Page 56 of Meet Me in Aveline

I felt like I was supposed to be here, in this exact moment, with this exact guy. There was no part of me that felt uncomfortable. I wanted Tuck to see me. I wanted to see him.

“I don’t want to wait.”

I watched as Tuck’s Adam's apple bobbed with his deep swallow. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, sweeping his hands through his hair. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, feeling my heart beat faster.

A smile grew across Tuck’s face. “Okay!” he said enthusiastically, and his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and repeated himself in a deeper, more masculine tone.“Okay. Yes.”

“Yeah?” I said, feeling myself grow excited. “So… what do we do now?”

“Well, I don’t have a condom,” Tuck said, searching the room as though one would magically appear. “I didn’t expect this.” He looked nervous, flushed, and his face was turning red. I held the blanket up over my chest.

I hadn’t thought about protection. How could I have not thought about protection? That was, like, Sex 101.

“Oh,” I said, disappointed.

“Wait!” he exclaimed.

I perked up. “What?”

“I remember seeing a toiletry bag from the last guest. They left it in the bathroom. Maybe they had one in there?” He stood up and walked to the ensuite and came back out with a black toiletry bag from under the sink.

He began pulling out the items. Aftershave, cologne, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a pair of nose hair pluckers, and…

“Oh my God! There are two!” He held up two square, golden packages.

“Whoa! Simmer down, Casanova, let’s start with one.”

Tuck laughed nervously. “Of course, yes, one.” He leaned over and put the bag on the end table and then turned back to me. “Well…” he said. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I’m sure. I want you, Tuck Anderson. I want you now and forever.”

He leaned into me and laid me down onto the bed, his hands fumbling with his own shirt, shaking, and I wondered if he was nervous. I hadn’t asked him if he had ever done this before, and now, at this moment, I guess I didn't want to know the answer. But when his mouth found mine in the most gentle and loving way, it didn’t matter. Because we belonged to each other.

“Now and forever,” he repeated.

We lay together for a while afterward, undressed with a feeling of euphoria running through my body. I knew without a doubt that there was no one else in the world that I would rather be with than Tuck. I loved him. I loved him with every single fiber of my being, and I knew, right then and there, that I would never love anyone the way that I loved him. It was evident that no matter what, a part of me would love him for the rest of my life.

My head was pressed to Tuck’s chest as I traced my fingers over the contours of his abdomen. He winced as I gently stroked around his ribs, and I looked, noticing a green-colored bruise that wrapped to his back.

“What happened here?” I gestured to the healing mark.

Tuck covered his eyes with his hands, and I felt a nervousness rumbling in my stomach. He was quiet for a moment, and I decided then that I was going to change the subject. I opened my mouth to speak, but Tuck lowered his hands from his face.

“It’s not a big deal, but promise me you won’t say anything to anyone.”

“I promise.” And I meant it. I would take whatever he trusted me with to my grave. Whatever it was, I wanted to be his safe place.

“My dad got mad the other night, and when I tried to calm him down, he shoved me. I fell into the corner of the table, and it left a nasty bruise. It’s honestly nothing, but if anyone in Aveline found out, they would blow it way out of proportion, you know what I mean?” Tuck smiled at me, and yet it wasn’t at all convincing. “I just don’t want anyone to worry when it’s not a big deal.”

I nodded, but I felt that pit growing in my stomach. Something told me this was not the first time it had happened. Tuck never talked about his dad, and I was beginning to wonder if there was more to his home life than I could imagine. I leaned down and kissed his ribs right where the bruise was. I looked up at Tuck, and my eyes flooded with tears. He wiped them from my cheeks, and I rested my head against him again.

“I hate him,” I whispered into his skin, my tears forming a pool on his chest.

I felt him kiss the top of my head. “I’ll never let him near you. I promise you that. He’ll never hurt you.”

I peered up at him, through my eyelashes. “If he hurts you, he hurts me.”

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