Page 147 of Old Acquaintances

I jostle his shoulders. “You think I’m so fickle that I loved you one second and I would just forget the next?”

“Fickleandflippant? Did you flip through a dictionary this afternoon?” Tucker backs up until he’s sitting on a wicker bench and I’m on his lap.

My hands run into his hair. “Shut up, 3.8 GPA, I know words.”

He says, “And you did forget, Ella.”

I kiss the corner of his dropped mouth, where he’s holding that little bit of sadness. I feel like I’m kissing away the painful look he gave me prom night. I whine, “No, I didn’t forget. I knew I loved you. I just forgot we already talked about it.”

“Really?” He frowns.

“I knew it the moment I woke up from the coma. That’s why Ihatedyou so much. Because I loved you that much more andyou never showed up.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, tightening his hold.

“Don’t be sorry anymore.” I relax against his chest. “Just let me love you.” I insist, “Please don’t push me away.”

“I’m scared.”

“Well, I’m not. I’m not afraid of what comes next.”

“It was so fucking hard, Ella, you have no idea,” he mutters against my cheek.

“Being afraid of losing someone is like being afraid of sleeping, Tucker. It’s inevitable. But I’m going to love you forever, I’d rather do itwithyou than be apart from you.” I touch our noses. “It doesn’t change bad things from happening.”

He closes his eyes. “What if you get tired of me?”

“I will get tired of you.”

He hears the smile in my voice, he smiles back.

I insist, “That doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere.” Then, I question, “Can you honestly live without me? Because I can’t live without you. I tried for seven years, and you were all I thought about.”

“Okay,” he groans.

I spring upright. “Okay?”

“Okay.” He’s less grumbly this time. He stares into my eyes. “I don’t want to do anything or go anywhere without you anymore.”

“Wow. It was that easy?”

He laughs. “It was always going to be easy for you. I don’t know who I was trying to kid. I knew when I got in that airport that I was putty in your hands.” He catches my mouth in a deep kiss. He murmurs against my lips, “I’m always putty in your hands.”

Tucker keeps kissing me, and I feel fresh water on my cheeks. I don’t know if it’s from him or from me, but I can’t control my emotions. I cling to him, wanting him everywhere atevery moment. He flips me to my back and the woven lines of the bench press into my spine.

“What now?” I sob.

He runs his lips over my neck, his hands gliding up under my sweatshirt. I arch into him, tasting his mouth, griping his shoulders.

“What do you want?” he passes back to me.

“Well…” I try to keep my head focused while he’s kissing under my ear and his hands have moved bases. “You did promise to marry me when I was thirty.”

With h`is nose nuzzled into my hair, Tucker lifts his head. He takes a moment. “Seriously?”

My face burns. He’s looking at me with such shock.

“Well,” I swallow. “I mean…we’re already friends. And we’re obviously sexually compatible.”

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