Page 417 of The First Time
He's twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten. One hand is in the pocket of his jeans. The other is holding a bouquet of red roses. His long-sleeved t-shirt is hanging off his shoulders just so. The guy has aloof down to an art. I'll give him that much.
He's awfully good at driving me crazy. I'll give him that too.
He motions to the bouquet. "These are supposed to be for your sister. She helped me organize this."
"She would."
Blake drops the flowers on the ground. "Kat." He runs his hand through his hair. His cheeks turn pink.
Blake Sterling is nervous.
It's adorable.
"Did you mean what you said about Paris?" he asks.
"Yeah." My stomach flip-flops. That must mean… He… I… We… Deep breath. I can't get too excited. Not when he could crush me.
He takes my hands and rubs his thumb against my fingers. His eyes find mine. "I love you, Kat Wilder. I am, as you said, madly in love with you."
My knees go weak, but I manage to hold my ground.
"I think about you constantly. It hurts when you're not around. Something is missing. At first, it confused me. And I don't confuse easily." He squeezes my hands. "I tried working harder, but that didn't help. I couldn't stop thinking about you."
A petal lands on his hair. I brush it off and run my fingers through his hair.
His lips curl into a smile.
It still makes me melt.
It's still everything.
"I tried to deny it. That possibility of never seeing you again cut me some place I've never hurt before. That would have been the worst mistake of my life." He slides his hand around my waist. "I love you."
I hook my arms around his shoulders. Something to help me stay upright. Blake loves me. Blake loves me. Blake loves me.
I'm the luckiest girl in the whole fucking world.
"I love you, too," I say.
His lips find mine.
It's as hot as any of our other kisses, but there's more to it than heat. All his love is pouring into me. All my love is pouring into him.
He's mine.
And I'm his.
And it's perfect.
"Now, how about Paris?" he asks.
"A promise is a promise."
I squeal as he pulls me into his arms. It's just us in the park now. Lizzy is nowhere to be seen. Back at home already.
The park is ours.
The world is ours.
