Page 69 of To Catch a Firefly

“I’m going to kiss you now,” I inform him.

“Sweaty.”

“Don’t care.”

Ellis grunts when my lips meet his, but he immediately lowers his head enough for me to fall back on my heels. He’s hot beneath my touch, a furnace himself, and I hold on like a man starved. No matter how futile it seemed, there was always a piece of me that desperately hoped we’d end up here. I couldn’t let it go, couldn’t shake the possibility. I wanted him too much, and even now, it’s not enough. Like he said, it’llneverbe enough. There won’t ever be a time where I don’t want this man. Where I don’t hunger for him.

Ellis’s lips are warm, and his hands cradle my face. I want to bite and claw my way closer, but we only have half a day before night falls, and I promised Ellis a date.

So, with far more patience than I realized I possess, I gentle the kiss and pull back. Ellis’s hair is a little damp, curling against his forehead, and his eyes shift between my own, questioning.

“We’re going on a date,” I tell him.

He cocks his head.

“Here,” I explain. “I’ll take you out another time. But today, I just want to be here with you.”

His eyes drop to my lips. “When do you go?”

My heart clenches. “Tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He shakes his head. “Don’t. Lunch?”

“Yeah,” I say, running my hands over his forearms. They’re strong, just like Ellis, and covered in a dusting of brown hair. A lumberjack, Danil called him. He’s certainly built like one. “Do you need to clean up first?”

Ellis nods before canting his head behind him. I’m guessing he has to put out the fire, too.

“How about we meet back here in an hour?” I say. “I need to go grab a few things anyways. Will that give you enough time?”

His lips lift at the corner. “It’s a date.”

I can’t quite resist giving him another kiss after that. When I go, I stop at the doorway for a moment, watching Ellis store his tools. I’ve always thought Ellis is handsome in a rugged, natural way. There’s not an ounce of flash about him. He doesn’t flaunt his assets or attempt to flatter others. I’m not sure he even knows how to flirt. But he doesn’t need to do any of those things. He draws me like a magnet regardless, his pull undeniable.

With a sigh, I turn to go, but pause once more as my eyes catch on the glass fireflies hovering above. They almost seem to flicker, as if they’re alive. With my heart aching for reasons unknown, I head out the door.

It doesn’t take all that long to pick up supplies. My mom drives me to my rental car first, and then I head to the store, grabbing ingredients for a simple lunch. Taking a page out of Ellis’s book, I set everything up on top of a blanket outside the silo. There’s a chill in the air, but the sun is bright enough to keep us warm.

Ellis arrives a little before the hour mark is up, changed and looking freshly showered. I almost stop myself from drinking him in properly before remembering Ican. If Ellis minds my ogling, he doesn’t show it. He sits down next to me, a smile on his face as he plucks at the blanket pointedly.

“You have good ideas,” I tell him.

He huffs a laugh.

“Your mom okay?” I check. She seemed in decent spirits earlier, but I know Ellis likes to keep an eye on her.

He nods, giving my leg a squeeze.

“You told her about us.”

Another squeeze.

“Is it weird for you, being with a man?” I find myself asking.

He frowns, and I get the sense he’s asking me,Why would it be?

---