Take now, for instance. The way I roughly slam my lips down on Oakleigh’s in no way matches the way that I softly hug my friends and family. The way my hand reaches up and decides that grabbing her throat is a much better way of pulling her closer than using the back of her neck…I’m a walking juxtaposition.
I bite and nip at her bottom lip before soothing it with a swipe of my tongue. Her sweet little moans make me move my hand from her throat to her cheek, caressing it as I deepen the kiss into something that I never meant for it to be.
Its purpose was to show her that I could easily have an effect on her if I wanted to; to make her see that whatever this is between us, it’s not something that can easily be tossed aside.
Instead, the hand that winds its way around her waist shows her how often I think of her. The moan that escapes my mouth tells her how long I’ve wanted her. And the way I rest my forehead against hers as I reluctantly break the kiss, tells her that she’s mine even though I can never have her.
Our breaths mingle, both short and forceful.
I keep my eyes closed when I feel her gaze on me, too scared of what I’ll find if I look.
“Finley—”
“Go inside and lock the door behind you,” I cut her off. “I’ll wait here until it’s done.”
I pull away and turn around, hoping that the cold, fall air will hit her enough to push her to go inside her house.
After a moment’s hesitation, I hear her receding footsteps, and eventually a door closes.
I blow out a breath, grab the tight curls on my head, and force myself back into my car. In my peripheral, a light flicks on and a curtain is drawn back ever so slightly.
I keep facing forward as I turn the ignition back on and pull away out of the parking space. I allow myself the briefest of glances at the window, only to find her watching me. She surprises me by waving. It’s the smallest of waves, but still something more than she’s ever given me.
I drive off, wondering why someone as head over heels in love as I am, would be the one to cut off what happened as abruptly as I did.
ChapterOne
OAKLEIGH
Iconsider myself to be quite a cool person—chilled and difficult to rile. I take each issue as it comes and remind myself that every problem is temporary.
However, when the setback is in the form of a six-foot-three asshole who also happens to be my best friend’s brother, my cool levels have a tendency to waver. A lot. Like…completely.
“Finley, give it back,” I yell from across the island in my best friend’s kitchen.
He smirks cruelly as he stands opposite me, ready to move quickly in whatever direction I leave open.
We’ve been at this for over half an hour—me chasing him around the house; him effortlessly avoiding me thanks to his stupidly athletic build. None of this would be happening if his sister hadn’t gone to the store and left us on our own.
I dive around the left side of the island, and before I can even make it halfway, he’s flying around the right, zooming past me into the hallway and into the garden.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I growl as I chase after him.
I bang my toe on the door jamb as I run out the door, cursing Finn and everything he believes in as I hop down the hallway.
I hear the front door open and close just as I step out into the summer sun, sunlight blinding me momentarily and giving Finn a head start toward the fountain in the middle of the small garden.
My toe is throbbing, but I ignore the pain as I assess the area around me. Every single time we find ourselves in one of these situations, I end up losing due to my lack of stamina, which is exactly why he does it. He knows that I’ll lose, and he knows that I’ll be left seething as I stare at his stupid face.
Yet again, he ends up on one side while I end up on the other.
“What did Finn take this time?” my best friend asks from behind me. It distracts me just long enough for Finn to try and blast past me, but this time I’m quick. I reach out, only just catching the edge of his gym shirt. The force of his running drags me with him and I end up landing face-first in the grass right where it meets the tiled patio.
I groan and moan, pretending to clutch my stomach and pull myself into a ball on the ground. If Finn always wins with his speed and brute strength, then I need to beat him with the one thing he lacks: brains.
“Oh, shit,” I hear him mumble, the sound of sneakers meeting grass comes closer toward me. I my my best to hide the smirk that threatens to stretch my lips as I feel his shadow envelop my skin. “Cherry, you okay?”
I throw in one more groan for good measure, choosing to ignore the way my stomach twists at the word “Cherry.” My skin prickles as he leans closer.
