Page 35 of Shared By my Ex's Best Friends
I shake my head, offer a crooked smile. “Nothing. Just… taking it in.”
She huffs a soft laugh, and it’s like wind chimes in a breeze. “It’s a mess right now.”
“Yeah,” I say. “But a beautiful one.
She opens her mouth—maybe to say something snarky, maybe to call me out—but she never gets the chance.
A fat raindrop hits the back of my neck.
Then another.
Then all hell breaks loose.
“Oh, come on,” Maya groans as the sky cracks open, rain pouring down in sheets.
“Gazebo!” I shout, grabbing her hand before she can protest.
We run, sprinting across the lawn as the storm soaks us instantly. Her laughter bubbles up beside me. We make it to thegazebo in seconds, ducking beneath the wooden roof as the rain hammers all around us.
Maya pushes her wet hair out of her face, cheeks flushed, chest rising and falling like she’s run a mile. “Well. So much for clear skies.”
“You okay?” I ask, brushing a drip of water from her cheek with my thumb.
She nods, but she doesn’t look away.
Neither do I.
There’s something about the sound of the rain—how it walls us in, how it quiets the rest of the world. My heart’s pounding, and I don’t know if it’s from the run or from the way she’s looking at me.
“Jake,” she whispers, like a warning.
Or maybe a plea.
Her words are barely audible over the downpour, but it hits me harder than thunder.
I take a step toward her. She doesn’t move—doesn’t back away, doesn’t break eye contact. Water beads on her eyelashes. Her lips are parted, inviting. Tempting.
Too tempting.
“Tell me not to,” I say, my voice low and rough, thick with everything I’ve been holding back.
She swallows hard, blinking like she’s trying to force herself to speak—but the words never come.
“I can’t.” We both know this changes everything. But neither of us pulls back.
That’s all I need.
I close the last inches between us, my hands rising to cradle her face. Her skin is cool from the rain, but her mouth—God, her mouth—is warm as I finally kiss her.
It isn’t soft.
It’s not sweet.
It’s hard and demanding and hungry.
She responds instantly—her hands fist in my shirt, dragging me closer like she’s starving. Her lips move against mine with an urgency that steals my breath, and I match it with all the restraint I don’t have.
The kiss deepens, our mouths clashing like we’ve both had this fantasy burning in the back of our minds and neither of us is willing to let it go.
