me. “But that’s only because I was hoping you understood what I did.”
“Wh—what’s that?”
“We’ve always been that kind of relationship.”
I can’t help but chuckle as I look around. “Then why aren’t we together?” I scream at him before I erupt into tears.
His eyes widen before he’s moving over to me, pulling me into him. Wrapping me so tight in his arms that I can hear the vibration of his voice through his chest. “Because neither one of us has been ready for that.” He pushes me back just enough to look down again. “We’re playing with fire.” I know he’s not meaning the situation we’ve found ourselves in, but we are the candles and the fire is whatever you want to call this between us.
“And now we are?” It’s a whisper.
“No, but I’d rather burn down everything in my life than watch you get hurt.”
Reaching up, I can’t stop myself as I pull him down to me.
“I thought you wanted me to stop.”
“Shut up and kiss me.” I whimper out.
His lips slam down to mine and the tears spill from my lids quicker as I realize that this isn’t right, or maybe it’s because I know that this is right. That he and I are right.
His hand skates around my back and he pulls me over towards the bed, sitting down and breaking our kiss.
He looks down as he sighs. “Come on.” He taps the bed next to him.
“Why… why are you stopping?”
“Because you’re crying right now.” He pauses. “I don’t want to push you one way or another. So come on and just lay with me for a bit.”
I have no fucking clue where this Zane is coming from.
I’m still hesitant while I lie in Zane’s arms. I can’t stop my mind from reeling.
“Shhhh…”
“I wasn’t saying anything.” I chuckle, turning, and looking up at him.
