Page 68 of Lost in the Current of You

“Yeah, I have a couple ideas. But I’m too scared to go.” I laughed.

He nudged my shoulder as he swallowed a bite of cake. “Maybe we should go together. That way we can hold each other's hand.”

I huffed a laugh. “Maybe we should. But I think I might break your hand.”

He just smiled. “I think I can handle that.” He took another bite of the cake. “So, what are your ideas?”

I met his eyes. “My ideas?”

He nodded. “Your tattoo ideas. I wanna hear them.”

I smiled and looked down at the almost-finished cake. “I have one for my dad, of course. He’s been my rock throughout my whole life. So I have this note he left me in my lunchbox on my first day of high school that he signed off with ‘Dream big and fly high’. I would get that in his handwriting.” I shook my head at the memory and took a spoonful of the cake. “And then I also want to get something to remember our week in Airlie Beach. I don’t know, something like a wave with a crescent moon over it. Sounds very original I know,” I drawled with a laugh.

I saw Reece shake his head from the corner of my eye and I turned to him. “No, I like those ideas. And they mean something to you so they’re original to you.”

He smiled and I returned it before I grabbed the now-empty plate and his spoon to wash under the sink.

He stood to his full height, taking a step towards me before stopping and leaning a hip against the counter. My gaze flicked to him, seeing his slip down my frame before coming back to meet my eyes with a prominent smirk on his face.

“Is this what you always wear to sleep?”

I looked down and rolled my eyes. I wore the exact same thing I wore when he was over about a week ago. The thin strap top and the shorts that barely covered my ass. “You only just noticed? Do you have a problem with it?”

He shook his head and he smoothed a hand against his jaw. “No. Not at all. Actually, I was thinking I should come over more often during early mornings just to see you like this.”

I laughed quietly. “You’re a fool, Fischer.”

The hum that vibrated from his chest sounded more like a chuckle and I felt the rumble of it as he stepped closer to me. He leaned in, resting a hand on the bench beside my right hip and stuffing his other in the pocket of his pyjama pants, surrounding me in his warmth. His eyes when I looked up at him were like the darkest depths of night and I drowned in them.

“For some reason, I think, around you I’m always making a fool of myself.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think that.”

He raised a brow. “Really? You just called me one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah because you were a fool. But I don’t think you’re always a fool.”

He huffed a laugh. “Agree to disagree.”

I tilted my head at him, straightening my stance and bringing our faces just an inch closer. His eyes tracked the movement, flicking down to my lips for just a fraction of a second. But he didn’t move an inch, just the slight brush of his thumb that I felt against my hip.

“Okay then, what makes you think that?” I asked in a whisper.

He swallowed. “Well,” he started. “First, I think despite everything in me trying to tell me no, I can’t help but gravitate towards you. I have this need to be around you.” He tapped his thumb against my hip. “Second, it scared me how attached to you I was that when I found out you were dating my best friend, I tried to distance myself from you. I may have resented him a little because he got to have you before and I couldn’t.” My breath hitched at that confession, but before I could even fully process it, he kept going with a tap on my hip. “Third, I was so happy when you and Liam broke up, and I hated myself for it. And then I realised I had ruined whatever friendship I had with you because I was scared. You didn’t come to any of the games and I blamed myself. I wanted so badly to ditch Nate when I visited and walk across the hall to see you. And fourth − and probably the most foolish one, but one I’m happy I did − I made last-minute arrangements with Jake and Sage to go to Airlie Beach because I remembered Nate had mentioned it one time while we were playing video games. Just so I could see you again.”

I was speechless as my eyes widened in surprise before I furrowed my brows in confusion, my mind swirling.

He was scared so he pulled away. He planned Airlie Beach because he knew I was going. He was happy about the breakup, not mad.

He smiled at my reaction, nerves sparking in his eyes. “See. An absolute fool.”

I had so much to say and so many things to ask, but as I looked up at him, our bodies pulling together by an invisible force, the only thing chanting in my head was kiss him, kiss him, kiss him.

And it was then that I realised that this was really going to hurt. I knew all of the push and pull that had happened before all led to this. All of the caution and maybes and should I, shouldn’t I’s. I knew all of this was either going to be the greatest experience of my life or the greatest heartbreak to leave my soul in shreds. I knew that with him, there was no in between because it was always going to be him that changed everything for me.

I couldn’t care less about the consequences then. It wasn’t even a question or a second thought. I just leaned into him and pressed my lips to his.

It was just like the first, and the second. All consuming and sending my senses into overload. Overloaded by him and his musky cologne, the heat he exuded, and the way he touched me. It was hot and hungry, and his tongue immediately pressed against the seam of my lips to gain access which I gave all too eagerly.

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