Page 42 of Like First Love, Again

Tori closed her eyes and agreed. “Yeah, kind of amazing.”

Twenty-Two

Aweek of dating Tori had involved so much kissing that Mia’s lips were chapped, slightly bruised, and definitely swollen. She also hadn’t slept over four hours in a single night, but had never been more energized. Had never felt so full of purpose—even if it hadn’t translated into more packing. She had, however, cleaned and organized and felt more like a complete human rather than a collection of mismatched pieces than she had in a year.

Mia had intended to plan actual dates with Tori, but they always seemed to get stuck on her couch. Get lost in laughter and stories and talking until they’d run out of words, then kissing until they ran out of breath. It was new and familiar and addictive as hell.

Waking up ungodly early on Saturday morning, she put the final touches on her grand gesture of a first official date. In leggings and a tank top, she slathered on sunscreen and found an oldVineyard Vinesbaseball cap. She ran her thumb over the faded pink fabric and imagined her mom wearing it on her walks.

What would she say about her dating Tori? The thought made her smile even as her eyes watered. It was the first time thinking about her mother triggered a pleasant warmth in her belly rather than the nausea of grief. Her mom had always adored Tori. Mia had suspected that she liked her better, and she couldn’t blame her.

Even as a teenager, Tori had been so incredibly level-headed. She’d always had such a clear vision of herself. So responsible and loyal and intense and strong and smart. Mia laughed and dropped backward onto her messy bed.

And she’s so hot, Mia thought with all the blood rushing to her face. She’d always known Tori was beautiful, but there was something extra. Something incredibly sexy she’d never noticed until she walked into her office weeks earlier.

Or maybe it was something she hadn’t allowed herself to notice, Mia considered. She needed more time to figure that out. But first, she had sandwiches to make.

It was mid-morning and Mia had finished packing up the station wagon when Tori showed up at her door. At the sight of her walking in wearing white shorts and a button-down short-sleeved shirt like she was going sailing at the country club, Mia grinned. Mercifully, she’d also worn sneakers, though probably not the right ones.

“Hi.” Mia met her in the entryway.

Tori slid her sunglasses off and set them on her head. Her brown eyes gleamed when she tilted her head down to look at Mia. “Hi,” she breathed, smile lopsided and worth indulging.

Arms around Tori’s neck, Mia pulled her in for a kiss. It didn’t matter that she’d just kissed her ten hours earlier. That her neck was still sore from turning her head toward her while they talked for hours. That she should find some dignity in her suitcase and play it cool. She’d missed her in the hours they’dbeen apart, and she showed Tori with her fingers scraping the back of her neck and teeth grazing her bottom lip.

“You’re dressed all wrong for our date,” Mia muttered against her mouth, skin buzzing with the contact high from Tori’s lips.

Tori wrapped her arms around Mia’s waist and held her close. Held her like they’d been standing like that all their lives. Like maybe they should have been.

“I didn’t know there was a dress code,” Tori murmured before kissing her again.

“Mm-hmm.” Mia almost forgot why they were talking when Tori’s palm followed the curve of her spine. Desire was a living, wild thing pounding at her core while she waited for Tori to slide lower. To grab her ass and throw her against the nearest surface and ravage her. But Tori was distressingly decent and smiled into their kiss instead.

“Where are we going?” Tori asked as she straightened, using her thumb to wipe the excess lip balm from beneath Mia’s bottom lip—like she actually wanted to kill her.

“You’ll see,” she managed, knees weak and thighs trembling as she walked toward her bedroom.

“What does that mean?” Tori called after her.

Mia laughed, drunk on Tori and the insanely adorable nature of her plan. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Let me carry you away with whimsy,” she shouted over her shoulder.

When she returned with basketball shorts and a muscle tee in hand, Tori was sitting cross-legged on the couch. The sight of her looking down at her phone, expression serious, brought back the wobble in Mia’s balance.

How could anyone look so gorgeous doing something so fucking mundane? It was ridiculous. She tried not to compare, but she couldn’t recall ever finding Eric heart-stopping while he scrolled through college football stats.

Sensing her presence, Tori glanced up from her screen to find Mia looking at her. Everything in her face softened, as if seeing her was a revelation. Mia felt her affection in the warmth dripping down her chest like raw honey.

Then her gaze darted to the clothing Mia was holding. Laughing, Tori stood. “How much of my old shit do you have?”

Mia bit the inside of her cheek, but it did nothing to stop her stupid grin. “Shut up, okay.” She tossed her the clothes. “Accept my hoarding in the endearing way I intend it.”

Tori’s entire aura was blinding. “We might have to talk to someone about this?—”

Mia pulled her in by the loop of her shorts and kissed her until Tori stopped debating whether Mia was nuts. Anyway, it was Mia’s mother who’d saved everything. For an irrational second, she wondered whether her mom had always expected Mia and Tori to reunite. Or maybe she’d hoped. Her mother had been as devastated as Mia when Tori walked away.

A buzzing on Mia’s wrist made her break their kiss and stop wondering about her mother’s intentions. “We have to go,” she said before snagging another kiss and slipping away.

“Go where?” Tori asked again, but her voice was husky and her gaze was tracking Mia. What she really meant waslet’s stay here. But Mia wasn’t going to throw away her incredible idea—no matter how much she wanted to keep kissing her. No matter how much she wanted to do more than kiss, even if she hadn’t exactly worked out how they were going to take the next step.

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