Page 61 of The Now in Forever
Maybe he doesn’t have room for guests.
Ed turns towards the sidewalk, his hand finding mine as we walk back toward the hotel. “I’m between places.”
I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. Ed always seems to share just a glimpse of what’s going on in his life, not the whole picture. But maybe I’m just being paranoid. Since my parents told me they’d been living a lie for years, and Chad was lying to me for months, I sometimes struggle with trust.
We fall into Ed’s room, a tangle of limbs and lips. Ed moves away, pulling his shirt off. “I’m all sweaty from the walk. I’m going to shower.”
I’m breathless. “Oh.”
“Wanna come?”
“More than you know.”
He laughs, and we strip like it’s a race thenliterallyrace to the shower. It’s a massive walk-in with an overhead rain showerhead. The water is cool and refreshing. I get my hair wet and push it back from my face.
Ed looks me up and down. He puts his mouth to my breast, cupping it around my nipple, already hard from the cold water. He flicks his tongue against it then bites a little, the sensation of his teeth on my sensitive skin making me cry out. He continues his descent, finding my more sensitive skin, flicking and sucking until my legs are shaking with pleasure. I call out his name as stars erupt in front of my eyes, my voice echoing against the tile.
Ed picks me up and carries me to the bed, laying me down gently. He grabs a condom but can’t open it with his wet hands. I take it from him, open it with my teeth, and roll it on the length of him, taking my time as his eyelids flutter.
I climb on top of him and slowly lower myself down, both of us crying out as, inch by inch, he fills me up. He grabs my hips, but I don’t want his help. This is my show now. I move them to my breasts, and he groans as I rock slowly, then faster and faster, until Ed is calling out my name and every muscle in his body goes tense.
We fall into a sweaty heap side by side on the bed, Ed stroking my hair. Our eyes connect.
Ed’s voice is raspy. “Whether it’s fate or not, I don’t know. But I’m glad I met you ten years ago, and I’m glad we’re here now. I wish now, right now, could last forever.”
CHAPTER 15
THURSDAY, JULY 4TH
The drive back to Fortune Falls is quick. Anh is feeling better and chatters on. She finished the Emily Henry book last night and has wanted to discuss it the whole way back.
“I forgot how good it feels to finish a book. You know? It’s like a vacation for your brain. I forgot how much I love that.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“I can’t believe I let myself go so long without reading.”
Ed shrugs while maneuvering around one of the many twists on the road. “You were just in a different season.”
“Season?”
“Yeah, like that old song, you know. ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ There’s a season for everything. It just wasn’t your time to read, and now it is again.”
“Hmm, maybe. What season are you in?”
Ed catches my eye in the rearview mirror and pauses a beat. My heart flutters. “Hopefully it’s a time to create, because I have a ton of deadlines fast approaching.”
My heart sinks a little bit. I was hoping he’d say a time for love. But that would be sappy—and completely insensitive to say to Anh who just broke up with her partner. Maybe he was saying it to me with his look.
“You two should make it a race. Competition always motivates me,” Anh says.
“A race?” I ask.
Anh turns around, her smile wide and devilish. “Yeah. The first to finish their book wins.”
“What do we win?” Ed says.
Anh shrugs. “I can’t think of everything.”
