AllFreeNovel
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We order hot dogs, milkshakes, and an order of fries to share. We eat in comfortable silence, though we keep sneaking glances at each other. Then we catch each other and laugh. When we’ve finished everything but our milkshakes, I grab her and pull her onto my lap, kissing her like crazy again. Remembering we’re in public at a family-friendly place, she stops us before we get too carried away.
“Let’s go for a walk,” I say.
“Mm, sounds perfect, Ace.”
We grab our milkshakes and make our way to the path down by the river. We’ve walked it many times over the years, but this is different. Tonight, our arms are wrapped around each other’s backs, as we enjoy each other’s company and watch the sunset over the river.
After that, I lead her up to her back deck, grab her sleeping bag, and we get cozy. She’s snuggled up in my hoodie.Fuck, I love when she has my name on her back.I pull the hood up and kiss her nose.
“I should’ve known you loved me this whole time. You always love wearing clothes with my name on the back.”
She swats my chest. “I think we both know it was there for a long time. How many times did we tiptoe to the edge of that line and consider jumping over it, only to pull ourselves back?”
I sigh and shake my head. “Too many times to count.” I lean in and gently kiss her cheek. “But maybe it was a part of getting us here, to a place where we’re finally ready.”
“Or maybe we were idiots,” she says with an airy laugh.
I laugh and grab my phone. “Maybe. Either way, I’m glad we’re here now.” Scrolling through my music, I find our playlist and turn it on, purposely choosingLove Like Thisby Ben Rector first.
She nestles in against me. “I love this song.”
I gently press my lips to her head. “I know you do. It’s why I pulled you up to dance to it. On this night one year ago.”
Her eyes widen as she turns to look at me. “You remember what day that was?”
“Yeah. I didn’t completely know what I was doing, but I knew… my heart was beating for you that night. It terrified me, but dancing to this song with you felt like the most natural thing in the world.” I look at her tenderly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She kisses me, then sighs happily, looking back at the stars.
After a few more songs, I look over at her. “Let’s make our wishes, Beautiful. You go first.” I point to a very bright star. “That one.”
“Definitely,” she agrees. I watch as she inhales deeply and closes her eyes, then opens them, exhales, and silently makes her wish. Then she squeezes my hand. “Your turn, Ace.”
I smile to myself.It’s time.Following the typical process, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. But when I open them and exhale, I start saying my wish out loud. “I wish—”
“What are you doing?”
“You need to hear this wish,” I say, like I did when I asked her to winter formal under the stars on Valentine’s Day.
“Okay…”
I turn to her, smiling brightly. “I wish Rae would be my girlfriend.”
She gets an adorably big smile on her face, then leans in and slowly kisses my lips.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a hell-freaking-yes, Ace.”
I crash my lips against hers and our bodies twist together. Our kiss is full of desire, passion, and deep connection. Sparks that light me on fire with every tiny touch. My hand slides into her hair, tugging as she softly moans.
Her hands explore my back, and when one moves into my hair, I’m done for. I’m hard already. She’s all I want. She’s all I’ve wanted. For months. Years, if I’m honest. It’s hard holding back, taking things slower. It’s not that I don’t want to, but I don’t want to rush past these little moments. I want to enjoy every one.
I pull back slightly and pin her arms over her head before nipping her neck. Then, with all my self-control, I lift my lips off her skin. “We should probably stop before… we get carried away.”
She sighs softly and smiles. “Whatever you say, Ace.”
Holy hell. I’m in trouble.
