Page 84 of Hush (Fighting Fate)
His expression sobered. “I’m sorry. It was just so chaotic, but it had to be that way. It had to look like I’d been killed.”
I swallowed against the lump that sprang to my throat then nodded. “Why did you take so long to come see me?”
I braced myself for his reply, waiting for the words that told me I just wasn’t important enough. God, he probably already had a girlfriend somewhere who’d been waiting for him all this time. Why didn’t I think of that before? I wanted to take the words back.
He looked at me sheepishly. Oh God! I was right. He looked down at his shoes as he scuffed them in the dirt.
“I…uh…I’ve been in rehab.”
It took a few seconds for his words to sink in. My confusion must have been etched across my face, because he pursed his lips together in an awkward kind of smile.
“You can’t infiltrate a drug gang for close to two years and not do drugs. It would look a little suspicious.”
Understanding finally dawned on me. He hadn’t been avoiding me. He’d been locked away in rehab. Relief made my heart so much lighter.
“Believe me,” he said. “I thought of you every day. You helped me get through it. I wanted to call you so many times, to hear your voice, but I wasn’t allowed.”
I smiled at his words. He’d wanted to talk to me! I felt so elated, I thought I would burst. “So, when did you get out?”
He pursed his lips again and looked his watch. “About one hour and forty minutes ago. If you hadn’t have been in school, I would’ve been here an hour and a half ago.”
I laughed and his eyes filled with that look that made my heart ache again. I didn’t understand what made him look so sad. “What’s wrong?” I asked softly.
He swallowed. “You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to know what your laugh sounded like. That’s the first time I’ve heard it, you know.”
My heart contracted a little further, realizing it was the truth. It was sad to think he’d only known me during the worst time in my life. I wanted to show him the real me, the one who’d been repressed the last eight years. The one who was carefree and laughed every day of her life.
“Kaeli, I know I’m probably way off base here, and I’m probably going to get my heart ripped out of my chest, but I have to ask.” He took a deep breath, his eyes searching mine. “Would you like to go out with me some time?”
I wanted to break out into a smile and jump up and down like an idiot who’d just won the lottery, but I forced myself to remain calm. With my heart soaring, I pressed my lips into a contemplative pout. “On one condition,” I said.
His eyes gleamed with hope, but his brow creased with confusion. “What’s that?”
“Kiss me,” I said.
I saw him suck in a ragged breath, relief, surprise and uncertainty written over his face. “Right now?” he asked.
I wasn’t smiling anymore. Anticipation was running riot through my veins. The thought of him kissing me made me crazy. “Right now.”
He stared at me, his eyes burning with desire. Slowly, he stepped closer and lifted his hand to touch my face, his thumb running softly over my cheekbone. Then he slid his other hand around my waist, slowly pulling me into him. My eyes fell closed as his lips came down on mine.
The memory of the softness and the warmth of his lips flooded into me. I melted in his arms, my hands finding their way around his waist, over the tight muscles of his lower back, and holding him against me. God! He felt incredible.
When I felt something smooth and hard run over my lip, I pulled back, searching.
“You got a tongue piercing?”
“Mmm hmm…”
Shit. Why did that excite me so much? I looked up at him with glazed eyes and he groaned. “The memory of your kisses was the only thing that kept me going over the last month.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Just my kisses?”
“Yeah, of course. What else would there be?” he said, a wicked glint in his eye.
I threw my head back and laughed.
He sighed. “You have no idea what the sound of your laugh does to me. I’m going to make it my mission to make you laugh as many times as I can, every day I’m with you.”
