Page 82 of Anyone But Her

"And now your dad's helping me, which I'm sure makes Cal feel even worse. He feels like he let your dad down."

"Yeah, but don't tell him I said that. Don't tell anyone. Please. You have to promise me you'll keep it a secret."

"Yeah, of course. I just wish Cal would talk to me."

"He will. When he's ready."

We sit quietly for a few moments, then Taylor says, "So after this, I won't see you for a week?"

"Not unless you sneak into the guest house in the middle of the night," I kid, but I actually wish she would. I've had dreams about it, of me waking up and finding her in my bed, wearing nothing but a pair of black lace panties. I know she'd never do that but it makes for a damn nice dream.

"Since we don't have much time we should probably stop talking." Taylor bites her lip and puts her hand on my knee and I instantly feel myself getting hard. That's what she does to me. She can turn me on with just a look or a touch, which is a problem if we're around her parents.

Leaning her against the back of the bench I slip my hand behind her head and kiss her. Her body crumples into my arms and she grips the front of my shirt. She keeps hold of it as I kiss a line down her neck, then along her throat as she tips her head back. Soft breathy moans come from her mouth, turning me on so much I can barely stand it. I want her. I want her so damn bad, and I think she wants me too. But we can't do it here. Or at all.

We shouldn't even be kissing. It's wrong, and yet it doesn't feel wrong. It's only wrong because her family doesn't approve.

My hand is on her thigh and I slowly move it up, under her skirt, until I reach the seam of her panties. They're silky and outlined in lace, just like in my dreams. She moves her hips ever so slightly, urging me to continue.

"Taylor," I say softly over her lips, my fingers moving over the silky fabric between her legs that I'm dying to rip off so I can do all the things I'm imagining in my head right now.

"Don't stop," she whispers. Her eyes are closed and I pause a moment to gaze at her face. She's so damn beautiful. And sweet. Kind. She deserves better than to be felt up at some city park.

We shouldn't be doing this here. Someone could see us. I don't want anyone seeing us like this. I want it to be just us.

"Taylor, we need to stop. This isn't right."

She opens her eyes. "What isn't right?"

"This." I glance around. "Doing this in a park, where people could walk by. I want to keep doing what we're doing but only when we can be alone. Just the two of us."

"But we can't. We don't have any place to go."

"We'll figure something out. I just know this isn't right. You deserve better than this. I want you to feel comfortable, and right now I know you're not. You're afraid someone will walk up and catch us, and so am I."

She sits up next to me and straightens her skirt. "Then what do you want to do?"

Across from us is a patch of flowers and there's a small fountain in the distance. It's not the greatest view but it's nice. Peaceful.

I take her hand and hold it mine. "This. This is what I want to do. Just sit here beside you, holding your hand."

My eyes remain straight ahead but I can feel her looking at me. She lays her head on my shoulder and I lean down and kiss it.

"I like this," she says.

"I do too."

When Albert died I felt empty. Hollow. Like there was a giant hole in my heart and in my life. But being with Taylor, talking to her, having her beside me...that emptiness is starting to fade.

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