Page 66 of His Last Shot
He sits, and I scoot closer, feeling the warmth of his body beside me as he settles in. “I can’t help it,” he lifts me onto his lap. “I feel like a high schooler when I’m with you.”
His palm lands on my knee as I snake my hand behind his head. Running my fingers through his hair, I tug his head toward mine, and he kisses me like he always does. Gentle, yet with a possessive firmness that I love.
We break apart, and a soft smile tilts his lips. We stare at each other for a few seconds, my pulse pitter-pattering the way it always does when I’m this close to him.
His thumb brushes my cheek. “Having fun?” he asks softly against the summer breeze.
“The best time. Thank you for this. It was nice having everyone together, getting to know each other.”
He smiles, peering out over the front yard as he rubs small circles over my thigh and boisterous laughter rings out from the backyard. He turns his attention back to me, a subtle shift in his posture indicating a change in focus. “Rachel, there is something that I need to say to you. Something I have been wanting to express since that first night in the truck.”
Our eyes lock, an almost unbearable intensity passing between us. My heart pounds in my chest as I wait, his confession hanging in the air.
“I love you,” he chokes out, emotion catching and seizing.
I gape at him as my heart fills to the brim with those three syllables. The lump in my throat tightens, threatening to burst into sobs as he continues. “I love you fiercely, and more than I ever thought I could love anyone.” He rests his hand on my chest. I cover it with mine. “I love your perfect heart and the strength it gives you. I love your soul and how you make everyone that is around you happy. I just love”—his eyes brim with tears—“everything.”
So this is it. This is love. This is the feeling they write songs over and make movies about. It’s what has brought down empires and shaken up the world.
And it’s ours.
We own it. Our love belongs to us. And no one can take it away.
Taking his face into my hands, his skin butter soft as I utter the three easiest words I have said to anyone.
Ever.
Because let’s face it, I have been feeling this for a lot longer than I would like to admit.
“I love you too.”
He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to him as our lips meet again.
This isthekiss. The one that seals our feelings together after our confession. The one that tells the other, ‘Yeah, I feel it too.’ The one that has a future after it. The one that means more than the ones before it.
The one after the ‘I love you.’
“So gross!” Jake’s sudden appearance and words startle us apart. “They are kissing again!” he hollers to the backyard.
We can’t help but laugh, and I’m pretty sure my cheeks are turning every shade of pink after being busted by a teenager … making outlike a teenager. Johnny clears his throat as his hand finds my thigh again. “What’s up, Jake?”
“Before mom left for work, she told me to take pictures of everyone, so that’s what I’m doing.” He steps up onto the porch, holding up his phone. “She’ll be mad if I don’t get you guys.”
I lean my head on Johnny’s shoulder, and both of his hands rest on my legs.
“Okay. Now smile!”
We smile.
Jake snaps.
My life is complete.
20
Nothing We Can Do in Public
Johnny
