Page 12 of Every Hidden Truth

Cupping my face, he pressed a sizzling kiss to my lips. He whispered a goodnight against my mouth. I thought I said it back, though my brain was fuzzy, drunk off his scent and touches.

He chuckled and pecked my mouth again before heading back to his car. Before he climbed inside, he paused to send me a wave and a shy smile.

I stood in the doorway until he pulled away from the curb and his car disappeared down the street. I waved as his taillights winked in the distance before ducking quietly into my dark house.

Leaning back against the door, I heaved a huge sigh.

I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, but my mind raced a mile a minute. There was a lot to digest. I scrubbed my face with my palm as I reviewed everything that had happened in that tower, everything that had been shared between us.

Once in my bedroom, I didn’t bother changing into my pajamas. I dropped my jeans and removed my sweatshirt, leaving me in my shirt and boxers. I plugged my phone into charge and clicked off my lamp, burrowing under my cool covers.

As I settled into the mattress, our exchange in the tower drifted through my mind. I’d never had anyone kiss me like that, like we were the only two people in the world. It was new and frightening, and even though I didn’t know how to trust him fully, I wanted to figure it out. I didn’t want to lose him or this feeling. Not ever.

I woke from ahazy dream full of color, laughter, and the ghost of Ben’s hands on my skin, and I smiled. Even though it was all in my head, I could still smell his spring soap and feel the softness of his lips on my mouth.

Had that actually happened?

As my awareness peaked, I blinked the sleep from my eyes and stretched. My muscles moaned in bliss as my joints popped, and I released a contented squeal as I melted into my mattress. I had a good feeling about today. Or I was still running on the high of Ben’s kisses from last night.

Patting my hand along the mattress, I found the edge of my side table and snatched my phone. I checked the time on my screen, groaning when I saw it was a little before eight o’clock.

Way too early for a Sunday morning

An unopened text message from Ben waited on my phone. The timestamp was from early this morning, presumably before he went to sleep. Just seeing his name on my screen was enough to send my heart into outer orbit. I was so gone for him already.

Ben: Sweet dreams, Si. Goodnight.

A giddy grin spread over my face as I typed a quick reply.

Silas: Sorry, I just saw this. Goodnight and good morning.

I assumed he was still sleeping, but the conversation bubble appeared next to his name a second later. My stomach somersaulted, nerves exploding in my gut and fluttering through my limbs. The anxiety was rather silly, seeing as I’d spent quite a bit of time last night getting up close and personal with his mouth. But last night felt like a dream, so even though texting him should have been a cakewalk, the nerves remained.

Ben: Good morning.

That was it? Just,good morning? That was anticlimactic. And annoying.

My phone vibrated again, longer with a different rhythm this time. I almost dropped the damn thing as I scrambled to answer the call.

“Hello?” I said breathlessly.

“Hey.” Ben’s husky voice was thick with sleep, and the enticing sound made me shiver.

“Hey,” I echoed stupidly.

He chuckled. “You sound tired.”

I tucked my phone beneath my ear as I sat up. “Well, someone kept me up late making out, so what did you expect?”

“Sorry,” Ben said quietly, a hint of a smirk in his tone. “Shall I keep you up late doing other things instead?”

Fire rushed through me as I imagined all the other things we could stay up late doing. Was he seriously going there right now?

“What exactly did you have in mind, Benjamin?” I breathed the words, my tone dripping with innuendo.

He choked, coughing hard. “Shit, I didn’t mean—that’s not—oh, God, I did not call you for phone sex, I swear.”

I fell back on my bed, laughing as he sputtered mortified denials. I could almost feel the heat of his blush radiating through the phone.

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