Page 72 of The Dating Dare

She loved that he was worried about her despite the ordeal she’d unintentionally put him through.

TARA:I fell asleep. It seems having a fight with you sucks away all my energy.

There was a short pause.

SETH:I’m so sorry, Tara.

TARA:You should be.

SETH:I am.

TARA:Good.

SETH:Will you forgive me?

Not wanting to put him through more unnecessary torment, she replied succinctly.

TARA:Yes.

There was another pause. A bit longer this time.

SETH:Thank God. You scared the shit out of me.

TARA:I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to hurt you.

SETH:That’s fine. I deserved it.

TARA:It’s not fine. I shouldn’t say things like that lightly.

SETH:I have to see you. Right now. I need to hold you.

She wrote her next message with her heart beating double time.

TARA:Leaving now.

She rose to her feet, picking up the purse she’d thrown on the ground, and rushed out of her room. She found one of her shoes at the start of the hallway and the other one by the front door. Slipping them on, she rushed to the driveway and hopped into her car.

An odd urgency filled her, and her foot grew heavy on the gas pedal. She couldn’t believe that they wasted precious time fighting.Not wanting to be pulled over—and to waste more time before she could see Seth—she constantly checked herself and slowed down, but she got to Aubrey’s house much sooner than the speed limits would’ve allowed.

As usual, the front door swung open before she even reached it. She didn’t know who jumped whom first, but they clung to each other without an inch of space between their bodies.

“Tara,” Seth sighed into her hair, embracing her even more tightly.

“I didn’t mean it.” She couldn’t breathe, but it didn’t matter. She was in his arms… she was home. “We’re worth fighting for. I want to be with you every minute we have left.”

“I believed you for a split second, but I couldn’t give you up that easily.” He inhaled deeply. “I know you care about me. Just as I care about you.”

“I do.” She pulled back far enough to caress his cheek. “I care about you, Seth. More than you know.”

Seth opened his mouth on the verge of saying something then closed it. Tara held her breath searching his face. What was she hoping for?

In the end, he just said, “Let’s go inside.”

He led her inside with his arm wrapped around her waist as if he couldn’t stand being apart from her. Without stopping, they walked to his bedroom and closed the door behind them. Seth glanced at her with a question in his eyes.

“Yes. I need you,” she answered.

He turned to her and held her face in his hands, and looked and looked at her as though he couldn’t get enough. He smoothed his thumbs over her lips, then leaned down to touch his lips on hers—feather-light and tentative. She kissed him back, letting him knowthey were okay. And they kissed like that—sweetly and tenderly—for as long as they could before passion swelled over them.

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