Page 59 of Until We Fall

“You don’t know what it is yet.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He unsticks the tape and then opens the lid, staring down at the bracelet sitting on white packaging foam.

“It’s just a small?—”

“It’s perfect.” He lifts the braided hemp cord, the same color as Cluan sand. Three tiny white cowry shells are twisted into the design.

It reminded me of the beach, the lighter tan sand against his darker skin. He grins and tosses the box aside, wrapping the bracelet around his wrist, the color beautiful against his skin.

“I love it.” He’s smiling so widely, so happily. “It’s the perfect reminder of being there with you.”

Tears prick behind my eyes.

He’s my best friend. More than that, he’s the best friend that I’ve everhad. In my entire life I’ve never had a friend like him. I’ve never had a friend who is so kind and open, who listens to all the random shit I say, all these facts and figures and theories. Who feels like he always seesme.

I don’t know if I’ve messed things up these last two days, but I rush at him. All at once, basically flinging myself. I kiss him. And he kisses me back, not even pausing. My hands skim his bare arms and chest, so eager to touch his skin, and then down. I brush my fingers just above his waistband. His breath catches, his hips moving, and so I let my hand slide down. I cup him. He’s not fully hard, but I can feel everything beneath the slick fabric of his shorts.

He’s freeballing. His dick twitches under my touch. I take an experimental stroke outside his shorts.

His forehead falls against the top of my head. “Fuck, Rory. Imissedthis. I’ll always give you time, but I’ve been aching so much for you.”

I squeeze lightly, and his stomach moves with his breaths as he watches, his cock starting to pushing up against his elastic hem. He’s getting hard, andI’mthe cause.

That makes me feel so good.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I got scared.”

“That’s okay. I told you I’d wait.”

“But you probably didn’t think it would be right after we got home.”

He shrugs a shoulder. “We’re here now.”

I swallow, my fingers lingering over his cock. I start to pull down on his shorts when he stops me.

“We should probably close the door.” He steps around me, closes and locks it, and then walks back to me again. His dark brown eyes study me. “Are you sure you want to do this? If you need time, we could watch a movie or something. Maybe?—”

“I don’t need time.” My body lights with an acute sense of sexual arousal, my heart rate increasing, blood levels of adrenaline and cortisol rising. It makes my fingers shake as I brush my fingers along his stomach, tracking the central indentation between his abdominal muscles. “Do you need time?”

He shakes his head, his eyes warming. “Nah, I’m good to go.”

My fingers slide down to his waistband again, and I tug it down, freeing him. My mouth waters, my heart palpating at the heaviness of his cock, still hardening, his slit peeking out of his foreskin. I stroke him once, carefully pulling his foreskin back, and his breath catches.

“Fuck, that’s so good.” He gasps as I do it again, then licks his lips. “Show me your little dick, baby.”

Oh god, ohgod.

I’m already hardening under my thermals and my jeans, and a sense ofrightnessswells over me. The kind that I had on Clua. The kind that’s making those different pathways, blazing neural pathways.

I don’t have to be scared.

Being with him is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. And I need to keep working on being ready for it. Ready forus.

My hands fall to my jeans. I unzip and push down my thermals. Cool air hits my dick, and I shiver. He takes me in with reverence, wearing this expression that I feel to the tips of my sock-covered toes.

His fingers loop under my chin. “I love you so fucking much. I want to say it over and over. I want you. And I’ll keep wanting you. And if you need a day or two to adjust, then that’s fine. I will be here.”

I nod, closing my eyes and feeling him breathe, feeling his size and warmth, how solid and steady he is. My heart pounds, my insides quiver.

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