Page 91 of Secondhand Smoke
This time, as they walked away from the others, he took her hand the first time it brushed against his.
Truth be told, these woods were creepy as hell.
Especially as they got further away from the lights and music and ruckus of their usual spot. But Nell hummed off-key under her breath, and he decided there were some perks to being alone in the woods with her.
It was hard to tell how far they walked, but he didn’t mind.
“I love it here,” Nell said, looking up at the sky.
“Gives me the creeps.”
She chuckled and glanced sideways at him. “Really? It’s so peaceful. You know, I usually go into the woods outside my house, just to get away. I’d kill for it to be this quiet.”
“Aren’t you scared that some axe murderer might pop out or something?”
She shrugged. “Not right now. I’m not scared when you’re here.”
He stopped walking.
He could look one way and see total darkness, the other way a drop-off followed by stars.
But he only saw her, as dark as it was, barely able to see much more than a silhouette, and yet he just knew what she looked like. He’d stared at her so much that her face must be etched permanently into his brain.
And thanks to his muddied mind, he couldn’t think about much else.
“I like you,” he blurted. “Like, a lot. I never did get over that crush I mentioned, and seriously, you seem way too good for me. But I’m drunk right now and, god, I would love to kiss you again.”
He was met with silence. In the darkness, only his mind could conjure what he feared was rejection until her fingers tightened around his.
He leaned in closer, hoping to be able to make out a smile or a blush or anything. “Please let me kiss you,” he said.
He startled as a warm hand rested against his chest. It sat there for a moment before it moved—upwards, over his jacket, searching its way in the dark to his neck, up his jaw, then his cheek. Barrett closed his eyes, savoring the way it glided, imagining how it looked, and leaning into her soft palm.
A finger swept over his bottom lip—she’d found her way.
When Barrett breathed in again, it was all her.
No fantasy lived up to the reality.
The darkness heightened everything. Every move of their mouths rocked through him, sending chills over his entire body and blood to his core. He couldn’t get close enough.
He let go of her hand in favor of her waist to pull her closer. She let out a soft sound that vibrated against his mouth, and the world went dizzy. The stars in the sky and in his head spun.
The thoughts that went with them would make her blush. But maybe he wanted to make her blush.
Maybe he wanted to figure out ways to hear that sound over and over again.
Maybe he was already addicted to the way her thumb rubbed at his nape.
Maybe, just maybe, he’d been addicted long ago.
She whispered his name, and he pushed against her.
He had no idea his name could taste like that. He wanted to taste it again.
Taking a step forward, he forced her back until her back hit a tree. The bark dug into one palm as he held himself up while the other pinched at the denim on her hip.
There it was again, his name.
