Page 31 of The Lie
He moves the lounger, and my eyes fly open as I grip the edges, worried I’m going to tip over.
“I won’t let you fall. Ever. You can trust me, Mila.”
I reach out slowly to his face. He watches my hand but doesn’t move away, so I push his hair behind his head. “You need a haircut,” I tease, thinking back to that day, of our first kiss.And I can see he remembers too.
His eyes grow darker as he looks out over at Hunter, who is messing around with a speaker to get some tunes going. “I don’t want to.”
Roman’s deep voice goes straight to my core. I feel hot and needy. My breathing picks up, and I watch as his eyes lower to my chest as it rises and falls faster.
“Why not?” I whisper, leaning as close as I can to him. He’s right there. I could move only a few more inches and my lips would be pressed against his.
“Because you won’t push it away anymore.”
Our eyes lock, and I can see he’s struggling too. I know he doesn’t like to be touched but holding back is killing me. I want to touch his lips and kiss him. Hold him close and feel his hard body against mine. God, I want him to be mine. Always.
He’s conflicted, but he said he would give us this one last day.Kiss me. Kiss me again, Roman. I lick my lips, my eyes never leaving his as I will him to make the first move.
I reach out to his face, wanting to show him I want this. But his wet hand comes up and grabs my wrist, his eyes still on me, intense and burning though me. His other hand comes over and caresses my face; it’s wet and I feel the droplets on my borrowed tee soaking through. He doesn’t let go of my wrist. Instead, he tightens his grip a little more in a warning before letting it go.
I understand. No touching.
His thumb brushes over my lower lip and my tongue darts out to lick it. He groans. His eyes glaze over as he moves in, and my heart starts to race as I close my eyes.
“Mila June Hart, get out of that pool at once.”
At the sound of my dad’s voice, my eyes fly open, and Roman moves away. The lounger rocks as I try hold on, but I’m so startled that I flip it, and the next thing I hear and see is the water around me and the chlorine in my eyes. I hold my breath, but it’s too late—I already got a mouthful of pool water.
The oversized tee is heavy in the water as I try to right myself. Four arms grab at me and lift me above the water, and I cough and splutter as I try to wipe the strands of hair from my face.
My dad and Kate are standing on the side of the pool, and Asher’s on the other side, laughing his ass off. I glare at him as I try to hide that I swallowed some of the pool water. I hope Hunter doesn’t do anything but swim in here.
“What are you doing here?” I ask my dad.
The boys place me on the tiles, and I cough again as Hunter pats my back.
“Hunter told us you were here, and we got you a surprise so I thought we would come surprise you here. I didn’t expect you to be in the pool with a cast on, though.”
“I was on the lounger, and I have this bag on just in case. I was fine until you startled me.”
And Roman…Dad came and ruined that moment for the both of us. Nothing says cool down like your father using your full name as he scolds you for being in a pool.
Dad hands me a towel, and Kate helps me stand, rubbing my hair and arms. I need to lose the t-shirt, but that would be a little awkward with Dad and Kate…and Asher.
We’ve finally come to an understanding I think. It’s been better—not so sexually charged between us anymore. There’s a good chance our parents will marry, and then it would be weird. Or awkward if we didn’t work out.
“Let’s get you changed, hey?” Kate asks as she wraps another towel around my shoulders.
Nodding, I grab my shorts and tee from where I left them. Hunter leads us inside his house to a bathroom where Kate closes the door and smiles down at me.
“I think your dad might have ruined a moment?” She arches her brow.
“Did Madison tell you?” I ask with a giggle, and she nods. “And you don’t think it’s wrong?”
“Not at all. If I had two handsome guys wanting to date me when I was your age, I would have in a heartbeat. You only live once—take all the chances and live without regret.”
It’s the best advice, and I plan to follow it.
I’m going to take chances and live without regret.
