Page 26 of Petal

I whip around, and my knees buckle as familiar eyes gaze at me from the darkness.

“Kai…”

13

KAI

Just seeingCallie’s slender silhouette in the shadows makes me dizzy with anticipation—like I’m seeing a miracle, something that will disappear if I try to touch her.

But when I do, softly silencing her and pressing her against my chest, my body responds with the familiar warmth that saturates me entirely.

I let go of her.

She whips around, wide-eyed.

“Kai…” she whispers.

And before I can say a word, she flings herself at me, her arms wrapping around my neck. I catch her, sliding my hands around her front and to her butt, picking her up, her legs wrapping around my hips.

And I hold my breath.

I hold my fucking breath and squeeze my eyes shut. Because for the first time in a long while, since the deaths of the people I love, I feel like I might collapse. Not from weakness—with Callie, I feel stronger than ever—but from the dizziness of the emotions that wash over me like a giant tsunami. Making my mind go blank. Leaving just this—the feelings that spill over and start drowning me.

I’ve held Callie in my arms many times by now.

Four years ago—with precaution.

After a boat crash—without knowing.

When she got drunk—angry.

When she gave herself to me—with anticipation.

But this is different.

She is my one.

My whole world.

The universe stills in this moment.

Time stops.

It’s only her and me.

You never feel the moment the dream comes true—it’s usually a stretch of time, passed often unnoticeable because dreams are so much bigger than one single occurrence.

But this—she—feels like a dream. If a dream could be trapped and studied in one single shape at a precise moment—this would be it. Callie. In my arms. Right now.

I feel her chest shake against mine. I hope she doesn’t cry, because I want her to smile. My heart feels like one of those silly yellow emojis with a broad smile.

And then she is kissing me, my neck, my cheek, then my lips, her mouth on mine, her tongue sliding inside like a fierce invader.

I take her mouth like she is the source of life. The kiss is all-consuming. It means more than any words she could say right now.

Her arms wrap around my head, raking my hair, pressing me close to her for a deeper kiss.

Then she breaks the kiss abruptly, her lips only an inch away.

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