Page 80 of Sparks
“Harlow,” he said.
I went to him and his arms went around my shoulders, mine around his back, and we held each other. I felt him rest his chin on my head. We’d never hugged before. It felt perfect in that moment. I didn’t want to let him go.
“Did Beth tell you I was looking for you?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there yet.”
“I take it she told you what happened?”
I nodded against his chest. Neither one of us was letting go. It was as if our pain had latched and was deriving comfort from the other’s understanding.
“I filed for divorce.” He sounded gutted.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
“No.” He gave a dry chuckle. “Are you?”
“No.” I chuckled too, and it turned to a hiccup, then a small moan. I held him tighter, pressing my face to him. “He didn’t choose me.”
“He’s an idiot.”
“So is Jacquie,” I whispered.
He rubbed my back. I wondered when it would start to feel awkward, but he seemed content to hold me like this and I needed it too.
“I’ve been staying in the crew room while I looked for a place here. I’m going to sign a lease tomorrow.”
I looked up at him for the first time and felt a smile on my lips. “That’s great, Silas.” His eyes were warm as he peered down at me. The thought of him living here was awesome. He could hang out with us now like real friends. I felt myself smile bigger and watched as his face made a sort of transformation. He went from having a small smile that matched mine to dropping the smile completely and staring hard at my mouth.
Heartbeat.
Another heartbeat.
I stopped smiling.
My eyes dropped to his mouth as his lips moved to form words.
“Maybe I can fix things at your apartment.”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “Fix things. It’s good.”
“Good. Yeah.”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
Wait, what were we talking about? We both went silent and still, like a rubber band stretched to its max.
Heartbeat.
And then it was released.
Silas’s mouth came down hard on mine. Our arms clung, pulling each other and holding on tight as if we were caught in a storm and were afraid to be ripped apart. In one swift move he turned us so that we were in the shower stall with the curtain yanked closed, and we were kissing like a couple of crazed fiends. My hands were all over his head, his neck, his shoulders, pulling at him like I could climb him. His mouth devoured mine in a controlled frenzy of power. One hand was behind my lower back, yanking me forward and upward. Within seconds I felt him harden against my stomach. I reached down and rubbed him through his pants. I had zero thoughts in my head—I was running purely on physical sensation and need.
Somehow we were doing all of this with almost no sound.
Silas never stopped kissing me as he reached over and turned on the shower for noise, then turned me around, flattening me against the wall as he kissed down the side of my neck and his hand grasped at my hip.
“Harlow,” he whispered in my ear.
