Page 3 of Becoming Us
This. This was why we made the damn rules.
When I opened my eyes, I found him staring.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Atty.”
He shook his head, his expression turning serious. “I thought you were done keeping things to yourself.”
Well, shit. He got me there.
“I’m having a hard time keeping my distance,” I admitted.
His face softened first.
“I was just thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you.”
Then his shoulders eased, tension slipping away bit by bit.
“What did you think it was?”
He hesitated a second too long before saying, “I’m working on trusting you again, Noah, but when you look like that, I get bad flashbacks. I guess I was worried you were struggling with something else.”
That hit harder than I expected.
Tentatively, I reached for his hand, brushing my fingers lightly against his. “I haven’t struggled with strong cravings for a while, Atty. I know I can only show you that with time, but I’ll still say it every time you need to hear it.” I gave his hand a gentle pat and started to pull away.
But before I could, he closed his fingers around my wrist. He held my gaze as he loosened his grip just enough to slip his hand back into mine, lacing our fingers together.
“Thanks.” Then, after a beat, “And you’re allowed to kiss me when you want to.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “Can I?” I brushed my thumb over his.
“We’re trying,” he said simply.
But I knew what he meant. We were rebuilding this.Us. I needed to stop fearing his reactions.
I pushed off from my seat and moved to the one beside him, never letting go of his hand. Once I was close enough, I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
Then, unexpectedly, Atty’s hand slid to my neck, holding me there just long enough to press his lips to mine. A barely there kiss. Soft and brief, but enough to set off a frenzy of butterflies in my stomach.
“I thought you weren’t a fan of PDAs,” I said as we pulled back.
Atty arched a brow, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Noah,youwere the one who broke those walls.”
My lips twitched. “That was a while ago. I thought you weren’t comfortable with people knowing your business.” I gave the room a pointed glance.
He frowned, then seemed to catch my meaning. “You mean about my sexuality?”
I nodded.
“I don’t mind at all, Noah. That part of me is pretty out in the open. I don’t apologize for it.”
Something about the way he said it made my heart soar. I had never seen him this confident before—and fuck, it made him even more attractive.
“Sorry, I forget you’re not a kid right out of high school anymore.”
Atty stopped and stared at me the way he always did right before saying something that either made me rethink my entire existence or knocked me flat with sweetness. Sometimes, it was both.
