Page 55 of Walkoff Wedding

My tongue traces the seam of her lips, tasting her, savoring her until her lips part and her fingers tighten further in my hair. A quiet whimper escapes as I pull her even closer and slide my tongue into her mouth, kissing her the way I’ve been dreaming of since we stood at the altar.

Since I made her my wife.

Every sweep of my tongue along hers feels more intense, a buzzing beneath my skin that only she seems to ignite, and I’m completely drunk off the feeling.

Drunk off her.

She pulls back, panting as she gazes up at me with hazy, unfocused eyes. “Was it okay? Am I-I… doing it right?”

I almost fucking groan at her question, so sweet and innocent. Instead, I pull her back to me, both of my hands on her neck, thumbs caressing her cheeks, and murmur against her lips, “Mmm. Too soon to say. Gonna need to try it again. For educational purposes.”

I feel her smiling, and then I’m capturing her lips again, slipping my tongue back inside her mouth and gently threading my fingers through her hair as I angle her head to kiss her deeper. It still isn’t close enough.

I want to haul her into my lap and never stop kissing her.

Suddenly, the stadium lights flick on, one after another, illuminating the field and causing us to both stiffen, then jump apart.

Oh shit.

I pulled a few strings to come here tonight, but… that doesn’t mean I’m technically supposed to be here. I’ve got a lot of perks being a player, but sneaking into the stadium when it’s closed isn’t one of them.

With the lights, I get my first true glimpse of Addie since we arrived. Her cheeks are flushed red, her lips swollen and puffy from kissing me while her eyes flare with a mixture of heat and trepidation.

I don’t have time to drink in the sight of her as much as I really fucking want to, though, because we’re about to get caught.

“Shit,” I mutter. Lacing my fingers with hers, I tug her to her feet and pull her toward the dugout. “We gotta run. Like… actually run.”

She squeaks, her eyes wide, but she keeps up as we sprint. With her small hand squeezed tightly in mine and her other hand clutching onto her cardigan like a vise, we somehow make it back inside before the security guard, booking it down the hallway.

We run all the way to the truck and tumble inside, both of us breathing hard as I turn on the engine.

After a second of anxious silence, she erupts into giggles, throwing her head back and sinking into the seat. It’s the sweetest sound, her laughter, and I realize just how much I love it. How it might just be the best sound I’ve ever heard. Maybe my favorite. And then, we’re both laughing until tears form in our eyes from the exertion.

“That was scary but also kind of exciting? I’ve never in my life done anything like that before,” she mumbles once she can finally breathe. When she looks over at me, there’s the cheekiest smile tilting her lips, and it takes everything inside of me not to haul her over the console and kiss her again.

“Sometimes doing something scary makes you feel alive. And we all need to feel alive.”

Shyly, she tucks her hair behind her ear and nods. “Thank you for tonight, Grant. It was amazing… All of it.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle my grin and fail. I love teasing her almost as much as I love kissing her. “You trying to tell me you like kissing me, ArtGirl?”

Her cheeks bloom red as she ducks her head and covers her face with her hands. “God, I’m so inexperienced, and it was probably terrible for you. I’m so so?—”

I reach out and gently close my fingers around her wrist, tugging her hand down until she looks up at me, stopping whatever nonsense was about to come out of her mouth.

“It was the best fucking kiss I’ve ever had, Addie. There’s no question.” And I mean it.

I say nothing else because I want to let what I’m saying fully sink into her. That this kiss has ruined me for all other ones, that I don’t even want to think about kissing anyone who isn’t her.

Not that I can tell her that, not yet, but it’s true.

Finally, she nods, and I give her a smirk as I put the truck in reverse and pull out of the parking spot. We never stop talking the entire drive home.

It’s never been like that with anyone in my life, even the guys, and it’s a little staggering, if I’m being honest. When we get to the apartment and walk inside, I toe off my shoes and hang my keys on the rack by the door.

Addie hangs her cardigan up and then walks over and sits beside Auggie, who’s looking as excited as I’ve ever seen him. I get it, Augs. I miss her when she’s not around too. She scratches his ears lovingly, then rubs his chunky belly, wearing an adoring smile that she reserves just for him. His pudgy body vibrates with happiness.

It’s easy to forget that besides Earl and Amos… Auggie is her closest friend, and they share a bond that a lot of people never have with their animals. And I’m really happy she has him.

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