Page 46 of The Other Side of Together

“I don’t believe you,” he breathes, starting a fire on my skin that flares over me, and when he presses closer, I exhale, gripping the edge of the counter with both hands. “You’re saying one thing, but your eyes are telling me something completely different.”

I tremble as he sweeps my hair over my shoulder, all thoughts of goodbye burning to ash in the heat between us. “You do have a choice. We could figure this all out together. I’m not running, and you don’t have to either.”

His finger traces my tattoo, his other hand eases down my arm, and I close my eyes as his fingers slip between mine.

“Say what your eyes are telling me,” he whispers, his voice rumbling through me. “That we’re not over.” His words reach around me, turn me toward him.

His gaze moves from my eyes to my lips then back again, carrying a silent question.

I nod, not taking my eyes off him as one trembling hand moves to the back of my head. He leans in, hovering over me, and when his lips find mine, heat sizzles down my body like I’m being filled with warm water. Marcus grips the back of my shirt, his lips coaxing me closer until I’m on tiptoe.

His hands move to my waist, my hips, his fingertips urging me closer until I wrap my arms around his neck and press my chest to his. He grimaces and I pull back, but he tugs me to him again. I grip the counter and lift myself onto it so he doesn’t have to bend over so far, and he steps into me, his teeth grazing my bottom lip. I gasp, knotting my fingers in his hair before sliding them down his neck.

“I’m so sorry,” I say with my eyes, and we hold each other’s gaze, his palm cupping the back of my head as his other hand grips my shirt along my waist. “For everything.”

“Does this mean we’re not over?” he asks, his breath warm and ragged as he lowers his mouth to mine. “That’s kinda the message I’m getting, but I need to hear it,” he whispers against my lips, pulling back to look into my eyes whilehis hands circle my neck, tilt my head back, his thumbs running over my jaw.

“We’re not over,” I murmur, circling his wrists with my hands. If Marcus is right and I have a choice, this is it. He’s it. We can figure the rest out together.

He lowers his forehead to mine, his lips so close I can feel their pulse. He curses through a groan before his lips crash into mine again, unlocking three words I’ve kept sacred and nurtured since the night I met him. I close my eyes to keep them hidden, but this close, he’ll feel them in my heartbeat:

Wo ài ni.

I love you.

CHAPTER 18

Mei: In the fortuitous words in the song Unsent by Alanis Morissette, “Dear Marcus, you rocked my world.”

Marcus: That’s all great what I did to your world, but you blasted me to a whole new one.

When my alarm goes off, I slap it quiet and roll over. My ribs don’t appreciate it, so I unwind the warm ice pack around my torso and ease back onto my pillow. No way am I going to school today. Forget my ribs—don’t want anyone to see my black eye. There’s only one person I plan on seeing today. And every day from now on.

I close my eyes, replaying how the hair on the back of my neck stood up when Mei touched me last night. How my blood pumped so hard, my veins feel stretched out and floppy. I have so many questions. And so many feelings. I plan on asking her all the questions and showing her exactly how I feel. Show and Tell with Marcus and Mei. And that’ll definitely involve kissing heragain. A lot. Like…maybe all day. While keeping my hands to myself. Which just became a whole lot harder.

I snatch my phone from my nightstand and grimace at the painful reminder of the pounding I took last night. I’d expected brass knuckles. Nun chucks. Sabers. It wasn’t Ugly Chao who’d trashed me, but felt like a message directly from him.

My thoughts circle over each other, trying to figure out what his deal is with Mei. Why does he care so much? Mei seems to be freaked out over the guy, should I be just as freaked?

When I check my phone, there’s a Mei text, sent at 2:48 AM.

Mei: How are you feeling?

You don’t fight off thugs or kiss someone like I kissed her if she’s not your girl. My senses rocketed, and I hadn’t thought, just done.I smile at my phone and dial her number. Probability of Mei and Marcus togetherness=99.98 percent. It’s the 0.02 percent I’m after today.

She answers on the first ring. “Hey.”

Ah…that voice.

“Hey, so…” I put my arm behind my head, pausing when my ribs scream at me. “That whole kitchen scene?” I let the words and the scene float through the phone. “That was hot, Mei.” My legs go numb, and I wiggle my toes to make sure these thoughts haven’t paralyzed me.

“I know.” She’s still smiling, probably touching her lower lip like she does when she’s holding back emotion.

“I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Me neither.” Smile. Lip touch.

“And that’s why I’d like to say thanks in advance for skipping school and spending this magical Friday here with me.”

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