Page 91 of Tilly in Technicolor
My hands move from her shoulders, back to her hips, gripping her butt with something that could only be described as determined gusto. Tilly sucks in a breath then giggles.
“Is that better?” I ask, looking at her with a completely serious expression while I continue to squeeze her bottom. Tilly laughs even harder, wrapping her arms around me.
“Perfect.”
We touch each other, nervous giggles turning into a shared sigh. Smiles melting into kisses and parted lips.
We ask what feels good. Tell each other what doesn’t. We’re hungry mouths. Fumbling hands.
We’re filled with more tenderness and trust than there are grains of sand on the beach we lie down on.
I make an effort to be as gentle as possible through my fumbling awkwardness.
And Tilly is, too. Every touch feels adoring. Special.
Then we both turn a bit frantic, chests heaving and teeth clashing as we move together. Closer.
Beautifully, terrifyingly, magnificently close.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my hand trembling a bit as I move my palm to cup the angle of her jaw, her eyes closed and brow furrowed.
I feel her relax after a deep breath, and when she looks up at me, something wild and wonderful builds between us.
Tilly’s smile is nothing short of radiant as she reaches up and threads her fingers in my hair. Tracing them down my neck. Across my shoulders.
“I’m perfect,” she says, leaning up to kiss me.
“I’d have to agree,” I say with a tiny gasp.
We both giggle like the infatuated fools we are.
In the aftermath, we hold hands, lying on our blanket and staring up at the devastatingly blue sky. Reaching out, I tuck Tilly’s head against my chest, kissing her hair. I breathe in the familiar scent of her skin mixed with the salty sea air. We stay like that for a while, preserving our infinite moment of perfection. Golden threads of happiness tethering us together.
Chapter 38Besties
OLIVER
“We didn’t come all this way to watch you two sleep,” a voice—which sounds disturbingly like my sister’s—cuts through my dream of warm beaches and soft kisses.
“Get up,” another voice says, jolting me fully awake with a shove.
“Oh, Marcus,don’t.They look so cute cuddled together.”
Is that…
I sit up, scrubbing my eyes then blinking rapidly as Marcus, Micah, Cubby, and her band all blink into focus. Surrounding the exceptionally small bed Tilly and I are squeezed into.
It’s another moment until I realize that I’m not wearing a shirt.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I say, scrambling to pull the duvet up over my chest like a scandalized mother.
“Surprise!” Micah cheers, throwing their arms out.
“You’re here!” Tilly yells, extremely close to my ear, as she sits up, too.
“What… you knew about this?” I ask, turning to her.
“Tillyplannedit,” Darcy says, moving forward to give Tillya hug. The two collapse back onto the mattress with a squeal and I’m effectively shoved out of the bed.
