Page 67 of Lost in the Current of You

I led the way, planning to go first through the front door with Reece following a few minutes later.

A hand tugged me back as we were halfway up the driveway and I turned as my body collided with Reece’s. His fingers tilted my chin up and he leaned down before his lips pressed against mine.

There was so much passion and emotion behind it, with the pressure of his lips and the tug of his fingers pulling me further into him. I would’ve happily fallen into him, into that kiss, as I grasped the sides of his shirt. He let go all too soon, but kept his lips just above mine, brushing against them.

“Thank you,” he whispered into my lips. My eyes fluttered open to see the utter sincerity in them, a dipple popping in his cheek. “Now, let’s get back in there before they start looking for us. We’ve already been gone a long time that some are probably questioning.”

I leaned up to peck his lips again then pulled away with a smile and brushed his hand with my thumb. He mirrored me and then I was ducking through the door once I knew no one was looking. Returning to reality where there was no him and I. Smiling and laughing with everyone, pretending that my heart wasn’t aching for the boy full of grief and misplaced guilt. That my heart wasn’t yearning to fix him.

26

It was early in the morning when I gave up on sleep with a sigh and slipped from under the sheets.

As soon as the ball dropped at midnight, everyone slowly made their way home. It was about 2 a.m. before everyone was in bed.

But I was too hyperaware Reece was just downstairs in the spare room and the knowledge of his mother kept me up.

After we snuck back inside the house, we were split apart, and I hadn’t been able to talk to him since. That hadn’t stopped me from cutting glances at him from across the room. I’d always find his eyes already on me, or if he felt me looking, his gaze would immediately find mine.

I had been plotting to sneak away again before the countdown so I could be alone with him, but then Nate pulled him in to take some shots. Then the countdown started, and I couldn’t get to him. He had disappeared by the time I said goodbye to my friends and went to bed, but I heard Nate mentioning to Dad that Reece had taken the spare room.

It was dark and silent as I crept down the stairs to the kitchen, the light from my phone illuminating my way so I didn’t wake anyone.

Once I’d stepped down the last step, my heart leaped into my throat as I swallowed down a scream that threatened to escape in my fright when I saw Reece’s figure lit by the backdrop of the refrigerator light. The smooth, naked planes of his back rippled with every movement he made as he grabbed the fridge door and turned his head over his shoulder to look at me.

“Hey,” he whispered into the space between us as I stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the bench behind him. The fridge light only illuminated half of his face while the other was shrouded in the darkness. The white light reflected off his eyes as he stared down at me.

I held a hand to my chest, my heart thundering in my chest from the aftereffects of the fright. “I didn’t think anyone else would be up.”

He turned, facing fully toward me as he reached to the top of the fridge door and leaned his arm atop it with the most casual ease. I pretended not to drool over the muscles of his biceps flexing. He was still lean, but the way he was resting made them bulge more.

His lips twisted up as he answered. “Couldn’t sleep. What about you?”

I shrugged as I tried to reciprocate his casual stance, leaning back against the bench and folding my arms. “Me either.”

He hummed before he thumbed over his shoulder into the fridge.

“Do you want something? A drink?” He turned into the fridge, eyes wandering around the items and listing them out. “Orange juice, apple juice, a little midnight choccy milk. Oh, there’s some cake as well.”

I stepped up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder. The warmth of his skin spread through my fingertips and I felt the way his muscle twitched under my touch as I peered over his shoulder into the fridge.

He turned his head towards me, watching me with curiosity and my eyes locked onto the leftover cake Dad made for that night. A chocolate mud cake with scrawled writing on top that read ‘Happy New Year’ but the only letters left were the ‘a’ and ‘r’ of year. I took the cake out, moving Reece aside as I placed it on the bench and cut off two small pieces before placing them on a small plate and putting the rest of the cake back as if it hadn’t been touched at all.

He smiled, walking towards the cutlery drawer, pulling two spoons out, and handing me one. “Cake it is.”

We took a few spoonfuls of cake in silence as we leaned over the bench, taking turns bite for bite before I decided to break it. “So, now that you’re almost eighteen in a few days, what is one thing you want?”

His eyes cut to mine before they dropped down my frame, biting his lip and then looking away. The whole moment had my skin heating up and I waited, hoping he acted on that look that flashed in his eyes. But then he shook his head as he thought about it for a moment longer.

“You know, I’ve always wanted a tattoo,” he said after a moment and my stomach dropped in disappointment before I shook it off.

“A tattoo?” I raised a brow, intrigued.

He grinned as he turned his head to me. “Yeah, a tattoo. I don’t know what of, though. Haven’t thought that far forward.”

I hummed. “I mean I can share my Pinterest board if you want. Might give you some inspiration.”

He chuckled. “You want one too?”

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