Page 33 of You Loved Me Once
I rub my fingers across his lips. “You say the sweetest things.”
“I say only what I mean.”
I love him. I love him more than I’ve ever known was possible. He makes me so damn happy, and I now understand why my mother does what she does for my father. I used to think they were crazy in their devotion to each other, but here I am.
Maybe it’s because he’s my first love, but I don’t think that’s the case.
I think it’s because Bryce is the other half of my soul.
“What would you do to keep me?” I ask playfully.
He looks away as he makes a humming sound. “Well, first, I’d have to kill any man who tried to take you away.”
“How could I ever love anyone else now that I’ve known what loving you is like?”
“Good answer, Chick.”
I groan at the stupid nickname. “Stop with that.”
“What? It’s cute. You’re like a little chick.”
Did I say I love him? Because right now I’d like to choke him. “I’m going to find something you hate and torture you with it.”
He laughs and then brings his lips to mine. “You could try.”
“I swear, you make me crazy.”
“In the best way.”
I wish I could deny it, but that would be a lie. We’ve been together for nearly two years now and each day just gets better. I never thought that a chance meeting my junior year would lead to me finding the only man I want to be with.
In my heart, I know there is no one else who will ever love me like Bryce does. There’s not another soul that could make me feel like the world is full of color and life. He will forever be the only person for me, and I know this.
It’s why I will do everything I can to hold onto him.
A love like this is worth fighting for.
“You know I love you,” I tell him as my fingers rub his chest.
“I do and I love you...until my last breath.”
I smile and then kiss him. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“Hey,” his voice is soft and comforting, “I won’t let you lose me.”
“Don’t you think we’re being naïve?”
“There is not another human on this planet who will ever love you the way that I do, Serenity. You’re all I want and all I need. If that makes us naïve, then I don’t want clarity. We love each other and one day, you’ll be my wife. You will be the mother of my children, and we’re going to make this work, no matter what it takes.”
“The idea of not having you...”
“It’s not a possibility.” And then his lips touch mine once more, sealing his promise with a kiss.
Chapter 10
“What the hell, Everton?” I ask as I look around the house I grew up in.
It’s absolutely disgusting. There are plates piled up, cigarette butts lying around in soda cans, and the floor has a layer of filth on it. In all the years we’ve had this home, it’s never looked like this. My mother would be rolling in her grave if she saw this.
