Page 61 of The Other Room

“Apparently. Yeah.”

“Wow. What a couple of idiots we are.”

“Yep.”

As he smiled down at me, I felt my nerves crackling back to life. When I’d seen the intent in his eyes, felt his hand brush my cheek, I’d been lost in the moment and my body took control. But now as we sat staring at each other, uncertainty rushed in on a wave. It felt so new. So unsure.

Should I kiss him again? Give him a fist bump? Rip off his clothes?

This was Matt. My best friend. And this was territory as unfamiliar as it got. I felt awkward as I struggled for the next move. Nerves and anxiety twisted together in my gut, squeezing the life out of the certainty that had given me the confidence to lean in for that kiss. That incredible, amazing, earth-shattering kiss.

A kiss I wanted again, and again, and again...

“Jo.” He took my hand in his and exhaled a deep sigh. “I love you. You were the first girl I loved and you’re going to be the last girl I love. I do. I fucking love you, Jo. Always have, always will.”

It may have been the boat moving, but it felt like the entire world shifted below me. In a matter of seconds, my whole world changed. His words flipped my life upside down, and I struggled to steady myself... to digest his admission.

He loved me, too.

After decades of keeping the words I’d been desperate to say locked inside me, fighting to never spit them out, I swallowed hard, fighting my fears so I could push the truth out of my mouth.

“I love you, too,” I whispered.

His smile lit up so bright it dwarfed the glow of the moon.

As I looked into his eyes overflowing with emotion, I felt the uncertainty drift away with the waves. I remembered the feel of his lips on mine, the way his hands pulled me against him, and the excitement burst back to life and extinguished my anxiety. I wanted him. All of him. And as I stared at the boy I’d always loved... the boy I would always love, I knew which option I wanted.

Rip off his clothes.

I grabbed him by the shirt, pulling his lips back to mine. Pain seared across my mouth when our lips crashed together, but his tongue quickly erased the discomfort. It demanded entrance I was happy to give it.

His hands slid down the sides of my face, holding it tight while I moaned into his mouth. The stars exploding across the sky didn’t hold a candle to the passion exploding between us. Years of repression, anticipation, and desire burst into a flame so hot I worried it would start our wooden boat on fire.

My hands drifted to his torso and slid underneath his shirt, traveling along the hard lines of his abs while I worked my way up his body, pushing his shirt off as I went. When I reached the swell of his pecs, I paused to enjoy them. Years of wondering what they felt like were answered as I explored him with my touch.

Matt’s lips pulled away, and I whimpered my displeasure. My irritation over the loss of his lips on mine didn’t last long when he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and yanked it over his head. I dragged my gaze up his muscular torso, sucking my lip between my teeth as I soaked in every incredible inch of him. The moonlight glistened across his skin and illuminated every impressive feature. Even though my desperate lips ached for his kiss again, I happily sat back and took it all in.

He didn’t give me long to enjoy the view. His lips returned to mine and consumed them with his kisses as he pressed me onto my back.

Hot, deep, passionate kisses.

Kisses from the boy I’d loved my whole life.

Relishing the weight of his body on mine, I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. While he continued his kisses, his hands drifted down my body, brushing over my breasts as they moved to the bottom of my sweatshirt. When they slipped underneath it and touched my heated skin, a shiver traveled down my spine. With the lightest touch, his fingers ghosted across my stomach as they moved toward my breasts. The anticipation from his slow ascent had my stomach twisting and turning, my body writhing beneath him while I deepened our kiss.

When his hands finally arrived at my breasts heaving with my excited breaths, I gasped as he cupped one. His firm touch sent my heart racing, and I dug my fingers into his back. All the nerves I’d been feeling finally getting to this moment with Matt drifted away as I leaned into his touch, arching my back as his fingers slid beneath my bra and played across my stiffened peaks.

It felt natural to let him explore my body, and not strange like I’d often wondered if it would be... wondered if the fantasies I’d secretly held for him would go up in a puff of smoke if we ever decided to cross the line from friends to lovers. But the only smoke billowing between us tonight came from the smoldering fire that had crackled between us for years igniting into an unquenchable flame. It scorched away any awkwardness as we took our relationship to the next level.

The heat in my body merged and traveled between my legs, that place as desperate for his touch as my other breast. I wanted his hands everywhere. His kisses to never stop. Our bodies to connect in the way I’d never allowed myself to hope could ever be more than a fantasy.

His lips drifted from mine, and I closed my eyes as his kisses moved to my stomach. He dragged his tongue against my skin, alternating it with whisper-soft kisses to my body as he pushed my sweatshirt over my head. The crisp lake air drifted across my exposed skin, and I knew my fantasy was finally coming true.

“I want you, Jo.” The sexy timbre of his voice deepened as he spoke. “I’ve always wanted you.”

My pulse climbed as I reached behind my back and unhooked my bra. “Then I’m yours. I’ll always be yours.” One at a time, I pushed the straps off my shoulders, nerves and excitement twirling together while I pulled off my bra. His eyes smoldered with unquenchable desire as they drifted to my exposed breasts, and I lay there while his gaze traveled over my curves. A warm flush moved across my body everywhere his eyes roved.

“You’re incredible,” he said as his hands slid up my body, each finding a home on my breasts. I arched my back as he took one in his mouth, his tongue caressing my nipple. The sensation of his warm breath and the cool air sent shivers down my body, and I whimpered at his touch.