Page 60 of The Chemistry of Us

She beamed. “I’d love that.”

I drove us over to a private part of the beach for elite residents only. I wasn’t even supposed to be there, but I wanted to make the day special for her. If I noticed one thing about Tru, it was how much she truly loved the ocean.

Tru

“Did you dress up for me?”He grabbed my hand to help me up onto the bed of his truck.

“What? This old thing?”

He laughed, pretty much catapulting me in front of him as if I weighed nothing. “You look beautiful.”

Before I could thank him, he effortlessly gripped the back of my neck and brought my lips to meet his without any hesitation whatsoever, like we’d been kissing our entire lives. Van could kiss.

His lips were passionate.

Tender.

I was under his spell, and there, under the sun, I didn’t want to leave this little bubble in which we’d suddenly found ourselves.

Pecking my lips one last time, he rested his forehead on mine. Looking deep into my eyes, he murmured out of nowhere, “I missed you.”

Those three little words caught us both by surprise.

My head couldn’t catch up to my feelings fast enough, and I blurted, “I missed you too.” Quickly, I swallowed the lump in my throat, pulling away from him. I needed a second to catch my breath and reel in my emotions that were getting the best of me.

When I turned back around, he was still sitting where I’d left him, completely consumed with me. It was one of those stares you’d see in a romantic movie and swoon over the rest of the night. There was no denying I was having a crazy effect on him too. I wanted to ask him what he felt. It was on the tip of my tongue, bursting to fly out.

I didn’t.

I held back.

Even though I didn’t want to.

Even though it felt wrong.

I simply changed the subject. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

“What? This old thing?” he teased in a flirty tone.

I smiled, sitting on the tailgate of the truck. “You got a drink in there for me?” I nodded toward the cooler.

“Of course.”

For the next thirty minutes, we just talked and hung out. It wasn’t weird or awkward. Again, it felt like we were old friends doing what we’d done for years. When he opened the picnic basket, he had a whole spread of foods.

“What are you thinking about over there?”

“Nothing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You know when you lie, your lip twitches a little.”

“Are you always this perceptive?” I taunted, bringing the attention back to him.

“I know what you’re doing. Just in case you don’t realize it, I’m aware that you’re trying to change the subject.” He flashedme one of the full-on smiles I had become familiar with. “Fully aware.”

I rolled my eyes, giving him my undivided attention. “Okay, buddy, new rule. This.” I pointed from him to me. “If it’s going to work, this perfect thing you got going on has got to be taken down a few notches.”

“Perfect thing?”

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