Page 55 of Never Stop
The laugh that escapes his perfect mouth is contagious, and before I know it, I'm laughing with him.
"There's no smooth-talking, only facts. I'm not exaggerating when I say my heart needs yours like a candle needs a burning flame, and I've gone without you for far too long. This is it. I don't plan on letting you slip through my fingers again. You're mine." He pulls me in by my waist. Our bodies are so incredibly close that they practically mold into one as we stare into each other's eyes.
"I may be a strong man, but I don't think I'll be strong enough to deny you again. So do me a favor, baby, don't tempt me again until I've earned it." His smug grin grows as he throws me a wink. Rubbing his hands up and down my shoulders, he leans down and kisses my forehead.
"Oh, Ander. I don't even know what to say after that." I admit, my voice is so soft and barely even whispered.
He offers a sweet smile, his eyes soft. "All you have to say is yes. You'll be mine. No more running from what we both know can't be broken."
"I'm yours. I've always been yours."
Chapter twenty-one
Via
The night was long with Ander. It was a night filled with deep conversations and laughs, and we were consumed by one another as if no time had passed between us. Every bit of it was perfect, even though he held out on me, which made it pretty damn difficult.
I look across the room at the shirtless, perfect man strumming on his acoustic guitar that he grabbed from his truck earlier this morning. As he sits in boxers, I have to stop myself from drooling. He's singing me one of the songs he clearly wrote about our teenage romance, and I can't help but feel that we are coming full circle. I can't believe I've never heard any of these songs before now. After our first date, I did my deep dive search, and he totally underplayed his success. He's had multiple record label offers, all of which he's turned down.
His voice draws me in, and I can't ignore him. He strums on that guitar so effortlessly, like it's second nature, just like he always has. The teenage version of me is swooning inside,hanging on every strum and word that rasps out of his perfect mouth.
"Why have you turned down all the record label offers? Your music deserves to be heard, Ander." My words are soft and careful. I already have a sense of how he feels about this.
He stops strumming as he leans over his guitar, and his eyes meet mine. His face is serious, like he's deep in thought. He's so different than I am. I'm quick to respond to everything.
He shrugs and finally, after processing my question long enough, "You know me, V. That was never what I was after. My songs were only ever meant for one person."I arch an eyebrow at him curiously. I lean back in my chair, seated across from him in my living room, patiently waiting for him to continue.
"You, my Rosie. Most of my songs are about us, about our love, about the grief I felt when I lost you. They were never meant for anyone other than you. I'm not looking for fame from them. I like writing them. It helps me to process how I'm feeling inside."
I stare at him for a beat. It's my turn to soak in his words and process. Part of me is instinctively freaking out inside as I realize I can't hold back from him any longer.
I want this.
I want everything with him. I always have. It's always been Ander and Via against the world, but that other part of me knows this is a bad idea. The part of me that craves him seems to be winning.
"Do you want to go on an adventure with me?" He asks, interrupting my thoughts. I can't help but let out a laugh. He smirked smugly as if he knew something that I didn't know.
"Well, look at this shit, Anderson Cole wants to be adventurous? What's gotten into you, Mr. TikTok?" I tease him playfully as the laughs spill from me. He joins along briefly as he rolls his eyes. That sexy, tempting grin meets his lips as his eyes glare into me with a fire behind them. He sets his guitar downand pads across the living room over to me. He pulls me up into a hug. My head rests perfectly against his chest, right below his chin. It always has. I stand at five foot six inches, and he must stand about six foot three. Somehow, we intertwine perfectly.
"Ha. So damn funny. Now hush that pretty mouth and get dressed so we can leave before I'm tempted to shut it for you." He's looking down at me and winks as he kisses my forehead. He releases me and grabs my hand, motioning me toward my bedroom, laying a firm smack on my ass as I walk by.
Looking over my shoulder, I turn back at him, "I might like that." I return his wink. He lets out a low growl, forces himself to turn away, and shakes his head as he runs a hand through his hair.
Ander wouldn't tell me where we were going, but I already had an idea. I know this ride down to the Island like the back of my hand. It's imprinted in my mind like a road map to my heart. I haven't been able to come back since the accident.
Six whole years of not going to your favorite place, a place that was once your safe haven, is a long time. I'm flooded with memories when I taste the salt in the air. Exiting the bridge and turning onto the one road into Grand Isle almost becomes too much. There's a pulsing ache in my stomach, hoping not to pass by our old beach home.
I almost tell Ander that I can't handle this, but who the fuck am I if I turn down an adventure.
As if he could sense my nervousness, he reached across the console of his truck and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightlyand running his thumb back and forth across the palm of my hand. I smile up at him, letting him know I'm not just stuck in my head but also here with him.
My breath hitches as the truck pulls into the driveway of my family's old beach home. I glare, confused, at Ander, who has his lips in a straight line. I can tell he's nervous.
"Ander. . . What—"
"I bought it, Rosie." His voice is shaky. He breaks eye contact and looks down at our hands, still clamped together, his thumb tracing the lines on my palm.
Shaking my head in disbelief, "How the— . . . How?" My eyes shoot to him, confused.
