Page 117 of A World Without You
TWENTY-SEVEN
Sunday, Christmas Eve
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ICALL BENNETT AS SOONas I wake, wishing I was at his place.
“You miss me that much?” he says as a greeting, his voice muffled and thick with sleep.
A smile instantly hits my face.
“At least it’s not four a.m.,” I reason.
“It’s seven on a holiday, so it’s the same as calling me at four a.m.”
“Can I come over?”
There’s a brief pause before he says, “I don’t think you need to ask that question anymore.”
Affection surges in my chest, and I realize how fast and slow life can happen simultaneously. I’ve loved Bennett forever. And now, I get tolovehim forever.
I leave my parents’ house in a hurry, and Mom asks where I’m going, “To Bennett’s! I’ll be back!”
“Just make sure you’re back in time for the seven o’clock service!” she hollers just as I close the door and make a sprint for my car.
Thirty minutes later, I’m at his place, wearing my pajamas and puffy parka without even brushing my hair, and as soon as he opens the door, I throw myself at his bare chest, squeezing him as tight as I can. I touch his shoulders and his chest, run my thumbs along his jaw and kiss his lips. We stumble inside and he closes the door behind us.
“Liv,” he murmurs but I don’t stop kissing him. “Liv. Wait...”
I jump down from him and throw my hands at my mouth. “Oh no, Josie. I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking.”
He smiles. “She’s sleeping.”
“Oh.” Relief floods my chest.
“But you’re crying.”
