Page 35 of The Sun and Her Star

“I’m glad you like it. I feel like as long as it’s there, I know I’m in control of life,” I admit. I stroke her chin and run my thumb across unbelievably soft skin beneath the pout of her lower lip.

I want to kiss her. So bad.

“Do you feel in control now?” she asks. Her lashes flutter a little, and she purses her lips.

What am I doing?

She’ssixteen.

“Yes. Definitely in control. I don’t think I’ll ever cut it.” I drop my hand and unlink our fingers.

Her hand drifts from my hair, and she clasps her hands in front of her. I can see what looks like disappointment in her eyes for just a second before she smiles again.

“So, do you want to meet the rest of my friends?”

“So, can I meet your friends? Your family?” she asks at the same time.

“Jinx,” she says, and we laugh, both relieved that something broke that awkward moment.

“Yeah, of course. We can eat with Mama tonight. And then, maybe tomorrow, we can do something with my friends.”

“Really?” She leans over and hooks an arm around my neck, forcing me to stoop so that her chin rests on my shoulders.

My lungs constrict and my pulse pounds in my ears when she runs her hand over my hair almost like she’s petting me. My arms automatically go around her waist, and she laughs into my neck. Her breath tickles.

God, I’ve missed her.

“Oh, I’m so happy.” Her words are muffled by my neck, and I have to remind myself that she’s sixteen when I wish I could put my mouth on her neck, too.

I’ve never held a girl like this. She’s so soft, and her head fits perfectly in the small depression between my pecs.

Her hair still smells like strawberries, and I smell chocolate on her breath.

I pull out of her hug. “You ready to go?”

“It’s going to be amazing.” She squints against the glare of the sun in her eyes, but her grin isn’t diminished at all. “I’ve been dying to put faces to the names in your letters—”

“They’ll love meeting you, too. I’ll text them as soon as we get back,” I tell her.

She scrunches her face. “I wasn’t finished. But, I want to spend some time catching up first. I’m not ready to share you with them. I haven’t seen you in four years.”

Fine with me. I wasn’t looking forward to her meeting those guys anyway. Girls go stupid for them.

We start walking, and she’s practically running to keep up with my long strides.

“Slow down. I want to make every single minute last as long as it can.” She skips every few steps and looks from left to right. “Life feels like it’s moving so fast. Like I’m missing stuff while I’m trying to get all these extra credits.” She’s on this mission to graduate from high school in two years so she can try to go to college early.

“Well, you could be normal and just go to high school for four years like everyone else,” I remind her.

“No way. My mother’s making me crazy. I want to move out. And I’m too young to go and live by myself. A college dorm is the next best thing.”

“That’s kinda extreme, Sunshine. Mama was in a rush, and it almost ruined her life,” I tell her as we approach my car.

I open the passenger door, and I take her hand to give her a boost up into the cab. She’s halfway in when she stops and turns to face me. The serious intensity in her expression pins me in place and takes me completely by surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

Her gaze softens a little, but she doesn’t smile. “Youknow what it’s like to be stuck somewhere that’s just wrong for you. It feels like … wearing clothes that are too small.”

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