Page 166 of Before We're More Than Friends
“I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t want to hear what you had to say.” He brushed my hair out of my eyes, and my stomach leaped. “I know we mess up and say things we don’t mean, but as long as we don’t cross the line and recognize when we’re wrong, we’ll work through it.” He chuckled. “I sound corny.”
I giggled. “You’re good at it.” I put my hand on his chest, gazing into the pool of brown in his eyes. His heartbeat picked up underneath my palm. “Even though you make my head spin, my stomach flutter, and my heart forget how to beat properly, I wouldn’t exchange it for anything else. I don’t want to lose you.”
He rubbed my hand, the touch enough to send chills down my arm. “It’s funny how I’ve felt that way toward you for years and never thought it’d be returned.” His mouth inched closer to mine. “But the way you just described how I make you feel is more than mutual. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lost someone as loving as you.”
“I’m sorry, Sunshine,” I whispered. “Sometimes I feel like you don’t deserve someone like me.”
“I feel like you don’t deserve me, either, Moonlight,” he whispered back, sending another chill through my veins. “But I know we do. We’ve never deserved anything more than each other.”
“I’m scared. What if I turn into my parents? Make the same mistakes until there’s no going back? When sorry starts to be an empty promise?”
“We don’t have to be like our parents. And the fact that you already strive to be different puts you in the right place.” Dallas held my hands, squeezing them tight. “I forgive you, Raina. And I want you to forgive yourself.”
I let out a small breath before my lips met his halfway, the taste of his ChapStick greeting me. His hands wrapped aroundmy waist as I wrapped mine around his neck. I pulled him closer to my chest, wanting him to feel my roaring heartbeat, to feel how thrilled he made me. Even though I was scared I’d mess up again, that something would happen down the line and ruin everything we had, I wanted to be free in the moment.
I wanted to trust myself.
Dallas’s hands traveled to my back, one hand sliding underneath my shirt. I gasped as his warm hand explored my back, but he stopped before it got too far. His other hand continued to travel up and down my T-shirt. Every moment made my skin flush as the butterflies in my stomach came back to life.
The late winter breeze blew by, and I shivered. The heat from the kiss kept my skin warm as I cupped my hands around Dallas’s soft cheeks. Gosh, he felt like a pillow but had the bone structure of a model. There wasn’t a thing about him that I didn’t adore, inside and out. Another breeze blew by, and I shivered longer this time.
“Are you getting cold?” Dallas asked against my lips, his soft voice making the butterflies inside me go wild.
“I was so nervous to see you that I forgot to put on a jacket,” I said, nearly breathless. I absorbed the softness of his lips as I kissed him again. “Gosh, what kind of ChapStick do you use to get your lips that soft?”
“You’re always asking for recommendations, aren’t you?” He laughed before pulling away and taking off his jacket. “Here.” He pulled one warm sleeve over my arm, then the other. “Now you won’t shiver.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I said, though the warmth from his jacket was beyond comfortable. “Now you’ll get cold.”
“No, I won’t.” A beautiful grin spread across his face, revealing those adorable dimples again. “How could I be cold when you never fail to set my skin on fire? I’m always blushing for a reason.”
I traced my finger along his jawline. “I thought it was because you’re pale.”
“I lied,” he whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “It’s because of you. You make me so freaking nervous and excited that I nearly burst into flames.” His lips pressed against mine, harder this time, to the point I let out a moan. “But I love it. I love how you warm me inside and out on the coldest days.”
“Maybe I should be the sunshine instead,” I said against his lips. “I make you hot to the point your skin turns red, and you make me forget to put a jacket on and shiver.”
“I guess we did get the nicknames backward.” His laugh made my heart burst. “But I’m still calling you my moonlight.”
I brushed my hand through his soft curls. “Then you’re still my sunshine.”
We kissed for another minute before breaking apart to catch our breaths. My lips were static as he looked at me like I hung the freaking moon. I couldn’t stop grinning at him, at how in love he looked with me, at the way his eyes lit up in the moonlight.
This was too perfect for my mind to process.
But I’d accept it. Because it was mine.
“So,” I said, watching the dogs run around. “We never finished that song. And even though we’re not doing Battle of the Bands anymore, I still want to work on it.”
“You’re right,” Dallas said with a smile. “Let’s fix that.”
CHAPTER 41
Dallas
My eyes struggled to stay open as I stumbled my way downstairs Friday morning. Raina and I ended up staying at the dog park later than we were supposed to—and my parents had no problem blowing up my phone, demanding me to come home.
When I walked into the kitchen, Dad was making waffles. Kami sat at the table, sipping coffee while scrolling through her phone. It didn’t look like Mom was anywhere, which sadly wasn’t unusual anymore. Ever since Mom and Dad’s fight on Monday, Mom had avoided most family meals.
