Page 15 of Just Like This
I didn’t want to seem overly eager or excited to be alone with him again, so I paused a moment before I replied. “Sure. Thank you.”
Garrett smiled, and Palmer handed him the keys to his car. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes.” I walked over to Palmer and hugged him tightly before planting a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for inviting me tonight. Even if it was kind of a disaster.”
“I’ll text you,” Palmer murmured as he gave me a tight smile.
I followed Garrett out to the driveway, and he helped me into the car, holding the door open for me and then waiting until I was settled in my seat before closing it. The tension in the car seemed to press in from every angle as Garrett drove to my house without a word. The only breaks in the silence were my quiet directions. When he pulled into the driveway, Garrett exhaled loudly as he shifted the car into park.
“Thank you,” I said as I reached for the door handle. My fingers were sweaty and trembling as I fumbled with the latch.
“Wait.” The urgency in his voice stopped me, and I turned back toward him with expectant eyes. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
We both exited the car, and the tension followed as we walked slowly to the front door. We were like two teenagers awkwardly fumbling through the end of a first date.
Nervously, I searched through my purse, looking for my keys. Once I grasped them in my hand, I turned back to say good night to Garrett only to realize that he was closer than I had expected. He exhaled, and I felt his warm breath flutter against my skin.
“Cami,” he whispered. I looked up to see that his eyes were searching for something before they landed on my lips.
“Yes?”
Garrett placed a hand on the curve of my hip and lowered his head. “I want to kiss you so badly, but I don’t want to scare you away.”
I closed my eyes and tried to calm my shaking legs and quivering belly. Breathlessly, I said, “I want that too.”
“Christ,” he groaned. The primal tone of his voice told me that he wanted to devour me. I craved to be consumed by him so badly it almost hurt. Instead, he backed away. “I can wait. I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for something like this, for someone like you. What’s a little longer?”
I growled in frustration because the kiss on the beach was nothing more than a tease. I wanted the real thing.
“Just a taste, though,” he murmured before leaning in to place a light, sweet kiss on my cheek so close to the corner of my lips that I was tempted to turn my head. His hands held firmly to my hips as he lingered, drawing out the kiss before he finally ended it. “I’ll see you Saturday.”
