Page 71 of Best Friends, Tennessee

Heard a song on the radio that said “I love you, don’t act so surprised.”

Didn’t have to be a country song for that one to hit me right in the chest.

I’d always prided myself on the fact that I could stay cool and collected in any situation.

Butcollectedwas out of the question now.

I’d told Ori the deepest, rawest truth.

It had been just as terrifying as I’d imagined it might be, and way too fucking real.

And then he’d come to me—heapproachedme—and nothing could have meant more than that.

I leaned back now, looking him in the eye, hoping to god the tears biting at the back of my eyes wouldn’t come out.

“Please kiss me?” I asked, my voice a little raspy. “Because I swear I might pass out if I don’t distract myself right now, and also I just want to fucking kiss you—”

His lips were on mine a moment later, his hands coming down to wrap lower around my waist.

God. Yes. Stay with me.

I kissed him back so deeply it was as if my body was going to merge into him, my tongue sliding over his in a slow, teasing dance. I shifted my feet on the grass below, steadying myself against him.

I needed to keep this. I gave myself away to sensation, like I could will us to stay in this moment forever as long as I kept my mouth on him.

People had told me I was a good kisser before, but I was learning that Ori was better at it than anyone. I loved his lips, soft and pliant but always responsive to my touch, ready to deepen the kiss even more every time I wanted it.

Christ. I was in deep, but there sure as hell was no turning back now. I couldn’t live in a world where Ori thought he was just some “project” to me. It was so far from the truth that it had been a sucker punch to the gut to even hear him say it.

His teeth came down gently on my lower lip and the sensation went straight to my cock. My hands skated over every inch of him, traveling down his back and then to grip against his ass.

“God, I fucking missed this,” I said, pulling back and nuzzling my face into his hair.

“Missed what?” he murmured. “It’s not like we made out and grabbed each other’s asses when we were younger.”

I puffed out a laugh, breathing in the scent of his hair. “No. But we were really…together. You know?”

“Yeah,” he said, and I knew from his tone that he was picking up on exactly what I’d meant.

We’d had a fleeting moment of it the other night. But even when I’d sucked him off, some part of me had felt like I was on borrowed time, like we were breaking a rule.

This just felt like coming home.

“You need to know that I’m never going to make any decisions for you,” I told him. “The house or anything else. It was just something that I got carried away with, talking to the owner, and I shouldn’t have mentioned anything to Danielle.”

“Thank you for thinking of helping me at all,” Ori said. “I appreciate it more than you know. I just hate being in the dark.”

“I won’t leave you in the dark again,” I told him. “Don’t stop touching me?”

He hummed, pressing in further, squeezing his hands on the back of my waist. He pressed a small kiss against my collarbone, and I felt the wet warmth of his tongue a moment later as he drew a line along the side of my neck.

My cock throbbed. I arched my neck back, wanting more.

“Why does that feel so good?” I uttered. “It tickles. And I also really want you to do it again.”

He obliged, then bit down gently on my earlobe. I swore softly under my breath, my hips bucking forward against the front of his body.

God almighty.

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