Page 45 of Solitude

I’m not sure what possesses me to grab Winnie’s hand and wrap my own around it when we leave Sugar. Her hand is cool to the touch but soft and small, cradled in mine. Her fingers flex before squeezing my hand gently.

We walk in comfortable silence until we reach our street.

“I’m still in shock that you’re here,” she admits with a small, shy grin.

Chuckling, I shrug, ready to downplay it the same way I did to Cole and Matt, but something stops me. The whole reason I came home. The reason I’ve been sitting in Sugar for more than an hour waiting for her.

“I wanted to see you,” I tell her.

Winnie looks at me like she’s trying to figure out if I’m lying. Her golden eyes roam over my face as we pause in the middle of the street. Quietly, she says, “I wanted to see you, too.”

It feels like a declaration from both of us.

“That simple, huh?”

Winnie smiles shyly, chews on her lip for a moment, then nods. “It can be that simple, right?”

My hand squeezes hers. “Win?—”

A water droplet hits my face and rolls down my cheek.

“Is it supposed to rain?” I ask as I tilt my head back to look at the clouds hiding the moon.

And Winnie? She giggles as the bottom drops out suddenly.

Her grip on my hand tightens, and she drags me along behind her in a sprint toward our houses. At some point, she releases me to spin and twirl, arms outstretched. She tears her elf hat off, crumpling it in her hand as she lets the water soak her, and I follow suit, pulling off my beanie and stomping in puddles forming in the road.

I’m just a man.

I am a man who is watching one of the most beautiful girls enjoy life in an elf costume with the biggest grin on her face and laughter floating all around us. I’m weak. So weak. It’s hard to remind myself to be on my best behavior when all I want to do is scoop her up in my arms and kiss her red lips.

But there’s an order to this. Tell her my feelings. Then, if she reciprocates, we can kiss.

It’s not until headlights shine as a car heads our way that I reach out and wrap an arm around her waist to pull her out of the road with a shout at the driver. Her hands are resting on my shoulders, chest heaving as she gazes up at me.

Winnie grins and confesses, “I love the rain.”

I can only nod, thoughts swirling around in my head at lightning speed as my eyes roam over her face.

“Thank you. For pulling me out of the road. I should’ve been paying better atten?—”

Shaking my head, I cut her off. “They wouldn’t have hit you. Just scary in the moment.”

She blinks a few raindrops off her lashes. “Still.”

I stare at her unabashedly.

“What?”

“Even soaking wet with mascara running down your face and a silly costume on,” I answer, squeezing her body closer to mine. “I think you’re so beautiful, Winnie.”

Immediately, she wipes at her cheeks, and I grab both of her hands and bring them to the small of her back, holding them there with one of my own. I bring my other hand to her face, cupping her cheek.

“Didn’t you hear me?” I ask, catching a drop of water tinged black with my thumb. “You are so beautiful like this. I want to fall to my knees in the middle of the goddamn street and worship you, Winnie.”

She inhales, chest rising and smashing her breasts against my chest. “I would pay every cent in my bank account to see Beckett Hale on his knees for me.”

“I’ll do it for a kiss.”

---