Page 56 of Break my Heart
He’s so sincere, so honest, and it leaves me feeling raw.
Exposed.
His quiet sentiment has a million butterflies winging their way to life within the confines of my belly.
And yet…
There’s no way to keep the skepticism from my voice. “Are you sure about that? I’ve heard all the gossip that circulates around campus.”
“I won’t lie to you.” His gaze is unwavering. “There’s truth in those rumors. I spent the last few years screwing around because it helped me escape everything else going on in my life. But those girls? They were distractions. None of them meant anything to me. The difference is that you do.”
My teeth sink into my lower lip.
More than anything, I want to believe him.
I want to trust him.
“How can you be so sure?” My throat closes up as I force out the rest. “I don’t want to get hurt. After everything that’s happened, I’m afraid to put myself out there.”
He strums my cheek with his thumb. “That’s why we’ll take this at a glacial pace.”
“Glacial?”
“Super slow.”
Even though this is no laughing matter, a snort escapes from me. “I know what glacial means. Won’t you get bored?”
His lips tug into a smile as his brow arches slightly. “Bored? With you? Never. You keep me on my toes, and I like that.”
I huff out a soft laugh, the tension between us easing just a bit. He’s saying all the right things, and I hate how much I want to believe him.
“What about my dad?” I ask, voicing the concern that’s been nagging at me.
“Well, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not really interested in dating him.”
I roll my eyes. “I would hope not. What I meant is that I think we should keep this between us. He won’t be happy that I’ve become involved with one of his hockey players.”
He releases a long, slow breath. “I get that, but I really don’t like lying to people. Especially ones I respect. And I respect Coach.”
It’s tempting to shake my head.
Could this guy be more perfect?
“I just want to make sure this is actually going to go somewhere before we tell my parents.”
“Okay, I get that. For the time being, we’ll keep everything on the downlow.”
“Thank you.” Relief floods through me.
His heated gaze dips to my lips, and warmth rushes to all the places that have spent the last year cold and dormant. Hayes is gradually waking my body back to life again.
My tongue darts out to moisten my lips. “Any chance we’re going to seal this with a kiss?”
He smirks, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “Is that what you want?”
My heart thuds painfully in my chest as I nod.
“Then, yes, Ava. I’m going to kiss you.”