Page 111 of Not in My Book

My thighs tightened around his torso, and he thrust into me roughly while his head nuzzled into my neck so sweetly, contrasting his harsh movements.

“I hate you,” I said later as I reached my climax. “I really, really hate you.”

“Just like that,” he bit out, his hips moving faster. “I hate you too, Rosie. So much.”

An hour later, we moved slower. We took our time. His lips lingered on my neck, whispering against my skin.

“I love your curls,” he said. “I love when you wear your hair half up and a curl escapes in front of your face.”

I grasped at his back. “I love that I can always tell what you’re thinking from your eyes.”

When we both got close, neither of us said what we thought. Those three words were an intimidating jump. I knew he would catch me, but I couldn’t step off that ledge just yet.

His hand cupped my cheek, his green eyes as intense as ever. “Come for me, baby.”

I whimpered as his hips lost their slow pace and moved faster until my back arched, my chest pressing into Aiden’s. He cupped the back of my head, stroking my neck with his thumb. His careful hold of me pushed me right over that ledge.

As we lay in bed that night, Aiden’s breathing started to even out. My eyes were starting to droop down.

“I didn’t know it could be like this,” I whispered. I could barely see the shadows cast across his face in the dark, but I could feel his cheek curve as he began to smile.

“Like what?” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

Gently I took the hand that rested against his chest and held it over my heart. Even hours after we’d finished, it was beating wildly.

“Like this.”

SPRING

Hunter hated going on walks. He preferred going on runs or sitting in a café and talking. Something about a walk really annoyed him.

As much as he hated walks, he liked me. We walked around on our lunch break, holding burritos in our hands. I took a big bite of mine, chicken falling to the ground. Immediately, pigeons descended upon it.

“We can sit,” I offered.

He shook his head. “No. It’s okay. We can walk.”

“You don’t like to walk.”

“You don’t like to sit.”

“That’s it.” I took another bite of my burrito. “I guess we have to break up, we’re too indecisive.”

He smiled but said nothing. He only stared at his burrito as we continued to walk around the park, almost finishing our loop.

“I was kidding about breaking up,” I broke through the silence. “Unless this was a breakup walk, and I guessed it and now you’re trying to find the right moment—”

“You really do worry a lot, Maxine.”

“And now we’re back to Maxine,” I groaned. I tossed my empty burrito foil in a nearby trash can. “I blew it. You saw my Taylor Swift fan account and decided—”

He cupped my face, covering his mouth with mine. “You don’t always know what I’m thinking, you know.”

“Sure, I do.” I smiled and pulled at his collar for another kiss. “Now you’re thinking, ‘Wow, she really is a nutjob. I wasn’t planning on breaking up with her before, but how could I not after all of that?’ ”

His eyes flickered with annoyance. “I was thinking I never asked you to be my girlfriend. And then I started thinking if I even needed to ask, or if it was assumed, and then I worried that if Ididneed to ask, if it was too late in the game to do that now. Then, I started thinking about whether you thought of me as your boyfriend …” He trailed off.

“Wow,” I said after a moment. “You worry almost as much as I do. That’s a relief.”

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