Page 62 of Until Forever

“Hey, the day wasn’t all bad,” I grinned. “This morning was pretty good. And last night was…”

Rather than trying to describe the memories that were vividly playing in both of our minds and sparking through our eyes, I decided to demonstrate a small refresher instead. My lips drifted to hers. When we kissed, it felt like falling into an endless pit of soft, warm velvet that you could just sink down into forever without a care in the world. You didn’t care where it went or what was happening outside of it. You just didn’t want it to end.

She broke the kiss just long enough to murmur against my lips, “You’re really okay with staying here tonight?”

“More than okay.”

“Even if you have to squeeze into a tiny twin bed with me, surrounded by my Hanson posters?”

“I have never heard sexier words in my life,” I quipped, sweeping my hands around my face to kiss her deeper.

At some point, as we explored each other’s mouths, things turned. It went from passionate lust to intense, sincere connection. It felt like we were saying things with our touch that we weren’t ready to say with words yet.

What was I not ready to say? This thing between us was real. I was kicking myself for not opening up my eyes as a teen enough to see that the best woman I’d ever meet was already standing right there in front of me, waiting for me to really see her. But I saw her now, and I felt the power of that so much that it scared me.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for being here…and for being you…and for being wonderful.”

“Careful,” I teased. “You wouldn’t want anyone else to hear that you think I’m wonderful.”

“Maybe not yet,” she grinned. “But…I suppose we can’t keep it a secret forever.”

My heart swelled with the possibilities that were becoming more real by the second.

“So does that mean…you’re in this with me? No more running away?”

She looked deep into my eyes and considered it, as if this was her last chance to take off one more time if she wanted to.

“I’m tired of running from what I’ve wanted since I was fifteen years old,” she admitted. “Just promise not to hurt me again.”

“Never,” I assured her.

I wrapped my arms around her and stood up, taking her along with me. We locked up the house, and I turned out all the lights as she checked on Claire one last time. I was beating myself up again as we climbed into her small twin bed, and I teased her about her Hanson posters and stuffed animals still lined up along the wall. I had missed out on so much when we were young. I could have had great memories of making out with her in that room, hoping the Halsteads didn’t come home and catch us.

“Lana Miller,” I said to her in the dark. “I may have been an idiot before, but I’ve smartened up since then. At least enough to see that you’re meant for me. And starting right now…we have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

25

LANA

There are some moments you freeze in your mind and hold onto forever, like a movie on pause or a screenshot. For a long time, that moment when I stood in the gymnasium at the homecoming dance and watched Keith sneak off to make out with Tanya Cane was one of those moments—one of the bad ones that break your heart and make you swear you’ll never let yourself get hurt that way again.

But waking up in Keith’s arms that morning with the sun shining through my bedroom windows, being wrapped up in the warmth of his skin, and feeling so safe and secure…That was a moment I froze and wanted to cling to for the rest of my life. It felt like it was strong enough to overwrite anything bad that had happened between us before, and I was finally ready to let that happen.

He was awake before me, watching me sleep. I always thought that kind of thing was creepy, but it didn’t feel that way when it was happening to me. His tender eyes burrowed into mine, and the way I was reflected in them made me feel special…like I was the most beautiful, interesting woman on the planet.

He smiled and brushed his hand across my cheek. “Good morning, beautiful.”

The deep rasp of his voice hummed through my whole body, filling me with tingling warmth.

“Good morning,” I replied. My voice caught as my chest swelled with giddiness. Had I finally found real love? The kind that would last?

And it was right in the same place I thought it was from the beginning. In Keith’s arms.

I kissed him and felt the surge of desire bubble up inside, as if we hadn’t just exhausted ourselves quietly making love to each other all night. But just as I thought we might be able to indulge ourselves again, I overheard the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen.

“I guess our time’s up,” I said with a tinge of sadness. “I should go see if Claire needs any help.”

“Only for now,” he assured me. He kissed me in a way that I knew was meant to be clung to. I could hold on to the memory of it to get by until the next time we could be alone together again.

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