Page 92 of Come Break My Heart Again

I step forward. We’re only a couple of feet apart now, but it’s still not close enough. So, I step again, until I’m close enough to see the flutter of her pulse just below her jawline.

“Last night, I wasn’t expecting for you to show up. Or for things to, uh, evolve the way they did.”

Elle snorts, still not looking at me. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“I wasn’t disappointed.”

“Just forget about it, Ryder. Whatever you think you need to say … you don’t.” She scoffs. “I should have seen it coming from miles away after last time.”

I reach out, gripping her chin between my fingers and forcing her to look up at me. Her exhale is surprised, her blue eyes wide as they meet mine. They’re the same shade as the clear sky above.

“I want you, Elodie Lily Clarke. I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you. If you think that’s changed … it hasn’t. It won’t. I know I’ve hurt you, and I swear I never meant to.”

“You didn’t want me last night,” she whispers.

“Of course I did. I just … you said it would mean nothing. And it would’ve meant something … to me.”

Elle rolls her eyes. “I said that because, in my experience, you’re thelove ’em and leave ’emtype. Or thehave sex and then disappear for two yearstype, if you want to get specific. I thoughtnothingwas what you wanted to hear.”

“I didn’t have a choice about leaving,” I tell her softly.

“You had a choice about telling me you were leaving.”

I nod. “You’re right. I did. But if I’d told you I was leaving, if I’d said goodbye, I wouldn’t have been able to get into that car. And I thought you hating me would help you move on faster. It had nothing to do with me not caring. I swear, Elle. Believe that, if nothing else.”

She reaches for the hem of my T-shirt, twisting the gray cotton around one finger. “You can call me Lo again,” she says, her tone soft and almost shy.

“I’m getting whiplash from the nickname privileges.”

Elle’s nose wrinkles as she drops my shirt and shoves my chest. “Never mind.”

I grin. “See what I’m talking about?”

Her inhale is hasty as I take another step closer, near enough that our clothes brush together, but far enough that we’re not actually touching.

“Another thing? I didn’t think you wanted anyone to know about us. I thought you were embarrassed of me. That you liked having a dirty secret. That’s why I’ve avoided you since I’ve been back. I figured I’d done enough. Me staying away was for you, not because it was what I wanted.”

“Oh.” Elle reaches toward the yellow travel mug that’s sitting on the bumper of her car, fiddling with the handle. The steam rising from it smells like jasmine. “Oh,” she repeats, then sips some tea.

I smile at her sudden uncertainty. “We can talk more later, if you want. I just?—”

“No.” Elle sets the tea down, then links her hands behind the back of my neck. “Stop leaving me, okay?” She whispers the words like a secret.

I brush some hair out of her face, tucking it behind one ear carefully. “I’m right here, Lo.”

Then, she’s kissing me. I’m aware of the noise level rising around us for a few seconds before it all fades into the background. All that matters is the sensation of her lips moving against mine, the tease of her tongue against mine.

We make out until the first warning bell rings.

Elle smiles at me before reaching for her mug again.

“You’re a tea drinker?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes. “Sometimes. My mom hates coffee.”

“Why?”

“Long story. And it’ll make more sense once you meet her. I mean—” Her cheeks flush. “Not that you’ll meet her. I just?—”

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