Page 148 of Finding Delaware

And when it’s over, he laughs softly, nuzzling his lips against my hip, hugging my waist tightly like he’s afraid to let go. As I slip out of him, resting my forehead against his thighs to catch my breath, I can’t help but feel the same.

When the cold starts to nip at us, we right ourselves and snuggle beneath the blanket, my head on his chest while he flips through the rest of my sketchbook, and I cling to him, not wanting morning to come. Because even though he’s mine for now, at least until July, there’s a nagging voice in the back of my skull telling me to make the most of our moments together because they’re limited. This can’t last forever, no matter how much we want it to.

As he murmurs into my curls under the twinkling stars, I can only think one thing:

Our story has just begun, yet we’re already running out of time.

Part Three

Taylor

May

“You fuckers have exactly ten minutes to piss and grab your shit, then we’re back on the road!”

Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I stick the gas pump into the tank of Salem’s jeep while I watch Matty, Huck, and Logan disappear into the convenience store. We’re somewhere just outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, so there’s also a weed dispensary that Christian, Arya, and Xed just waltzed into. I’ve already been cooped up inside the jeep for six hours, and I’m going fucking crazy. The fact that I’ve also been stuck with Salem giving me the cold shoulder and a sulking Logan hasn’t helped one bit.

Just four more hours. Four long hours until we get to Greeley, and then we can get this camping trip started. Then I’ll get a tent alone with Huck. The anticipation is literally killing me, I swear. The last three and a half weeks since he showed me his sketchbook in my truck—which was the most romanticthing anyone’s ever done for me, by the way—have been pure torture, having only been able to see him a handful of times due to his college schedule and finals coming up. Christian and I also started bussing tables at the Prospector during weeknights for some extra cash, so that’s been throwing us off, too. He’s leaving for Cali next weekend for his college graduation, and I’m dying to spend some time with him before then.

Shaking out the rest of the gas, I put the pump back and finish paying with my card before making my way over to where Salem stands with her back to me, snapping away at the Rockies in the distance with her camera. The sun is beating down on us, hot as hell, so I’m shirtless in a pair of sweats.

Sliding my arms around her waist from behind, I rest my chin on her head. “You still mad at me?”

Her camera snaps more shots. “Mm-hmm.”Snap, snap.

“Come on, Sally Mal, don’t do this to me. You know how much I hate the silent treatment.”

I fucking hate it so much. She’s barely spoken to me since the party at Xed and Matty’s, but this morning, when I sprung it on her that Logan and Huckslee were coming with us on this trip...yeah, needless to say, she hasn’t been in the best mood.

“I just don’t get it.”Snap. “Really, Taylor, I don’t.”Snap, snap, snap. “Because you’ve never bothered with any of my relationships before, so why do you care so much about this one?”

Snap, snap, snap, SNAP, SNAP.

Wrenching her camera away before she breaks it, I spin her around and stare down into her livid face. “I care because you were really happy, and I don’t want to see you throw away something good because of amisunderstanding.”

She rears back, smacking her lips as her gray eyes flash. “A misunderstanding? Really, Tay? He disrespected my wishes and proposed, knowing full well I’m against marriage.”

“And you said no, so what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that he won’t fuck me unless we’re married,” she shouts, grabbing her camera back. “So what future does the relationship have, really?”

“You were perfectly fine without sex for two whole years, though? Would you have still been with him if he hadn’t proposed?”

Her nostrils flare as she huffs, brushing by me to march toward her jeep. “This really isn’t any of your business.”

“Well, we all know how good I am at minding my own business.” I follow close behind, not willing to let this go because I’m sick of her shit lately.

When we get to the car, she whirls around and points. “You’re only trying to get us back together because you’re fucking his best friend.”

“Uh, first and second off, not true. We haven’t even fucked yet, so...”

“What, why?” Her delicate brows shoot up, anger forgotten. “You’re definitely a ‘fuck on the first date’ type.”

I shake my head, adjusting my snapback before stuffing my hands in my pockets. “Nope. We aren’t talking about my sex life if we can’t talk about yours.”

Growling in frustration, she yanks open the driver’s side door and plops down into the seat, crossing her arms. “He only proposed because his parents made him, okay? They freaked on him once they found out we were living together unmarried. His dad threatened to–”

“SALEM, CHECK THIS SHIT OUT!”

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