Page 29 of Full Circle

“Hey!” she cried, lunging and failing to take it from me.

The sports bra Celeste wore left little to the imagination, causing me to draw my knees up so she couldn’t see the wood I was instantly sporting. Round breasts were ready to fall out of the cups that dipped far too low to be of any use to a girl actually playing sports. Part of my mind registered that it was rude and downright disrespectful to stare at her chest like a vampire aiming for the jugular, but I found the cleavage too distracting to stop.

Celeste’s cheeks reddened but she didn’t make a move to cover herself again. “It used to be Hillary’s,” she offered by way of explanation.

My eyes snapped up to meet hers. “She never could have looked as good in it as you do.”

Her eyes softened as she smiled at me. “Pretty sure Daddy would whip you if he saw the way you’re looking at me right now.”

There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt that was true. “Pretty sure he’d have good reason.” My breath caught as I waited for her response. For her to finally admit what I had wanted to hear from her since that first day in River’s Run.

The blush that brightened her cheeks urged me to trace its descent down to her collar bone with my tongue. While I was just as much of a virgin as she was, Celeste maintained an innocence I had never possessed. Growing up as the shadow of all my father’s raucous parties meant I had seen more adults having sex and snorting lines of coke than a porn star. Right now my urges were all primal instinct because I was desperate to connect with Celeste on that level. All of her firsts belonged to me just like mine belonged to her. We were soul mates, and my need to know if she recognized that was greater than my need to breathe.

In a move I couldn’t have predicted, Celeste leaned forward, drawing herself up on her knees, and kissed me. The shock lasted for all of a millisecond before I drew my arm around her to pull her body down on mine. My erection was a steel rod inside my jeans, pushing at the zipper with enough force that it might actually break through. She didn’t acknowledge it, however; didn’t do anything more than kiss me fervently. A happy sigh escaped her lips and she settled onto my chest, tucking her head just under my chin. Her tan legs wove around mine as I pinned her to me with both my arms. It was such a natural position that my mind checked off another box on my internal checklist of signs that Celeste Hendricks was made for me.

“I love you,” I whispered without thinking. My voice was barely audible, and for a split second I hoped she didn’t hear me because it was such a huge thing to say out of nowhere.

Instead she turned her head to look up at me, the small smile that I loved clinging to her lips, and warmth radiating from her eyes. “I love you, too, Wesley.”

If I hadn’t aced my anatomy test in health, I would swear that hearts could shatter with joy. Mine may have stopped beating altogether with her admission. “We’re together now, okay? Not just as best friends. You’re more than that to me, Celeste.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, contemplating my words with a tilt of her head. “Do you mean that?”

I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tighter against my chest. “For my whole life.”

Celeste giggled. “People don’t fall in love when they’re fifteen years old, Wes.”

Shrugging, I countered, “Well, I fell in love with you at thirteen, so I guess we’re both a little different.”

With another happy sigh, she burrowed her face into my chest. I closed my eyes in rapture, never wanting to leave the blissful bubble we were in right now. Laying on the rock hard cot up in her tower with Celeste in my arms was the most peace I had ever experienced.

CHAPTER 12

DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN

CELESTE

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Desiree’s shrieking was not an ideal way to wake up, having become the sound of my anxiety, and I bolted upright. Or at least, as upright as I could considering Wesley’s arm circled my waist in a vice grip for dear life. He was spooning me, his front pressed so snuggly against my back that we might have been wearing the same clothes.

Uh oh.

“Desiree, this isn’t what it looks like!” I stammered. In vain, I tried to pry Wesley’s arm off me or at least jostle him awake, but he only let out a soft snore and tried to burrow deeper into my back. My body was coated with a thin sheen of sweat from his body heat and I realized belatedly that having on only a pair of workout shorts and a cast off sports bra of Hillary’s was not winning me any brownie points in this scenario.

My soon to be stepmother snorted derisively. “I know very well what this is, little girl. This is exactly why I told your father that you needed to be separated from him!”

How can Wesley sleep through this? I thought frantically. Not that any argument from him would help the situation.

“Get up, you little hussy, and get downstairs immediately!” Desiree turned on her heel, black bob spinning, and climbed down the steep stairs, stiletto heels clacking the entire way. No doubt on her way to get the hose.

“WESLEY!” With a violent shove, his arm flew off my torso, rousing him enough that his eyes sleepily blinked open. It would have been adorable were it not for the steaming pile of shit I knew we were both in. Already Desiree’s frantic shouts were starting to echo up from the screen door below.

I leapt up and pulled a random t-shirt from the floor, too scared to care if it was dirty or clean. Yanking open a drawer, I searched for a pair of regular shorts while haphazardly throwing the rest of the drawer’s contents about the room.

“What’s going on?” Wesley’s voice was thick and still laced with sleep.

“Desiree found us!” I hissed at him. “Get up--NOW!”

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