Page 61 of Taylor

“So, you have feelings for me... What does that mean?”

He cocked his head.New Year, New Me, she thought. If she was going to be in a relationship, she wasn’t going to be an afterthought.

“It means I want to be with you.”

“Okay, but I don’t want to be in a relationship where I’m an afterthought. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t call or says they don’t want to be with me without even a reason.”

His head gave a little shake. “What are you talking about?”

“I texted you New Year’s Eve to hang out,” she said.

“I don’t do anything on New Year’s. I just stay in and watch movies.”

“Well, I would’ve done that with you,” she said with a huff.

“But you were going to a party,” he said, confused.

“Yes... but I wanted to be with you. If I knew you didn’t want to go to the party, I would have happily hung out with you.”

“Oh,” he said before shaking his head harder. “I fucked up in so many ways, but if you give me another chance, I’ll show you Ican do this. I might need you to spell some stuff out for me, but I want to make you happy. The idea that I caused you pain-—” His voice broke. “I hate it,” he said as a tear streamed down his own cheek.

“Taylor,” she said with reverence as she brushed the tear away. “What do you want?”

“I want to be with you. I want to be your boyfriend. I haven’t been a boyfriend in a very long time, but I can do it. I can make you happy. I promise.”

“What happens when you leave here? Do you forget about me again? When you go on road trips, what then?”

“I don’t know,” he said, scooting closer to her. “But I can promise that I won’t neglect you again. I never forgot about you, even a little, and that you think that is totally my fault. I’ll make it work. I can do it. Please, give me another chance. I promise I’ll do better.”

He sat next to her, facing her, his hands on her knees, his intense eyes fixed on her.

She could tell he meant it.

“Really?” she said through a watery smile.

Hope was buoying her sinking heart. He had thrown her a rope, and she was taking it.

“Yes,” he said, cupping her cheeks. “What do you want, Alice?”

“You.”

And with that, his mouth met hers in a perfect kiss. She melted into him as he slipped his arms around her waist. It was as if all the weight and sadness of the past couple of weeks fell away. Part of her thought,Be careful. Don’t fall too fast. But that part was silenced as he tightened his grip on her and held her close.

She pulled back to gaze at him. His expression told her all she needed to know. She needed him close. Her head rested on his chest and found his heart pounding just as fast as hers was.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered back instantly, before pressing a heartbreaking kiss to her forehead.

Her breath caught in her throat at the simple gesture. She was all in. It’d been three weeks since their time in the cabin together. Three weeks that she had muddled through. But him here, in her home, did give her hope. Whether that hope was good or not was yet to be determined, but it was there all the same.

Alice’s heart thumped as she made her way up her stairs. Even though Taylor’s hands were still on her back, she was starting to second-guess this. But when they made it to her room, and she turned to see his reaction. Those doubts evaporated by the look on his face. The heat in his gaze, his blown pupils, the flush on his cheeks and neck set her on fire.

She threw caution to the wind that threw her arms around his neck, and her lips crashed into his. After that they were a mess of teeth and tongues and hands ripping at each other’s clothes. Before she knew it, she was naked, still working on the buttons of his shirt.

He stepped back long enough to strip out of the rest of his clothes. He turned to her and picked her up. A surprised squeak came from her but then she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him as he walked them the few steps to her bed and laid her down.

The feel of his hard cock pressing into her slick center had her panting. Taylor kissed down her neck and continued lower until he sucked a nipple into his mouth. Her hips gave an involuntary rock, and his cock slid along the juncture of her thighs.

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