Page 71 of Stay
“You will.” With a wink, she unclasps my seatbelt. “Now get the hell out of here. I’ve got places to go and people to see.”
I send one last glower in her direction before slipping from the car and watching in dread as she backs out, pulling away with a roar of her engine.
“Do you want to come inside for a bit?”
I paste a smile on my lips. “Sure.”
Ten minutes tops and then I’m Ubering it home if I have to. Cole leaves my hockey bag on the porch before holding open the front door for me. We walk through the entryway and living room, arriving at the kitchen where he grabs two bottles of water before leading me up the staircase to his room.
Once there, Cole settles on the armchair in the corner as I sit at the edge of his bed. For a moment, we stare at one another before I break eye contact and glance away. This is so painfully awkward, it’s almost unbearable. When I can’t stand another moment, I shoot to my feet, anxious to leave.
“This was a bad idea. Would you mind driving me back to the dorms?”
His brows furrow as he rises to his feet, eating up the distance separating us. “Is that what you really want, Cassidy?” There’s a pause as his gaze searches mine. “Because I don’t want you to leave.”
My chest feels as if it’s being squeezed in a vise.
I give my head a little shake. I’m so completely out of my element with him.
Being here feels wrong.
Or right.
I don’t know anymore.
I don’t know what I’m feeling. There are too many emotions churning within, making it impossible to separate them.
He draws me into his arms slowly as if giving me a chance to pull away. That’s all it takes to break me down. Instead of fighting the closeness, I give in and allow my head to settle against the broad expanse of his chest. His heart thumps a steady rhythm beneath my ear as he presses a kiss to the crown of my head.
“I don’t want you to go,” he murmurs against my hair.
I squeeze my eyes shut and admit the truth. “I don’t want to go.”
His arms tighten around me. “I’ve missed you.”
I blurt out the one question that has been eating me alive. “Have you been avoiding me?” Even though I know the answer, I want to hear it from him.
For a long moment, he remains quiet. “It seemed like you needed time to sort things out. I was trying to give you space.”
The funny thing is, after the appointment with Dr. Thompson and the visit home, I’d needed time to straighten everything out in my head. Somehow, without me telling him, Cole had sensed it as well.
I’m knocked from those thoughts when he asks, “Do you need more time?” He drops another kiss on my head. “I promised that I wouldn’t push you and I won’t.”
I think about how much I missed him this past week. It’s more than I thought possible.
“No.” I rise onto the tips of my toes until I can reach his mouth. “I don’t need more time. I know what I want and that’s you.” Once the words are out of my mouth, I realize how true they are.
I want to be with Cole.
I’ve been miserable without him.
Lonely in a way I hadn’t realized I was.
The corners of his lips tilt upward. “Good, because I want to be with you, too.”
His mouth opens over mine, and before he’s able to make the first move, I beat him to the punch. A surprised noise rumbles up from deep in his throat as his arms tighten around me again. My heartbeat speeds up as I caress him with my lips. We kiss for a few lazy moments before I pull back to lick and nip at him.
And he lets me do it.
