Page 43 of Tide Over

“I’ve been wanting that for a while,” I say, my words coming easier now despite the way my heart is rioting and my hands are shaking.

Surprise flickers across Liam’s face before his throat bobs, and he nods softly. “Same.”

I step closer, and Liam’s chest rises and falls with a deep breath. But his eyes stay glued on mine, and I see the same anticipation in him that I’m feeling. The second his hand finds my hip, I press my lips to his. And this time, I let myselffeelit. No hesitation, no doubt, no worry. Just the undeniable pull between us that has been simmering beneath the surface, waiting for this moment.

My hand lifts to cup the side of his face as our lips part, and my tongue glides against his. His grip on my hip tightens as our kiss deepens, and every one of my senses is overwhelmed by him. The scent of the rain clinging to his skin, the feeling of his hard muscles under my hands, the contrast of his soft lips and the roughness of his stubble… I can’t get enough. And as his hands slide up my sides, pulling me closer, it feels like he can’t either.

The fear and doubt inside me melts away with every stroke of his tongue against mine, every pull that brings me closer, and every touch of his hands on my skin. For the first time ever, I feel like I am exactly who I’m supposed to be. No hiding, nopretending, and no holding back. This feels right, in a way that nothing ever has.

Eventually, our kiss slows and we gently pull back from each other, remaining close as we catch our breath.

“Now what?” Liam asks, his breath on my lips with each word.

I exhale deeply and slowly shake my head. “I have no idea.”

A soft meow sounds, and we both look down at Miss Bobber sitting at our feet with her tail curled around her. She watches us expectantly, like she’s also curious about what happens next.

“Maybe some dry clothes…” Liam says, his gaze lifting to meet mine again.

“Yeah,” I murmur with a nod.

As his hands fall away from me, I immediately miss the feeling of him, and nerves start to rise once more. But a small, reassuring smile from him calms any fears I may have, that this is all going to come crashing down around me.

He wants this.

Liam heads into his room to change, and I go upstairs to do the same with thoughts and questions endlessly swirling in my head.

How long has he felt this way? Have I been so in my own head that I couldn’t see it? Is this fuckingreal?

What does this mean for us now?

I pull on a t-shirt and sweatpants, forcing a deep breath and trying my best to push all those thoughts and questions aside for now.

Hewantsthis.

The welcoming smell of burning wood fills the air as I head down the stairs. Liam looks up from the wood stove as I enter the living room, and he adds another log of wood before closing the door. Miss Bobber scurries across the floor as she chases a stray piece of bark, and Liam pushes to his feet.

For a moment, we just stand here looking at each other as the soft crackle of the fire and the rain against the windows fills the quiet space between us.

“Hungry?” I ask, breaking the silence.

Liam nods. “Yeah.”

He follows as I head into the kitchen, and although there is a new awkwardness between us, it’s not uncomfortable. The quiet comfort remains, lingering despite everything else changing. The silence is just a part of who we are, and the questions that hang in the air between us aren’t urgent or heavy. They’re patiently waiting for their time as this shift between us settles, and we allow ourselves to take our time with it.

I glance out the window at the boat rocking in the waves at the dock and chuckle, remembering the fish we caught that are still in the livewell. “Could have cooked our fish.”

Liam leans against the counter and crosses his arms with a chuckle of his own. “All that work for nothing.”

I cock an eyebrow at him. “All that work? It was so hard to catchonefish this time, huh?”

The corner of his lips tilt up as he shakes his head. “Remind me, how many did you catch?”

Just as I open my mouth to fire back, because IknowI would have caught more than him this time, the lights suddenly cut out. The room falls into shadows, dimly lit from the fading evening outside, and just enough for me to make out Liam’s features. The soft glow from the fire in the living room casts a quiet mood over us once again, as the world outside rages against the calm inside.

“So… sandwiches?” I ask with a shrug.

Liam laughs softly. “Looks like it.”

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