Page 28 of Until We Fall

He’s sweet and hesitant. But warm too, his mouth parting, his tongue slipping along my bottom lip.

I reach up to brush my thumb along the side of his jaw, just to be sure that I’m not imagining this, and he moans. A tremble races over me, those butterflies flapping nearly out of control.

He pushes up higher, his fingers digging into my shoulders to keep balanced.

And, oh god, there’s so much that coalesces for me in this moment. All my memories of us tangling together. First meeting him in our study group. All those nights studying, when I was really only there to hang out with him. Moving in as roommates,flopping on his bed while he tells me about his day. The night three weeks ago. Hissmile.

Of everything I’ve ever seen in my life, his smile is what I want to see most.

And I don’t know if I can be three thousand miles away from him.

Right now, I can’t even contemplate being six inches away from him.

And I kiss him back. I groan when his tongue slides against mine so… sweetly? Is that the right word? I don’t know, but I open for him, our chests moving unevenly, our hands gripping each other. We kiss until there’s a pulse through my entire body. Until I’m honestly shaking. When he breaks away, his forehead drops forward onto my chest again.

“That was new,” he whispers, and I smile.

“It was definitely that.”

He lets out a shaky breath. “Was it…”

“It was perfect.”

He’s quiet. I can feel a heaviness in him. A struggle. “I can’t do more. Not… yet.”

I kiss the top of his head. “Then let’s go see some flowers.”

He leans back to look at me. “Are you serious?”

“Yep.”

“Right now?”

“Why not?”

So, we see some flowers. We walk the paths around the villa, leaves tickling us on either side, the sweet smell of the blooms thick in the air. Around the first corner hangs a blanket of angel’s trumpets, six-inch blooms that dangle in tight skirts. Night phlox and flowering tobacco are after that. All white blooms.

We meander. We hold hands. We do a lot of kissing. Sometimes tentative at first, but more comfortable with eachone. We chat about flowers. It’s not until we’re almost to the end of the property that I pull him to a stop.

Plumeria. Pale blooms clustered under the moonlight. An entire grove of trees set before us, with a narrow path between.

“It’s beautiful,” he says, looking up as we walk, clusters of flowers all around us, their smell so thick I can taste it, the petals nearly luminescent in the night.

I smile, pulling him closer. “They mean hope.”

Hope.

I have so much of that.

9

“D,”Rory whispers. “You’re squishing me again.”

My eyes flutter open. I’m splayed entirely on top of him this time. My chest against his, our skin clammy, my dick snuggled against his inner thigh.

“Aw, shit.” I set my hands on the bed and push myself up, hovering over him. He blinks up at me, gray eyes still hazy, lips tipping up in a sleepy smile.

Déjà vu from the morning before, except there’s one difference.

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