Page 38 of Leave Before I Love You
And Avery Banks is the most perfect distraction.
January 11th
Avery
Firelight flickers on Henry’s face as he looks up at me. I can feel his hard cock against me where I straddle him begging for entrance, but tonight, I’m not in a rush. After three whole days of having him all over this godforsaken island, I’ve developed more patience.
As I pull back from kissing his eyelids, my stomach flips over with excitement, and my mind issues a correction.Not much patience—but a little.
“And this spot right here,” I say, kissing the peeling, sunburned tip of his nose. “It’s pretty cute too.”
He laughs. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Ten orgasms and a whole lot of foreplay since I first convinced him to take it all the way four nights ago, and I’m still greedier and greedier to have him again every hour of the day. I thought I’d be satiated pretty quickly—like I usually am with guys when I decide it’s time to drop and run. But I haven’t felt even the slightest hint of pressure to bolt.
At all.
At first, I chalked it up to being the literal only male and female in existence as far as we’re concerned, which, rationally, makes sense.We’re in a bubble, far-removed from reality, and I can’t expect my behaviors here to mirror the ones of my home life. But I’m starting to realize the more times we’retogether—or, hell, maybe it’s more admit than realize—there’s a hell of a lot more driving my comfortability with attachment than proximity.
Henry’s hot, funny, capable, and motherfucking banging in bed, and when it comes to options for how a girl could do in life, he’s pretty firmly at the top of the list. He’s patient, he’s kind, he looks at me like I’m more than some passing fancy or box to check.
He looks at me for who I am, but also for the potential of what I could be if I wanted to.
He looks at me like I’m so much more than some spoiled little rich girl.
I don’t know if he’s just passing the time with me or if he feels a growing tether like I do, but for the sake of self-preservation, I haven’t given myself more than a second at a time to consider it.
And I’m sure as hell not going to ruin how good I feel at the moment by giving it brain time now.
“Tell me something no one knows,” I challenge, leaning into the need to learn more about him. For years, I’ve set him aside as my brother’s hot friend, without setting aside space for anything more. I didn’t let myself wonder.
Tonight, all the barriers are down.
“Like a secret?”
I shrug. “It can be anything. A secret. A desire. A nasty habit. Whatever you want. Just something about you you’ve never told anyone.”
“Okay,” he says, humming thoughtfully. “Let me think about it for a minute. I don’t want to let you down with some bullshit like I never put the toilet seat down.”
“You don’t put the toilet seat down?” I wrinkle my nose. “What if I fall in?”
“Avery,” he says through a laugh, and I roll my eyes. Worrying about toilet seats when I’ve been forced to go in the woods withnothing but freaking leaves for toilet paper for the last eleven days is the height of ridiculousness. Still, old habits and high expectations die hard, and I’d rather not drown in toilet water when we do make it back to civilization.
That is, I guess…if we even see each other enough to share toilet seats?
The thought burns my chest as I swallow it down, ignoring it for now.
“Okay, okay,” I say instead. “Think about it, then.”
“I guess…I’ve always had a little thing for Ross and Monica’s mom onFriends. Like, maybe, if they were real, and I had an opportunity, I’d fight Jack for her.”
“Oh my God! What’s the male version of a cougar? A panther? A bobcat? Because that’s what you are, Henry Callahan. Creeping on all the old ladies! Tell me, seriously, are you on the prowl when you go out to the clubs at home? Looking for a senior citizen?”
“I’m not on the prowl for AARP members! But you said to make it weird!” he exclaims through a hearty laugh. “And I’m sorry, but Ross’s mom had this high-maintenance, the ultimate challenge, sex appeal about her.”
“Oh my God!” I shriek through a giggle and pretend to cover my ears. “I didn’t say make it weird, you freaking weirdo! I said to make itgood.”
