Page 14 of Love.V2
I grinned like a maniac when we bought his ticket and found our bus. His hand landed on my thigh the second we’d settled on the scratchy seats.
“Alright, Theresa Lynn. Let’s get down to business here.” He rifled around my backpack for a moment while I crinkled my nose at him.
“So serious.”
“Oh, this is serious. You, young lady, need to start your list.” He placed a pen and one of my sketchbooks in my hands. “I know you’ve been avoiding it.”
I only hesitated a second before launching myself at him. His lips tasted like his smile. The pads of his fingers swept up into my hair, tongue spearing between my lips the instant I opened them.
A soft grunt sounded from his throat, and I cupped my hands around his neck. I wanted to feel everything about him, even his sounds.
“I love you,” I murmured, pressing my mouth against his so many times that all the kisses melted into one long, feverish one. I shivered when his palm swept up the skin of my back, underneath my tank top.
“I love you, too.” He stole another kiss, squeezing my waist. “But unless you want to get kicked off this bus, you’re going to have to get back in your own seat.”
I grinned while I climbed back to my side, running my hands down his chest while he glowered at me, the warning look ruined by his smiling, kiss-swollen lips.
As the bus lurched away from the station, I considered the blank paper in front of me. Truthfully, I’d been avoiding making this list because I hadn’t wanted to think too hard about being away from Dylan. Now, though, with his warm hand on my leg and the smell of him drowning out the funk of the bus, the concept didn’t seem so scary. My pen moved.
1. Write a letter to Dylan every day.
“Oh, I like that one.” His fingers stroked the skin just below the hem of my denim shorts. “What else?”
2. See a waterfall.
“You’ve never seen a waterfall before?” His question wasn’t judgmental. Just curious.
“Nope.”
“There’s a great hike about an hour away from campus. Beautiful falls. We should go when you get back. We could go camping.”
“Camping?” Growing up with a family that couldn’t always afford rent, the concept ofchoosingto sleep outside was bizarre to me. Even this art camp had cabins. But Dylan’s eyes turned fiery as he scanned the length of my legs.
“Oh, yeah. You ever had sex in the woods, Angel?”
“You know I haven’t.” Dylan had been my first in many ways. His cocky smirk told me he was pleased to be reminded of that fact. Or pleased to remind me. I glanced at him through my lashes, asking oh-so-innocently, “Should I add it to the Indianapolis list?”
“No, no.” Dylan’s brow furrowed as he gripped my wrist to stop me from writing it down. A tickle of laughter simmered in my chest. “Maybe we need to start two lists. One for the summer and one when you get back…”
I had been dreading this bus ride for so long, so sure I’d be alone, miserable, and already missing him. Now, though, as he tore off a new piece of paper and labeled it “Dylan and Tess’s August List,” I didn’t feel sad at all.
I felt like I couldn’t wait to get started on a new list with him. To get started on our future together.
Chapter 3
Dylan
The baby’s face was half-covered by a pink knitted hat. Its skin was squishy and looked a little orange.
“She’s gorgeous,” I whispered, looking at the little blob on my phone. I couldn’t have picked her out of a lineup, but she was my best friend’s kid and therefore flawless. That’s just how it went.
Mac pulled the phone out of his new daughter’s face, grinning at me with tired eyes. “Put her mama through the ringer. Twenty-seven hours of labor, man. It was brutal.”
Ever since we’d met in college, Mac had been more than my best friend. He was family. There was something sappy and satisfying about watching him settle on the edge of the hospital bed where his wife, Lexi, cradled the newest member of their family.
“Couldn’t tell. Lex, you look beautiful.” She looked like she’d just pushed out a baby without sleeping for a whole day, but, again, it was just one of those things. Besides, they had this contented, quiet glow hanging around them. The three of them, sitting close together after all the frenzy that went into bringing a baby into the world.
I rubbed at my chest.
