Page 77 of The Perfect Love

She glances up at me. “Guess that means you’ll have to come over more often.”

I couldn’t hold back my smile if I wanted to. “Guess so.”

She starts the episode, and we watch for a few minutes. Then, she points to the screen.

“The meet cute.”

And it’s a dramatic one. Car teetering on the edge of the cliff.

She points at the police officer on the screen. “That’s Nathan. He is the ultimate love interest. Would sacrifice himself for Audrey. But we’ll get to that.”

I groan dramatically. “Great. More fictional men for me to live up to.”

She pauses the show and spins so she’s sitting on her knees next to me. “I thought I already told you, you’re living up to the expectation. The only difference is, you’re real. Which makes it even better.” She presses her lips to mine and my mind goes fuzzy. I let her take the lead, and she goes for it. Kissing me hard, teasing my lips with her tongue until I part for her, then owning my mouth. My body. Probably other parts I don’t want to think about right now.

Then she climbs onto my lap, and for a moment, I freeze.

We’ve been here before, and it didn’t go well for me.

Hands in the air, I pull back. “Chels…”

But unlike last time, where her eyes were wild with fear, this time they’re hazy. Her body is relaxed. And the smile on her face could kill me.

“Trev…”

My heart stutters in my chest. That’s the first time she’s called me that. I’ll happily let her call me anything she likes, but hearing her say the shortened version of my name is further proof of how much more comfortable she is around me now.

“Are you sure?” I whisper.

“I ran away from you once. I’m not doing it again. This is where I want to be. This is what I want to be doing.” She takes my face in her hands. “Let me kiss you.”

“I’m yours,” I breathe. And then her lips are on mine again. This time I wrap my hands around her back, playing with thestrands of her hair and letting her take the lead, giving in to every twist of her tongue, every playful flick, every nip at my lips.

Would saying I’m a goner for her be too dramatic? Because I am. So gone for her. Out in the deep end, lost in the waves. Lost in her.

She kisses me like she never wants to stop, and I hope it’s because she feels safe now. She knows I’ll always be her safe place. It’s clear she’s been through something difficult. Whatever it is broke her ability to trust. The fact that she’s letting me in at all means everything to me, and I’ll keep doing whatever I can to make her feel at ease and care for her. I don’t need labels or anything else. I just need her, and while she’s deciding what she’s ready for, I’ll still be taking care of her in any way she’ll let me.

11

Trust Fall

Chelsea

I think I’m fallingintrustwith Trevor Matteny.

I wasn’t expecting it to be so easy with him, and at first, that made my guard go up. I wondered if I was slipping back into old habits and trusting too easily, but then I realized I wasn’t just handing over my trust. He earned it.

And while I’m incredibly grateful he continues to be respectful, I can also sense him holding back.

Like right now, as we stand in the middle of my kitchen, kissing. We came in here to get hot cocoa, but then he smiled at me and ruffled his hair… and here we are.

But as usual, he’s being tentative about it. While I appreciate him being respectful, the more he shows me his vulnerability,the more he shows me the way he respects my boundaries, the more I know I’m safe with him.

So when his hands slide down my back until they’re almost brushing my ass, then he yanks them away, I groan and pull back in frustration.

“Sorry. Was that too much—”

“You have to stop doing that.” I put my hands on his shoulders and stare into his eyes.

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