Page 53 of Always a Chance
She was still for a moment before reaching up on her toes, every movement slow, deliberate. I hadn’t seen it coming, but the moment her lips touched mine, I didn’t want it to end. Our first kiss was bathed in the pain of what happened after.
This was something else entirely.
I tried to pull back. “Talia, last night you said—”
“Forget what I said,” she whispered against my lips.
Still, I hesitated.
She planted one hand on each side of my face and looked into my eyes. “It’s okay, Johnny. I want this too.”
At those words, I closed the distance once more, giving in to the need racing through my veins. A kind of need I’d never felt before.
I just knew I never wanted to let her go again.
25
TALIA
TEN YEARS AGO: GRADUATION NIGHT
The party was in full swing by the time we got there, and I was already annoyed. Johnny took way too long on his hair, something I teased him about until it meant sitting around his house for an extra hour with Aidan.
The three of us walked from the parking lot to the beach right next to the Beach Club, where a giant bonfire sent sparks into the night air.
I didn’t want to be here, so the quicker I could get in and out, the better.
“Why did we come to this again?” Aidan asked, mirroring my exact feelings.
I could sense Johnny rolling his eyes even in the dark. “Because, my strange friends, we just graduated high school and every person from our class is here. Don’t you want to see them before we all go our separate ways?”
“No,” I said.
“Not really,” Aidan chimed in.
Johnny sighed. “Well, you two go be fire flowers while I say hi to some people.”
“Fire flowers?” I crossed my arms. “That makes no sense.”
“You know, like wallflowers, but there are no walls here, only a bonfire.”
“Doesn’t really translate, nerd.”
Johnny slid an arm over my shoulders. “Just pretend to have fun, okay? For me.”
What he didn’t know was I’d probably have done anything for him at that point. He walked off to a group of girls near the edge of the water, and Aidan gave me a pointed look.
“Don’t.” I started toward the fire.
“I’m just… worried about you.” He fell in step with me.
“I’ll be fine.”
But I wasn’t. I spent most of the night watching Johnny go from one group of friends to the next, hugging girls, laughing at whatever they said.
Not even the fire could keep me warm.
Aidan headed off to find a restroom, leaving me surrounded by classmates I wouldn’t miss. When Michael Stanford dropped down at my side, I inched away until I was on the very edge of my seat.
