Page 49 of All Your Tomorrows

He smiled. “Did you ever get lonely being an only child?”

I shrugged. “I always had Izzy a few houses down, so I felt like she was my sister. But, I guess, when I lost my dad, I really wished I had one.”

“Will you have more than one child someday?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I turned out okay, so one would be good. But, then again, I guess two would be a blessing.”

He nodded his understanding.

“How about you? Did you get lonely?”

“No. ButnowI wish I had a sibling so my parents weren’t alone. Like, if things going any more south, they’ve still got a kid.” He looked away and I could tell his words were choking him up.

“Well, I’ll make you this promise. Your parents are stuck with me. So, they better hear me out tomorrow. Because if they don’t, it’s going to make showing up at their door a lot harder.”

He smiled and I could tell I’d pulled him from his sadness.

I lifted my head toward the illuminated house. “Do you remember bringing Melanie on any dates like this?”

“I don’t think it was that kind of relationship,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Yeah, I got that feeling from Bono,” I said. “Did you date many girls at school?”

“Not sure if date is what you’d call it,” he again admitted uncomfortably.

Even though a knot twisted in my gut, I got it. “If girls were willing to accept less than, why should you turn them down?”

“Yeah, well, hearing you say it that way makes me sound like a douchebag.”

I wasn’t about to disagree. If the shoe fit…

“But, I assure you,” he continued. “I never cheated on anyone.”

I didn’t respond knowing he’d said that for my benefit. Because despite him screwing different girls, he didn’t screw around on any of them. He was a better guy than Rick.

Kyler reached over and brushed a piece of hair away from my face sending a shiver rippling in its wake. “You gonna let me sleep in your bed tonight?” he asked.

I suppressed the smile that itched to burst through. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

I shrugged, playing coy.

He chuckled. “I wonder what I need to do to convince you.”

“I wonder,” I mused.

* * *

Kyler pinned me to my bedroom door pressing open-mouthed kisses from my ear to my collarbone. The warmth spreading through my bodywasotherworldly. Through his jeans, his erection pressed between my thighs as he ground his hips against me, causing flutters down to my toes. Why hadn’t it felt like this with Rick? Why hadn’t I been ready to go all in like I found myself wanting to do with Kyler? Was it because Kyler was safe? Was it because Kyler could disappear any day?

My hands moved between us to the button on his jeans.

His hand seized my hands. “Nora.”

“What?” I asked, breathless and turned on.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

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