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It’s like something out of a cheesy chick flick, and I love it more than I can say. My heart pounds, my breaths coming fast as I stare up into his eyes, wishing he would kiss me and touch me.
Because Tucker can kiss.
“Tucker…” In a brazen move, I take his hand and put it back on my thigh.
“Here ya go,” the waitress says as she sets our plates in front of us.
Really? I blow out a breath, and Tucker laughs. He’s enjoying this. He knows that I’m absolutely crazy for him, and he’s getting a kick out of my frustration.
“That was quick,” I say.
“Lasagna and bread is pretty easy.” She winks, sets our teas on the table, then hurries away.
“I’m starving,” I say, trying to calm my libido. Plus, the faster we eat, the quicker we can get out of here.
“Me, too,” he replies. But his eyes aren’t on our delicious meal, they’re on me. My body heats under his stare, and I nudge him with my arm.
“Food will have to do for now, I guess.”
“Lightning bugs.” I point ahead on the path where the insects bob and weave through the air.
“You always had a soft spot for them. Wouldn’t let me catch them.”
“You used to pull their lights off,” I say, remembering the days we spent running together down by the river.
One evening, Tucker pulled a light from a lightning bug and stuck it on my ring finger. “It looks like a diamond on your hand,” he said, proud of what he’d done.
“Ew, get that off me.” I wiped my finger off in the grass and scowled at Tucker. “You just killed an innocent bug to put a gross green light on my finger.”
“Next time I put something on your finger, it’ll be a ring,” was his reply. Tucker wasn’t a cocky sixteen-year-old, but he knew what he wanted, and he wanted me. Unfortunately, I was a bitch of epic proportions, and the only thing I had my eye on was getting the hell out of dodge.
“In your dreams, Tucker Andrews.”
“What are you thinking about?” Tucker asks, pulling me from the memory.
“Us.”
“I like that topic. What about us?”
After dinner, we decided to wander by the river, hand in hand. The sexual tension between us has been off the charts. Part of me wishes we’d gone right home to get naked and sweaty.
The other part of me is happy for this reprieve. Things are moving fast between us. I don’t regret it—at all—but once we do this, there’s no going back. We’ll officially cross the line from childhood buddies to lovers, and I admit, I’m a bit nervous.
I’m not second-guessing. There’s a difference.
When I’m around Tucker, my body feels like a live wire, and when he touches me, I light up. Just the thought of him being on top of me, feeling the weight of his body as he devours me, has me sucking in a sharp breath.
“Are you feeling okay? I can take you home if you’re not,” he offers, looking a little disappointed at the prospect.
“I can’t go home,” I remind him. “No women allowed, remember?”
He grins. “Pretty sure your dad wouldn’t kick you out.”
“I don’t want to go home.”
We stop on the sidewalk by his car. He grips my shoulders and turns me to face him. His eyes shine in the moonlight. His jaw is firm and tight, his hands warm.
He’s home for me. He always has been.
“I don’t want to go to my dad’s house. I want to go home with you.”
“There’s nothing I would love more than to take you back to my place. But, Scarlett, you look nervous.” He presses a hand over the left side of my chest. “Your heart is beating a mile a minute, and your cheeks are flushed. Sweetheart, we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.” He drags a knuckle down the apple of my cheek. “We’re in no hurry, Scar.”
“I don’t have jitters. I’m no virgin, Tuck, any more than you are. That’s just what you do to me. Being close to you makes my heart race.”
He smiles. “Nothing else is bothering you, then?”
“Maybe one thing.” He cups my cheek, and I close my hand over his, leaning into his touch. “I don’t want to lose our friendship. If something happens, and we don’t work out, I don’t want to lose you again. I just got you back.”
He steps closer and lowers his face to within inches of mine.
“I’m not going anywhere. Whether we go home and make love all night, or you tell me to back the hell off, I’m your friend, Scarlett.”
I don’t deserve him. I don’t deserve this tenderness, this loyalty.
But I won’t reject it. I didn’t know how much I missed this, missed him until I had him back in my life again, and I will not fuck this up.
