Page 11 of The Wounded Mountain Man

I give his belt buckle a rough yank. "If I were you, I'd reserve judgment on that until…"

Our eyes meet. I lift a brow. Seductively.I hope. He's not running away, so I think I might be pulling it off, but then his lips straighten into a thin line, and he says flatly, "No."

"No?"

"First, we should talk."

I tap his belt buckle a couple of times in a last-ditch effort to keep the train to Blowjobsville on track before I lose my remaining nerve completely, possibly forever. He gently lifts my hand off him and steers me toward the bed.

"Okay, fine. Let's talk," I say, sitting down, trying not to sound too dejected.

It takes him a little longer to ease down and get settled. He folds one leg on the bed, keeps the other straight, and turns to me, staring into my eyes for a few long beats.

"What is it?" I ask self-consciously.

Don't tell me I've totally misread everything and completely messed things up. My heart is in my throat when he finally answers. "Nothing. I'm just getting used to the fact that I've kissed you."

"Was it…okay?"

"I wouldn't say okay."

"You wouldn't?"

He leans in, smiling. "I'd say more like the kiss I've been waiting my whole life for."

"Oh, thank fuck." A wave of relief washes over me. "I was worried there for a moment."

"You have nothing to worry about." He plays with a loose thread on my bedspread. "I've never seen this side of you."

"Neither have I."

He cocks his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not usually like this. Or, ever, really." I look into his eyes. "It's you, Wade. You've always made me feel seen. You're the only person who chose to be friends with me and not my brothers when we were younger. You've always accepted me and all my idiosyncrasies. You make me feel it's okay to be, well, me."

He breathes in sharply, and a muscle in his jaw pulses. "If all that's true, then why did you knock me back at graduation?"

"I didn't mean to. It came out wrong."

"Saying 'we shouldn't' is pretty clear, Logan."

"I got cut off," I explain. "I meant to say we shouldn't kiss there, in front of everyone. I did want to kiss you, but I wanted the moment to be…special."

"Seriously?"

I nod, biting into my lip. "Seriously."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you?"

"Clearly because I'm a grade-A idiot."

"I whole-heartedly agree with that assessment."

That breaks some of the tension that's built up in the room. He throws his head back and says, "Fuuuuuuck. All this time."

"All this time, what?"

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