Page 101 of Manhattan Tormentor
C H A P T E R 29
Finn
There is no denying the serious chemistry between us.
My dark heart speeds up as I exit my class to find Sage sitting on a wall outside waiting for me. There’s two coffees at his side while he has his head bent over his notebook. Frantically scribbling, as always.
I watch him for a second and the realization sinks in how much he’s mine.
He’smine.
His lips, his arms, his insane body, his laugh and smile, all mine.
I’ll get his heart too.
Losing hasn’t ever been an option, but this feels like the biggest challenge of all. Getting Sage to fall in love with me too.
It might have taken me a while to accept my feelings, but I’m here now and I’m all in.
He doesn’t see me at first. The nerd lives in his own world, and I’m lucky he lets me inside too. That too is a new feeling, to not be the sole focus of someone’s life. He doesn’t fawn and chase, and I really fucking want him to fawn over me, if only a little.
Hey, you with the blond hair falling in your eyes, yeah, I’m talking to you. You don’t know it yet, but you’re becoming everything to me. And I’m going to love away all the bad history between us until nothing exists but this chemistry we have.
I hear the words in my head. Vowing to stand by them.
Emitting a shrill whistle through my teeth, finally his head raises, and he sees me. His half-smile almost takes me out as I stride forward. He stands and offers me a coffee. “I got finished early,” he says, looking at my mouth.
He wants to kiss me and I know he’s holding back, following my lead.
I’ve never hesitated kissing anyone in public before. I’d be a liar if I said I don’t think about it for a second, I drop my head and brush our lips.
“Hey.”
“Brave.” He grins with pride in his eyes.
I’ve made him proud by putting my mouth on his. It feels like a bigger accomplishment than anything else I’ve ever had.
“You got time to sit?”
He checks the silver watch on his wrist before closing up his notebook and slipping it into his messenger bag. “Yeah, next class isn’t for forty minutes. You’re done for the day, right?”
He memorized my schedule last night.
We sit side by side. His thigh pressed to mine as students file out of the building behind us.
“Yeah, I need to work on my lenses for my next class.” I’ve favored the macro lens, my professor wants me to branch out and try the telephoto lens with a variety of images. Knowing I’m working as hard as I am at NYU, doing something I love, means I made the right decision in going against my father’s directions.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Sage says and fishes out a packaged sub sandwich from his bag, “got this for you too.”
“You’re feeding me, Fierro?” My grin grows and I bump his shoulder. There’s something about him that puts me at ease. A year ago I would have freaked out about physically touching a guy in an affectionate way. I’ve patted enough asses on the football field and was fine with that. Our shoulder touch is nothing, but it feels like a big deal. I’m not sure if people watch us, but I don’t care. “I really want to kiss you,” I share.
“I know.”
“Yeah, how do you know?”
Sage smirks and takes a sip from his coffee cup. “Because your eyes are swallowing up my mouth.”
He licks it like a tramp and I groan, ready to lean in and take the kiss I want when I hear, “Yo, Mav.”
