Page 118 of All at Once

The words rolling off his tongue has me replaying every second of said kiss from just a couple hours ago.

“I might’ve said something to her,” I say coyly.

“Which means you gave her a detailed play-by-play.” He smirks.

I can’t help the giggle that comes out of my mouth. “You know me too well.”

“Not wellenough,” he says as he takes the last sip of his drink, keeping his eyes fixed on mine.

Heat curls up my lower belly at the implication of his words. I have nothing to say. The number of times this man has left me speechless is absurd. So I change the subject. “By the way, you shocked me a little today.”

Luca leans forward. “How so?”

“When you told me that you liked me. I was a little surprised that you felt the same way. Like at the game when I kissed Enrique you didn’t even look like you cared.”

“Oh Icared…” His jaw ticks. “I cared so much that I couldn’t even bring myself to watch.” My eyes are glued to his face as he reveals all this to me. “And I didn’t want you to strip down like that when we were by the waterfall since I felt protective over you. I was worried you would regret being naked in front of a bunch of strangers for the first time. And the thought of anyone else having the chance to see you naked was destroying me.” He swallows visibly.

It’s a good thing I’m already sitting down. Although, I could quite literally fall out of my chair at any moment now.

Surprised to hear the contrast from his answer to how I thought he was feeling in that moment, I only manage to say something lightheartedly. “So you think you’re gonna see me naked?”

One corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk. “Only if you want me to.” He reaches his hand out to mine from across the table, grazing his thumb over mine softly.

My fingers immediately curl underneath his touch. Luca is one of the two guys that’s touched my hand now. And yet, the way his skin feels even traced over mine doesn’t even compare to how having my hand held by Enrique did. It’s as if my entire body just jumped into an ice bath that also happens to be blazing hot.

There’s not much that could possibly distract me right now. Well, except for the guitar strumming in the background that’s grown even louder.

I wistfully glance over at the couples dancing next to the bar, when Luca’s voice snaps me out of this haze. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly do you want to dance right now?”

“20,” I reply, still focused on the couples.

His chuckle fills the air before he gets up, with our hands still clasped together.

It could be the fact that this is all so new to me, experiencing so many unknown feelings, but the way he’s looking at me right now makes me feel like it’s muchmorethan that.

When his arms wrap around my lower back, I shiver at how his hands are holding onto me, gently yet so firmly, the sudden proximity making me dizzy again. I search his eyes curiously. “Am I the only one who’s this nervous?”

“Not even close.” He exhales deeply.

I bite down on my smile. “You know, the first day I got here, I walked past this bar and saw all these couples slow dancing.”

“Was this before or after you spilled two whole drinks on me?” Luca teases.

“It was afteryouruined my dress.”

“Continue.”

“I wanted to be one of those couples so bad,” I confess. “At first I thought that as soon as I got here, I’d feel closer to the things I wanted. Oddly though, I felt like I was just as far from it all, since now it was right in front of me, but itstillwasn’t mine. Am I making any sense?”

“Yeah, I know that feeling,” he says. “It’s almost like you’re running toward an object, but the closer you get to it, you realize it was further than you once thought.”

“Exactly, and I felt like I was losing my mind.”

“It’s funny you mention that. I remember feeling that way when I was a kid every time I looked at the moon.” His eyes fill with a puzzling sense of wonder. “It’s like you kept trying to chase the moon, thinking it was almost in your reach, only to realize how you were never as close to it as you once thought.”

I gasp. “Wait, that’s the same reference I was thinking of!”

He mimics my exact facial expression, yet even more exaggerated, adding a gasp in for good measure.

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