Page 121 of Crave Thy Neighbor

She crushes her lips to mine, her fingers crashing through my hair, and I drag her to me, circling my arms around her, vowing to never let her go again.

She pulls away first. “Say it again,” she demands, lips still ghosting against mine.

“I love you.” She sighs blissfully, pressing our foreheads together. “And not just you. God help me, but I love that shithead kid of yours too.” She giggles. “I’ve missed you both so much these last few weeks.”

“We missed you too. It’s been so miserable without you. I think Sam mopes as much as I do.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell her again. “I’m so fucking sorry, Maya. I should have never let you leave. I should have never made you feel like you had to leave.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” I pull back, looking into her gray eyes. “It’s not okay. I don’t want to love you the wrong way. I want to do it the right way because you deserve that and so much more.”

Our bodies fit together like that’s what they were made for, and our mouths tangle in a heated kiss.

It’s not until she’s trembling under my touch that I remember she’s not dressed for this weather at all.

I pull away, needing to get her warm. “We need to get you inside.”

She nods. “One more thing?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too…” I grin against her lips. “Romeo.”

Epilogue

Maya

I’m sixteen all over again, sitting on the toilet in my best friend’s bathroom with pregnancy tests scattered all around me, waiting to see if my world is going to be flipped upside down again.

“Oh god.”

“What does it say?” River strains to see over my shoulder. “What does it say?!”

“It’s negative.”

She sinks back against the counter, looking as relieved as I feel. I exhale a breath, all the stress that’s been weighing on me for the past three days dissipating.

I take two more tests for good measure, and they all give the same result:negative.

I realized earlier this week my period was late. It took me two more days to get up the courage to say something to River and another day to muster enough to take a test.

“Same?” River asks.

I nod. “All the same.”

“Oh, thank god.” She straightens. “I mean, thisisa good thing, right?”

“It’s definitely a good thing.”

It’s only been six months. Nolan and I haven’t been dating near long enough for me to be pregnant with his child. Hell, we’re not even living together yet.

Not to mention I’m not sure how Nolan feels about having kids with me. I know he’s not a big fan of them, but he loves Sam so much. Maybe his feelings have changed?

“You know you have to tell Nolan about this, right?” River chews on her lip, apprehensive.

I sigh, not looking forward to it one bit. “I know. I’ll tell him tonight.”

---