Page 67 of Touch the Sky
“You tease me a lot, huh?”
Her grin falters, her eyes flashing with a hint of concern. “Too much?”
“No. I like it.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. My pulse kicks up, thumping so loud it’s like a tiny bass drum in each of my ears.
Tess sets her glass down and comes to stand in front of me, squinting into my face.
“Do you need to sit down?”
“No.”
My voice echoes through the quiet room, sharp enough to make Tess take a step back.
“I…shouldn’t,” I add, forcing myself to speak softer.
What I really want to do is yell at her to stay back, to stay all the way on the other side of the room.
Hell, I want to order her to lock herself in her bedroom with me stuck on the other side.
Where I belong.
Where we both need me to stay.
Instead, she comes closer, staring into my face again like she’s about to whip out a flashlight and check if my pupils are dilated.
“You shouldn’t…sit down?” she asks.
She’s talking like I’m drunk, and I guess I deserve it. I can’t get a grip on myself, not with her so close.
She smells like campfire too. She smells like crisp leaves and balsam fir.
She smells like home.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
“I shouldn’t be here at all.”
She sucks in a breath, and it takes everything in me not to open my eyes.
“Why?” she asks.
She sounds different now. All the teasing has faded away. The moment is stripped raw, bare, like a tree without its bark. All that’s left is soft, pale wood that’s easy to scar.
“You know why.”
Her breath catches again. I hear the soft, wet sound of her swallowing.
My thighs twitch.
“Jacinthe.”
My eyes snap open like she’s commanding my body. She’s even closer now, dark bangs spilling into her face, green eyes glinting in the dim light.
“Tess.”
Her bottom lip drops open. My heart is slamming into my ribcage, cracking my bones as it fights to throw itself at her.
