Page 36 of Never Say Never

I breathe her in, deepening the kiss, pulling her to me, feeling like she can never be close enough.

My pulse begins to slow, and my heart rate steadies when her hands slide up my chest to my neck. I slow down the kiss, my tongue finding hers in sensual, calculated strokes. I could kiss Daisy like this for hours.

I’m not sure how long we stay like this, kissing in the dark with the moon and the stars above us, but eventually, it ends, and my forehead is against hers.

“I have to go, Tuck,” she sighs into my mouth. “Briar is going to wonder where I am.”

I nod before pressing my mouth to hers one last time, still holding her tightly to me. I finally release her, taking a step back, and that little bit of space allows me to take my first deep breath since I hauled her outside.

I walk Daisy back to the hotel, my stomach tied in knots wondering how I am ever going to survive this damn pact with my heart in one piece.

I haven’t even fucked her yet and I’m already in over my head.

THIRTEEN

DO YOU WANT TO TASTE IT?

Daisy

My chest aches the entire drive home.

I stare blankly out the window while Briar drives the quiet street that curves along the shore. The beach is mostly empty now, the reflection of the moon shimmering on the dark waves. It was Briar who insisted we go to the hotel bar tonight. She said she was worried about me, that I was too tense, and I needed to let loose. She was probably right. I’ve spent the last 22 days trying to figure out what is happening between Tucker and me. First, he kisses me, and then he just… disappears. Not a phone call. Not even a text.

I couldn’t make sense of any of it. We went from barely being able to stand one another to making out in his dad’s office. I’m still not over the way his lips controlled mine, the way time stopped. It was just… us. Then Tuck left on his road trip, and it felt like he pushed me away all over again. I have whiplash from the mixed signals and the back and forth of it all. It’s practically all I’ve been able to think about. I keep reminding myself that this pact Tucker came up with is just about sex for him—I’m sure he hasn’t been losing sleep over it, so why should I? So, when Briar suggested a night out, I reluctantly agreed.

The last person I expected to see there was Tucker.

Tonight left me feeling even more confused. I had to stop my jaw from hitting the floor when he admitted that he never stopped thinking about the kiss all those years ago. I assumed it meant nothing to him, so to find out that I was wrong about that made my heart expand in my chest.

But then why did he push me away?

What did Tucker mean tonight when he said that he didn’t have a choice? Was it because he needed to focus on football? Or that he didn’t want a girlfriend tying him down in high school? I’ve been wracking my brain all night and those are the only explanations I have been able to come up with. What else could it be? My entire body needs to know– but going back to that time in my life feels like pouring salt on an open wound. But for us to be able to move forward– relationship or not– we need to face our past.

“So, tell me what happened tonight.” Briar finally breaks the silence in the car.

“With Tucker?”

“Obviously. I saw him drag you outside. What is going on with you two?”

I stare out at the streetlights instead of at my best friend because it feels easier. Briar has always been able to read me like a book. There’s no point in lying to her, she’ll be able to see right through me.

I exhale deeply, still avoiding eye contact. “We… have a pact.”

I’m quiet for a full 20 seconds before I’m able to glance in her direction, and when I do, the smirk on Briar’s face is enough to make me drop my head into my hands.

“What kind of pact?”

I tell Briar everything, just like I’ve always done since we became best friends in college. I tell her about my past with Tucker, about how we used to sneak out at night when we werekids, about the kiss in his living room, and everything that has happened since he came up with our friends-with-benefits pact.

When I’m done explaining my pact to have sex with my god-brother, I turn in my seat to face her. We’ve just pulled up to our apartment and Briar puts the car into park, then looks at me with wide eyes.

“That’s all of it,” I tell her, shaking my head at how crazy it sounds saying it out loud.

“Woah. That is a lot for even me to unpack.”

“I know.”

“Daisy, are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

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