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Except apparently the universe didn’t want me to stay in my comfort zone.
“Ava!” Reed’s voice followed me out into the hallway, and a second later, he was there, squinting under the bright lights. Students lingering in the hallway all turned to listen. “Listen, I—”
I grabbed his wrist and tugged him away from the kids around us, shoving through a set of doors that led out into a courtyard. There wasn’t anyone out here, despite the reprieve of the music and heat. The crisp air chilled me, icing the sweat on my skin. “Reed—”
“You know what I want to stop?” he demanded, spreading his arms wide in a way that would’ve made him appear defeated if it weren’t for the fierce look in his eyes. “I want to stop pretending like you’re just my sister’s best friend. I want to stop pretending like I don’t have feelings for you. Stop acting like the idea of walking away from you doesn’t rip my heart out. And you know what else? I want to stop acting like that kiss wasn’t the best one I’ve ever had.”
Each sentence was a punch that winded me more and more until oxygen was completely out of the question. Poof. Gone. Stolen by Reed Manning and the frosty air.
“Maybe I am afraid,” he went on, cheeks beginning to deepen with color. “Like you said yesterday. But I know I’m more afraid of letting you go than I am of you walking away. I’m afraid of looking back on this moment in ten years and regretting it.”
I wrapped my arms around my waist, more in an attempt to keep myself together than to keep warm. An ache began to form in my chest, so severe it felt like I’d crack apart. “But Cindy—”
“She came to the dance with me, that’s all. We haven’t even danced together—she’s been dancing with Ashton the whole night. Which is completely fine, because the only person I wanted to dance with was you.”
I closed my eyes then, because he was going to completely drive me crazy. It was like the things he said were perfectly designed to tear down any of my defenses, to rip me apart until there was no way I could push him away anymore.You can’t be like your parents, the old insidious thought whispered.You can’t fall for him. You can’t risk that kind of heartbreak.
Almost like he could hear the voice, Reed asked, “Do you like me?”
“Reed—”
“Yes or no, Paparazzi. Easy as that.”
I let out a breath, pulse thrumming higher. “I—I do, but I—”
He didn’t even let me finish. Much like he had for our first kiss, Reed surged forward and cut me off, pressing his mouth to mine in the most perfect way to shut me up.
One of his hands wrapped around the back of my neck, and five of his cool fingers pressed into my hot skin. I tipped my head back, a shiver wracking its way through me as it pressed us closer. His other hand came up to cup my face, thumb sliding along my cheekbone in a gentle caress. The scent of him was everywhere, the taste just as intoxicating.
My own hands slipped up his chest, fingers catching on the undone buttons, easing the fabric of his shirt aside to feel the skin at the base of his throat. I kissed him with a ferocity that’d built inside of me ever since that Monday night in his kitchen. I hadn’t known what I was getting into then, but I knew now. Everything I’d been wishing for, thinking about—it was finally happening again.
Except this time there was no fear. No hesitation.
We parted with a soft gasp, both of us breathing as if we’d run a mile. Reed smoothed my hair out of my face, trailing his fingers through the pink locks with an almost mesmerized gaze. “You can’t tell me you want to stop now.”
“I’m scared,” I found myself whispering again. I reached up and hung my hand off his wrist. “I don’t want either of us to get hurt.”
“What if we agree not to hurt each other?” His thumb once more began its smooth path down my cheek. “Agree that there’s no running away, and no giving up. No regrets, not with us.”
No regrets. It was something Dad couldn’t get past with mom, wondering the what ifs. I knew, with one-hundred percent certainty, that this would be my moment. My what if. I squeezed his wrist, feeling his pulse tremble underneath the skin. “I’m scared,” I repeated.
He let out a soft, ghostly-sounding laugh. “It is scary. Terrifying. But maybe we can be afraid together.”
The swelling pressure reached its breaking point, popping and letting a rush of conviction ride its way through me. And that was what it came down to. Which what if could I live with?What if we break uporWhat if I’d allowed myself to really fall for Reed Manning?
“Afraid together,” I echoed, reaching up and touching my fingertips to his golden-brown hair. The locks were soft—exactly how I remembered them feeling. “Deal.”
To seal it, I stepped up onto my tiptoes and gently pressed my lips against his, a savoring kiss when our previous two had been filled with desire and need. This was a different sort of need, one that burrowed itself into my bones and created a blanket of warmth. It calmed the nerves, the anxiety, and as soon as I made up my mind, peace came with it.Good choice.
Reed wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest, cocooning me in the warmth of him. I nestled in deep, threading my arms underneath his jacket and tightening my grip around his waist. “Can you get me more comic books?” he asked, smoothing his hand down my hair. “I’ve gone through the ones you bought already. Maybe we can read them together.”
I smiled, closing my eyes. “As long as you bring the chocolate cake this time.”
Reed pressed his lips to the top of my head, giving a contented sigh. In the background, there was the faintest sound of music playing from inside the dance, and there might’ve even been students peering through the courtyard windows and snapping photos to send to Babble, but in that moment, I didn’t care about anything but being in Reed’s embrace.
A good choice, indeed.
“Iknow it’s not much,” Dad said as I stepped into the guest room, lingering in the doorway while he rubbed his knuckles. The nervous energy he’d exuded the second I stepped over the threshold had simmered down now, but he still fidgeted back and forth. “I tried to decorate it how I thought you’d like it. If you want, we can paint the walls like how we did in your old room. Something to make it feel more…homey.”
