Page 266 of Ruin My Life
I pout at him, my lips tugging into something soft and teasing. “What if I never get it?”
Damon looks up at me—still crouched between my thighs like some dark, worshipful knight—and gives me one of those soul-breaking, heart-mending smiles.
“You will,mi rosa,” he says, wiping me clean with a gentleness that’s anything but innocent.
Then he rises, cups my cheek with his clean hand, and kisses me—slow, deep, and grounding.
“You’re the smartest person I know. The most stubborn. The most determined.” His thumb drags over my bottom lip. “I have no doubt you’ll figure it out.”
He tosses the tissues in the bin by my desk and laces our fingers together as he helps me to my feet. My legs are still trembling, but I don’t mind. With Damon, I never have to feel unsteady. When I fall, he’s already there to catch me.
“I wasn’t lying,” he says, reaching for his jeans. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now.”
I smirk as I step back into my panties and shorts. “I’m already packed,” I tell him, snapping my bra into place and crossing the room.
I swing open my wardrobe to reveal the row of empty hangers and a neatly packed suitcase tucked inside. “Just need to toss in a few last-minute essentials.”
Damon’s smile widens. In three long strides, he’s in front of me, pulling me flush against his chest, his hands warm and secure on my waist. He presses a soft kiss to the crown of my head.
“Let’s go home,mi amor.”
Home.
Not just a place.
Not just an address.
Him.
I can’t wait to be home.
WE’VE BEEN ONthe interstate for about an hour when I finally notice Damon’s GPS isn’t routing us back to New York.
There’s no audio on, and we’ve been listening to music and talking the whole time, but when I glance down, it’s already prompting him to take the next exit.
“Did you put in the right address?” I ask. “We’re nowhere near New York yet.”
He glances at the screen like he’s just now checking. “Yeah, I’ve got the right address in there.”
I peer out the window, squinting at the blur of trees and the occasional house tucked between thick forests. At first, it’s just another stretch of nowhere—until a flicker of recognition tugs at my memory.
We’ve been here before.
Many times, actually.
Judith’s Point passes by in a blink, and it all clicks.
“We’re going to Rebecka’s house?”
“Mm-hm.” Damon nods like it’s the most casual thing in the world. “She misses you too.”
My smile blooms so fast it almost hurts.
I love Rebecka—and ithasfelt like forever since I last saw her.
Over winter break, I’d taken the train and met Damon at the ferry port. He’d already packed the SUV with the whole crew. I figured spending the last stretch squished between Chavez and Lee would be better than an entire two hours from campus. What I didn’t know was that Damon had planned to somehow shove them all into the backseat and give me shotgun the entire way.
The ferry is busier this time, brimming with people chasing summer. Sea spray mists my skin, clean and salty, and the breeze slides through my hair like a familiar hand.
