Page 52 of For Keeps. For Always.

“Appreciate you never swimming there ever again.”

I grin. “Worried about me?”

“Always, Henley.”

His voice drops lower than I’m used to. The meaning in his words deeper than I expected.

Silence falls between us, our eyes refusing to blink as too much and not enough passes between us in a silent conversation we’re nowhere near ready to decipher.

“I miss you,” I whisper. The heaviness in my words weighs just as burdensome in my heart.

His eyes close. “You seem so close, yet it kills me that you’re so far away.”

I long to reach out and touch him. To touch his cheek and feel the strong line of his jaw. I settle for the screen, tracing a single finger across the picture of his face, trailing off when I reach his chin.

“Probably for the best,” he murmurs. “I’d try to kiss you with you looking at me like that.”

My stomach knots. I don’t blink, afraid I’ll lose the promise in his eyes if I were to do so.

“I’d let you,” I admit.

His nostrils flare. “Henley.”

“Where are you?”

“The Philippines.”

“Only a day,” I murmur to myself.

“Hm?” he asks.

“Nothing.” I shake my head.

“Talk to me about the Philippines,” I tell him, blinking slowly.

“You’re tired,” he hums.

“Mm,” I agree. “But I haven’t gone to sleep next to you in too long.”

“Okay.” He readjusts himself, lying down before launching into his travels, lulling me into a peaceful sleep. I don’t know how long he talks before I fall asleep, but the call has ended when I wake up, and I feel emptier than I care for.

Grabbing my cell, I inhale sharply.

Brooks: I’d kiss you slowly, taking my time. The uncertainty of when I’d be able to do it again would be too much for me to bear, so I’d savor every taste of your mouth.

I release a long-drawn-out breath. Every nerve in my body is tensed, pushed to the limits of excitement I haven’t felt in too long.

I’d kiss you slowly.

I remember vividly how delicate his lips felt. Like cotton candy, soft enough to mold with mine.

I’d savor every taste of your mouth.

It’s been so long since I’ve felt the love of someone’s mouth on mine. I miss the intoxicating intimacy of kissing. The simple pleasure of sliding your eager tongue against another’s.

A good kiss can turn you on, claim your heart, and break it all at once.

I think about how I’d react at being given the opportunity to taste Brooks again. Would I do as he said and savor him? Would I go slow, afraid if I rushed it that it’d be over too quickly and I’d be without him once again?

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