Page 42 of The Way We Are

I should be pulling away. I should be walking away. I shouldn’t be kissing her like I can’t breathe without her lips on mine. But, fuck if I can stop this. Ican’tbreathe without her mouth on mine, and I’m done pretending I can.

Taking Savannah’s ass in my hands, I guide her legs around my waist. A pleasurable moan hums off her tongue when she feels the rock sitting behind the zipper of my jeans. While meeting my greedy licks stroke for stroke, she rocks against my stiffened shaft. Her skirt rides higher on her luscious thighs with every frantic grind, as does the heat between her legs.

My movements are just as frenzied as hers. I slide my tongue around her mouth at the same pace she's rocking against my dick. I sample her mouth while silently wishing we weren’t surrounded by hundreds of teens. I want to taste every inch of her intoxicating palate, but I want to do it without the fear of being caught.

The closet doesn’t have a lock. Believe me, I checked three times before our first Seven Minutes in Heaven years ago, and another half a dozen in the years that followed. After nipping at her lips another three times, I reluctantly pull away. Although Savannah groans in protest, her eyes reveal she understands my hesitation.

“No lock?” she intuits as she continues her exploration of my mouth. “I doubt we’ll get in trouble. We’re only kissing.” She drags her sex along my rod, making a liar out of both of us.

I return her kiss until the throb in my pants grows too great to overlook.

“We need to stop, or this is going to become more than kissing,” I warn between husky breaths. “I have no restraint around you.”

The ache in my dick grows tenfold when Savannah replies, “You have no restraint?Puh-leeze. The past three weeks leaves no doubt of your superpowers. If I didn’t kiss you, I’d still be waiting for you to make the first move.”

I chuckle, void of a better reply. Savannah was always the instigator in our exchanges. She invited herself into my room to “inspect the damage” after I broke my arm. She requested a change in classes when we were separated in the third grade, and she adjusted the bottle when her spin landed on Chris instead of me. She's a little bossy, but I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t one of the many things I love about her.

My chest swells with smugness when Savannah pulls back far enough the flicking bulb above our head reveals her flaming red cheeks and swollen lips. I did that. I put the look of pleasure on her face and the gleam of lust in her eyes. Me. Not douchebag Axel.Me.

Proving she still has the ability to read my thoughts, Savannah pleads, “Can we not talk about him tonight? It’s my best friend’s eighteenth birthday. I don’t want anything ruining her night—especially him. That’s why Justine didn’t invite him. She wants a drama-free night.”

I remain quiet, unsure how to reply. Justine invited me so I could voice my concerns on Savannah’s relationship with Axel. And if I know Justine as well as I used to, I’m confident she’d rather have Savannah out of Axel’s clutch than a drama-free night.

“Please, Ryan,” Savannah pleads, recognizing my moral compass is swinging in Justine’s favor. “One night, that’s all I am asking for. Give me one night, and I’ll talk about anything you want.Please.”

When she locks her eyes with mine, I know there's no chance in hell I will deny her request. Just like the first day I laid my eyes on her, her soul-stealing green irises have me over a barrel.

Stick me with a fork, ladies and gentlemen, I am fucking done.

“One night, then you're going to tell meeverything,” I propose while struggling to ignore the bile scorching my throat from my demand. I want to know every aspect of Savannah’s life, but there are some things I’ll never be ready to hear. The most obvious: the depths of her relationship with Axel.

“Thank you!” Savannah squeals, slapping her hands on each side of my cheek. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Each praise concludes with her lips landing on the edge of my mouth.

Unfortunately, my agreement to give her a free pass also corresponds with our exit from the coat closet.

“I’ve got so many people I can’t wait to introduce you to,” Savannah explains, interlocking our fingers. “Marlana and Rhapsody can be a little overfriendly, but don’t let them bother you. They’ll only grope your ass a handful of times before they move on to their next suitor.”

I quirk my brow, certain I heard her wrong.

I didn’t.

Within five seconds of being introduced to Marlana, my backside is being felt up by a pair of overzealous hands.

“You’re right, Savannah. The best buns in the county,” Marlana compliments before suggesting Rhapsody join in.

If I were a guy who hated being manhandled, I’d tell them to back off. But since I’m being awarded knowledge of how many times Savannah has mentioned my ass, I let them feel me up without protest.

Furthermore, every playful tease spilling from their lips narrows the width of Savannah’s eyes, revealing a side to her I haven’t seen in years: her equally attractive jealous side.

18

Ryan

“If you could throw them in the garage, that would be great.”

Landon’s eyes stray from the stack of chairs I’m holding to a six car garage on our left.

“Anywhere in particular, or just throw them in?” I ask.

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