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It’s a demand, not an offer.
And I stupidly obey.
I toss my keys on the counter as she turns on the light.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” she says.
My hands slide into my pockets. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” It was a mistake, following her. I should’ve said good night and gone to bed.
“Don’t lie to me, Gage Perry. I know you better than anyone. You’re hurting. Something happened while you were gone.”
No shit.
I steady myself and lean back against the wall. “Whatever you think you know, it’s wrong. I’m tired. Fucking sue me for it.”
She stomps her foot and drops her bag. “I know you, Gage!”
“No!” The word leaves my mouth louder than I intended. “You used to know me. You used to course through my motherfucking veins.” I push off the wall and stand straight. “You left me. You left me, and I ran and got hurt worse than any girl breaking my heart could ever cause. It’s not about you.” I throw my arm out and gesture to the room. “Nothing going on in my life is about you anymore.”
I expected my response to anger her, but it does the opposite.
“What happened there?” Her voice cracks in her question.
A rush of adrenaline flushes my cheeks. “It doesn’t matter.”
“What happened?” The words come out more confident this time.
And mine are harsher. “It doesn’t fucking matter.”
I stiffen when she takes a step into my space. “You’re hurting.”
I snort. “Since when do you give a shit about my feelings?”
She doesn’t come any closer, but stops only a few inches from me. “Can we please move on from the past? My God, it was years ago! We were freaking kids.”
“Kids?We were eighteen. Eighteen and making adult decisions!”
Sadness passes over her dark features. “What happened, happened. Yes, we have a past, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends now. And, from the looks of it, you need someone to confide in.”
I don’t want her pity. “I have plenty of friends. Don’t need another.”
This is the moment she closes me in, not giving me an escape as she stands in front of me, and if I back away, I’ll hit the wall.
“Then, what do you need?” she asks.
My answer leaves my mouth as if it’s been waiting there on autopilot, ready for when the time came.
“You.” I take my hat off and toss it to the side. Not another second passes before my hand curls around the back of her head, my fingers digging into her silky hair, and my lips crash into hers. “I need the girl I fell in love with. Fuck, I need her now more than ever.”
The thought of rejection and her pulling away doesn’t faze me. I’m lost in the moment of touching the girl who got away. Her mouth falls open, and our tongues dance together so easily when she slides hers into my mouth, like our years of separation never happened. My body reacts to the memory of her. Hers does the same.
When she steps closer, I don’t stop her. I wrap my hands around her waist. Her chest hits mine, and I’m pushed back against the wall. A groan leaves her mouth into mine, and that’s what pulls me away. My hands fall, and I use them to brush her fingers from my chest. A whimper leaves her when I slide along the wall to move away.
“Fuck,” I breathe out, wiping my mouth. “I’m sorry. This isn’t a good idea.”
“Gage,” she says in an attempt to stop me from reaching the door.
I turn around to show her who I am now, so she can see the evidence of a broken man. “Lauren, I’m not who I used to be. You don’t want me. I’m destructive, dark, and unhappy. You’re smiles and sunshine. We no longer go together, and I refuse to release my darkness onto you.”
