Page 64 of Break my Heart
Those fuckers I call my friends can be relentless.
Ten minutes later, I’m standing at her door, knocking. I’ve never been so impatient to see a girl. My pulse speeds up with each second that ticks by.
What if she’s changed her mind?
What if she decided this—us—is too much?
Before my brain can spin further out of control, the door swings open. Ava stands across the threshold in black leggings and a cropped pale-blue sweater that shows just enough skin to drive me crazy. Her hair is still up in a bun. My fingers itch to take the tie out and watch the golden mass spill down her back.
Every time I see her, I’m bowled over by her beauty.
No. Not just her beauty. Everything about her.
“You look amazing.”
“Thanks,” she murmurs. “Want to come in?”
It doesn’t take long for the tension we always seem to generate to crackle in the air like an impending storm. She leads me to the couch, and we settle a few inches apart. Her hands twist together in her lap as she glances at me and then away.
The only need pumping through me is the one that demands I put her at ease.
I reach out and cover both her hands with my larger one. “You know we don’t have to do anything, right? I meant what I said the other night. We’ll take this at whatever pace you need. I’m not in a rush.”
She releases a breath, and her shoulders sag, as if a heavy weight has been lifted from them. “I don’t understand you at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbles. “I didn’t expect you to be so nice. Or thoughtful. Or understanding.”
“Well, I guess with the right person, I can be all of those things.”
When her gaze lifts to mine, her eyes are filled with doubt and something else that pulls at me. “Are you saying I’m the right person?”
Unable to resist, I slide her onto my lap until her thighs straddle mine. My hands rest on the gentle swells of her hips before pulling her a little closer so I can feel the heat of her body nestled against me. Her breath hitches, and her lips part slightly as our gazes cling.
At every turn, I’m falling deeper for this girl.
“I think you might be,” I admit, the words feeling more real than anything I’ve said in a long time.
Her hands slide upward to my neck before her fingers thread through my hair. “Can I tell you something?”
I nod as my heartbeat picks up tempo. “Anything.”
I want to know every little thought that pops into her brain.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how you kissed me this morning.”
Her words send a jolt of heat straight through me. “I’ve been thinking about it too. More than I should.”
I’ve had plenty of girls whisper the filthiest things imaginable in my ear, but none of them have turned me on the way Ava does while admitting something so innocent.
It makes me realize just how different everything is with her.
How much she matters.
For the first time in my life, I want to take care and make sure the person I’m with doesn’t get hurt.
I want to do whatever is necessary to protect her.