Page 20 of His Secret

He sighs. “I guess I’m not good at this.”

“Maybe I’m not either.”

He laughs. “Well.”

“Let’s go back to my room.”

Once we’re inside, I face him. “Why didn’t you say anything when I was basically forcing you to meet guys tonight?”

“Well, I thought you definitely weren’t interested if you were doing that, so I just went with it.”

I pinch my lips together. “Damn. I’m sorry.”

He shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets. “I suppose itdoesn’t matter if it’s only one-sided.” His eyes are on the floor, but I can see a hint of pink in his cheeks.

A laugh escapes me. “I guess I’ve done a good job keeping my feelings close to the vest then.”

Adrian looks up, eyes scanning my face. “So…”

“Let’s just say the crush is reciprocated.”

His face splits with a grin, eyes lighting up in relief. “So, Iamyour type.”

I smirk and roll my eyes. “And I guess I’m yours.”

He dips his chin, eyes laser-focused on me. The energy shifts around us. The tension is thick, and we’re both getting closer to each other.

“I want to kiss you.”

“Okay,” I say softly, both of us leaning in.

I tilt my head back so his lips can land on mine. It’s soft at first. A few pecks to get a feel for each other.

When his lips part, I slide my tongue between them, eliciting a groan from his throat.

My entire body melts on the inside.

Adrian grabs my hip with one hand and cradles my face with the other. Our tongues meet and dance, and our moans come together in harmony.

After several long seconds, we pull away, but keep our foreheads connected. Adrian releases a soft sigh that sounds like it’s full of relief, then his hand cups the back of my head and he presses his lips to mine in a firm kiss. And then another.

“God, you have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he finally says, head still against mine.

“You’re telling me,” I say with a shy smile. “I may have fantasized about this a time or two.”

He smirks. “Good. Glad I wasn’t alone in fantasyland.”

Fidgeting with my fingers, Isay, “What now?”

“Everything,” he replies with a wide smile. “I want to do everything with you.”

My stupid, naive heart soars. It skips a beat and makes me skip past asking any questions. Like, do you think you’re ever going to come out? Is this just for fun? Will I simply be your dirty little secret? Are you using me?

Instead of laying down rules to protect my pride and dignity, I fall into bed with him where we continue to makeout for the next hour. We don’t set boundaries. We don’t iron out details. We just pretend like we don’t have anything to worry about—and that’s problem number one.

Eight years later

CHAPTER SEVEN