Page 58 of Need You To Choose Me

“Yes. Kyle doesn’t hear, so we talk with our hands. Like this.”

I look up in the rearview mirror and find him moving his hands.

“What did you just tell me?”

Levi giggles. “My name, silly!”

“You’re right, silly me.” I make a turn into our neighborhood. “When did you become so smart?”

“I’ve always been smart, Dad! Duh! I wanna knowallthe signs. Miss Parker is teaching us.”

Why didn’t that surprise me in the least? Maybe I was wrong, and Savannah knew sign language from before, but she seemed like the type of woman who’d go the extra mile to make her students feel welcome and included.

“You like Miss Parker?”

“Yes.” He leans forward in his car seat, his voice dropping lower. “Although she’s a big scaredy cat.”

The feel of Savannah’s body pressed against mine in that haunted house flashes in my mind. Her sweet scent surrounding me. Her fingers clutching at me for dear life. The way she buried her face into my shoulder, her body molding to mine just right. As if she belonged there.

“That she is,” I agree softly as I pull in front of our house and kill the engine.

The light is on in the hallway, but the rest of the house is in darkness; nothing unusual since Daniel has probably closed himself in his bedroom and is playing his video games.

Sliding out of the truck, I hold the door open for Levi. “Go upstairs, change into your PJs, and don’t forget to brush your teeth.” The movement across the street catches my attention. “I’ll be up to check on you in a few minutes.”

“Okay, Dad!” He rushes past me toward the stairs.

“I mean it, Levi. I’ll know if you don’t, and then you’ll be in trouble.”

“Will do!” he yells as he climbs two steps at a time. How he had the energy after spending the whole day outside playing, I had no idea. I was freaking exhausted.

With a sigh, I close the door and cross the street to where Savannah is sitting on the stairs of her front porch; her head tilted back as she watches the sky.

“Running away again, Blondie?”

“It can hardly be called running away when you know where I live.”

I join her on the step, my arm brushing against hers. “The only difference is that now I know where to find you.”

She tilts her head, those crystal blue eyes meeting mine. She took off her makeup at some point since she got home, her face completely bare but no less beautiful. I liked seeing her like this. Seeing all the different sides of her that made her the woman she is. And the more I saw the more I wanted to get to know her.Truly know her. Know her ticks and tells. Know how to make her laugh and what made her sad.

I wanted to know every single piece of her: body, mind, and soul.

It was scary. I never wanted anything like that. Not with Reina, or any woman that was there before her.

A lock of hair falls into Savannah’s face. She starts to lift her hand, but I’m faster. I curl the silky strand around my finger, testing its softness, before I gently tuck it behind her ear. My knuckles brush against her cheek, and she inhales deeply.

It’s like all the air has been sucked out of the space, leaving only the sizzling, pent-up tension that’s been building between us since that first night we met.

“I wanted to look for you the moment I woke up that day,” I whisper softly. “But you were gone, and I had nothing to go by. I cursed myself so many times for agreeing to your idea.”

Those full, pink lips part in surprise. My gaze falls to her mouth. The mouth I’ve thought about kissing so many times in the last few weeks. I wanted to see if she tasted as good as I imagined she would. If it would feel as good as I thought it would.

I slip my hand under her chin, the tip of my thumb rubbing over her lower lip.

“Blake…”

My name is a breathy whisper on her lips, a prayer and a curse all in one, but she doesn’t pull away.

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