Page 14 of Run to Me
“You sure you don’t want to head back or leave?”
“We aren’t going to let them ruin our trip, remember? And we can go after we see the lake.”
He knows this is how he can get me to go in the water, and he’s not one to miss an opportunity. Not when it’s being handed to him on a silver platter.
“Okay, lead the way.”
Smiling softly, he’s already looking more like his usual happy-go-lucky self. People keep trying to take that from him but I won’t let them. Fingers wrapped tightly around my hand, he drags me to the lake. The water is black, with a golden hue reflecting back from a large lamp standing tall over the dock.
Stepping closer to the edge, he shimmies out of his shirt and jumps, disappearing into the lake for way longer than I’m comfortable with. Then bubbles rise to the top, followed by a wet, smiling Nate. This is the him I love seeing—free, and likehe’s standing on top of the world. Ready to be there with him, I kick off my flip flops, lower myself on the deck, and dip my feet in.
“Come closer,” he says, swimming back a little.
“You know I can’t swim for shit.”
“Hold on to the deck when you get in.”
“What about when I can’t?”
“Then hold on to me.” His shiny lips part and before I know it, I’m dunking my whole lower half in, keeping my hand on the withering wood. Cold water stabs at my skin and the darkness surrounding my waist has my heart jumping in my throat.
“I’m right here. Look at me,” Nate says quietly, swimming closer. As if waiting for the perfect moment, fireflies loop around us, lighting up Nate’s face. Leave it to light to follow him everywhere he goes, and as long as he’s here, I’ll always have enough of it to help me find my way out of dark places.
He reaches out his hands and I take one at a time, slowly peeling myself off the dock. I grab on tighter when I start to sink and he laughs, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Better?” His lips are so close I can smell his cherry chapstick. It takes everything in me not to stick my tongue out for a quick taste.
“Yeah.” I looked out for him earlier and he’s paying me back by doing the same. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I seem to have a knack for attracting all the jerks, huh? I told him he could kiss me and then he decided to take things too far. It’s stupid of me to think any of these guys would be willing to go at my pace and care about my needs as much as their own.”
“Nah, you’re not the stupid one. They are. They’re the ones who miss out in the end. Just because they aren’t what you need them to be, doesn’t mean you won’t find someone who is.”
“Yeah, and maybe I already have. I just keep looking in the wrong place.”
I freeze when he swipes a thumb over my bottom lip. “You’d always stop if I needed to. Put me first and consider my feelings. You’d make sure everything was good for me too. Wouldn’t you?”
“I . . .” I stumble on my words, nodding solemnly. “Of course.”
“Then you should have been the one to do it.”
“Do what?” My breaths quicken, my chest expanding.
“Give me the best first kiss I’ve always dreamed of. You still can. I’ll pretend you were the only one I’ve ever let try.”
Before I can open my mouth to speak again, he presses his lips to mine, his warm tongue slowly pushing its way into my mouth. I slide a hand into his hair, intensifying the kiss, and he leans into me, sweeping in faster and deeper than before. We could be sinking and I’d never notice, my heart soaring above the water enough for the rest of me. We both pull away, gasping for air, and he presses his nose to mine, smiling. “Thanks for always being what I need, whenever I need it.”
Does this mean he only needs me in this way right now? Will this be the last time I’ll feel his lips on mine? Experience the taste of him lingering on my tongue? Will he eventually find someone who gives him more than I can? So many questions swim in my head, leaving me nauseated. Maybe it’s better I don’t know the answers. If I avoid them for as long as possible, I can pretend he’s finally mine for a little longer.
Deciding it’s better to say nothing, I rest my head against his, running a hand down his back. He rubs his lips over mine, breathing in deeply, until loud voices in the distance have me jerking away.
“We uh . . . should head back now.” If we keep going I’ll get too used to this, and I can’t let that happen or else I’ll want his mouth all the time, and eventually more.
“But I like it out here.” He pouts, holding me in place.
“I don’t think we’re going to be alone for much longer, and if we do plan on heading back home tonight, we should leave before it gets too late.”
“Then we’ll stay, and leave first thing in the morning.” He rubs his nose over mine. “Will you stay in here with me a little longer?”
I hesitate, and when he tugs me closer to his body, I sigh in defeat. He really does feel too good to pull away from a second time. “If you don’t leave the water, then neither will I.”
