AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod.
“I don’t want your mom knowing.”
“Okay.”
“And you owe me nothing.”
“Connor, I don’t think—”
“Promise me.”
I grasp my hair, my palms pressing against my forehead. “This is so much right now, and I still… I don’t deserve this.”
He shakes his head, eyes on mine as he lowers my hands again. “Of course you deserve this. You’re my girl, Ava. My first and forever.”
My heart beats to the rhythm of his declaration. “I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“Say you love me.”
“I love you, Connor.” I press my mouth to his. “I love you so much.”
He smiles against my lips, then pulls away. “There is one thing you can do…”
“Is it that thing with my tongue on your ba—”
“No,” he cuts in, shaking his head. Then his eyes widen. “But yeah, that, too.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“Ava, I want to see your mom,” he rushes out. “I’ve been dying to see her, and you haven’t—”
“Can we go now?”
His face lights up. “Yeah?”
“She’s been dying to see you!”
* * *
Mom’s out in the garden when we get there, the sun beaming down on her tanning skin. She’s wearing a straw hat and a tank top—something she’s only now started to be comfortable being seen in. Connor’s hand tightens around mine when he spots her, his grin splitting his face in two. “Mama,” I call out, and she looks up. Her usual smile for me widens when she sees Connor. “Connor, six-six!” she screams, getting to her feet and rushing over to us. Her laugh fills my heart with hope when she slams into him, throwing her arm around his neck. “Oh, gosh, Connor! I’ve missed you so much.”
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Miss D,” he murmurs, releasing my hand to return her hug. His eyes are red, brimming with liquid joy as he smiles down at me. I wipe mine with the back of my hand, my world filling with magic… even in the light of day.
FIFTY-TWO
connor
“Come with me?” Austin begs.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because… nothing. It’s a Friday night, and you have nothing going on tomorrow, so—"
“Because it’s a fucking date, Austin. Yourfirstdate. What the hell—”
