Page 67 of Every Now and Then
“Is it too late to change my RSVP for a long weekend at the ranch over the winter break?”
He takes a step toward me, closing the small gap between us.
I tilt my head to look him in the eye. “I’m all caught up on my reading, and I think we're on the same page now."
“You saying what I think you’re saying, Jeopardy?”
23
Hayes
Now
With a gulp, Annabelle nods.
I brush her hair over her shoulder and lower my mouth to her skin, kissing the spot under her ear.
“Hayes,” she whispers, her body shuddering under my mouth. Her lips hover so close to mine that I can smell the sugary sweetness on her breath from her latte. When my gaze meets hers, I read the heat and yearning in her eyes.
Whenever I’m around Annabelle, she drives me absolutely fucking crazy. I’m constantly battling against remembering the memories of our night at Tank’s because the second they hit me, I’m hard and desperate to make new memories. I’ve jacked off andtaken more cold showers in the past few weeks than I have in my entire adult life. She said she wanted to take it slow, and I've respected her wishes.
But when Annabelle twists her head so that her mouth meets mine, my restraint evaporates like steam on a hot summer day.
My hands grip her face, sliding from her cheeks into her hair. My lips crash into hers, and my body tingles with so much pent-up sexual desire. I pour everything I have into this kiss with Annabelle—all the longing, all the attraction, all the love.
Holy shit. Love?
Have I fallen in love with Annabelle?
Aside from Jane and a few short-term girlfriends in high school and college, I haven’t had any serious relationships and certainly none that culminated in love. While I was with Jane, she pushed and prodded, hoping one day I'd return her feelings. But I never did.
But maybe that’s the thing about love. It isn’t planned, and it can’t be cajoled or coerced. Maybe it just…happenswhen you least expect it.
Annabelle lets out a soft, sensual whimper as her arms wind around my neck, pulling me closer. Her kiss starts out gentle, but it quickly deepens, growing more urgent. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, teasing, and I nip at her plush lower lip, moaning at the flood of sensations coursing through me.
She pushes me backward until my ass hits the edge of the marble counter. Fuck, it’s hot watching her close the distance, step by step, until she’s standing between my legs. My erection presses into her stomach as her hands slip under my shirt, fingertips tracing the lines of my abs. I close my eyes, muscles clenching and twitching as she explores me with slow, deliberate touches in an exquisite torture.
When her fingers reach the soft trail of hair starting at my belly button and disappearing beneath my sweatpants, I shudder, breathcatching in anticipation. She lingers there, her fingers flirting with the waistband.
But then I hear something odd. Pulling back an inch, I ask, “Is that… are those frogs croaking?”
Annabelle springs out of my arms. “Oh, shit! That’s my alarm. I have a work meeting starting in thirty minutes. Damn, I’ve gotta go, Hayes!”
Dazed, all I say is, “Blue balls.”
With a laugh, Annabelle pats my cheek. “I’ll make it up to you later,” she says before she kisses me again. “Promise.”
“I’m holding you to that, Yankee!” I holler after her as she runs out of the bathroom, leaving me to drown in my confounding emotions.
Is it really love? Or just pent-up lust?
And if it is love, why does it freak me out?
Ever since our one-night stand, all I wanted was to be reunited with her, so now that I have her, why am I so nervous?
I swipe my truck keys off the kitchen counter and take the elevator down to the parking garage. Then I drive over to Rowdy’s house because I need to talk to someone who understands what it feels like to want someone like I want Annabelle.
When I pull up to the home he shares with Bailey, I see it through fresh eyes. The first time he showed it to me, I thought he was out of his mind. The house itself is stunning… but it’s not a fun, flashy bachelor pad. It’s a family home. Rowdy and Bailey had only been dating a few months when he bought this place, but now I get it. He must’ve already seen the writing on the wall.
