Page 56 of Buried Roots

He hesitates, giving me the side-eye before he says, “You have to bring your spaghetti. It’s next level.”

“Deal.”

We decide we don’t want to miss the stars by the lake, so after doing the dinner dishes together, we head out to our spot with cinnamon whiskey and blankets. Dare I say it’s becoming “our thing”?

After sitting and taking a shot, the warmth spreads through me, and there’s something magical about these moments. Right here, by the lake, with Owen by my side.

On the blanket, I lean back, getting a full view of the night sky, still cloudy but with a few stars peeking through.

A bright light leaves a trail through the darkness, and I gasp before saying, “Was that a shooting star?”

“I think so. Better make a wish.”

“I wish this didn’t have to end.” The words escape my lips before I can stop them.

Owen’s arms wrap around me, and I’ll never stop loving his smell. “It doesn’t.”

With a breath, I put my head on his chest. “So, what? We just do long distance? Hope that love conquers all?”

“I happen to believe that love does conquer all, actually,” he says.

With my head on him, I feel the vibration of his words. “Really?”

“Sure. My parents loved each other so much, and they were a good balance. My dad was a risk taker, goofy, and you know my mom, the opposite. Quiet. Contemplative. A big thinker with a heart that never stops. Anyway, they just worked. Like us.”

I sit up and turn to meet his gaze. “We do work, don’t we?” Maybe he’s right. Maybe the simmering night air will carry our wish on its featherlight breeze... and make it come true. Just maybe.

His hand moves to my cheek, and he rests his forehead against mine. Then our lips are touching. Then it’s our mouths, and our tongues, everything moving lightning fast, like we need to fast track it back to where we left off.

His fingers trail up my arms, the electricity making me tremble. Suddenly, the stars seem brighter. The lightning bugs flicker their magic, and time stops for just a moment.

All that matters is Owen’s kiss.

I’m not sure how we found something so beautiful, but we did, and that makes us so lucky. Even if it can’t last.

His warmth radiates through me as he rolls on top of me, and I love feeling the weight of his body pressed against me. His fingers trace under my shirt and up my stomach before finding their way around to my back. I arch into him, feeling every inch of his body against mine.

Then, in a flash, both our shirts vanish. We don’t speak words, but we don’t need to.

Our touches are feverish and desperate, like we don’t have tomorrow, because maybe we don’t.

My hands run along his chest, tracing the contours of his muscles. His mouth desperately moves across mine as his fingers trace circles on my stomach. Each moment becoming more frantic with his jagged breath against my neck, our bodies touching skin on skin. Running his hands up my back, Owen tries to unlatch my bra. After he fumbles for a bit, I pull away and smile when I say, “Let me help you there.”

“That would be great.”

With a flick of my wrist, it falls to the ground.

He pushes my jeans down until I kick them off, then I lie naked under him, and his eyes roam my body. “You’re perfect.”

When he takes my nipple into his mouth, goose bumps erupt all over my skin. He moves his soft lips to my ear and nips at my lobe, sucking my breath away. He shakes his head. “I’m not going to stop this time.”

“Don’t.”

After his jeans are off, Owen hovers over me, his hardness, his muscles, all of him, looking magnificent. Almost like a warrior as his skin reflects in the moonlight, and the growing ache for him becomes unbearable.

But he stays there, taunting me, so I sit up, my lips crashing into his. He lies down as I climb onto him, taking charge as I straddle him. My hips moving over him, he pulls me closer, and I arch my back and thread my hands into his hair.

His lips trail a path down my neck, heating my skin with every touch. He flips me back around before lowering himself onto me. I let out a moan as his hardness presses into my leg, then I tug him tighter as I need to feel every solid inch of him.

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