Page 56 of Never Started
Chapter twenty-five
Izzy
August 2022
I scoff. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough." He grins confidently.
What the fuck?
"We don't even know each other's real names," I argue with a huff. The dating app doesn’t use real names, which I kind of like, but now I feel at a disadvantage.
"Easy. We can change that now. I'm Maverick, Mav for short." He reaches out a hand to shake mine, and I oblige with a slight chuckle. The gesture seems so silly after the way he just kissed me without contempt.
"Izabel. Everyone calls me Izzy. You? You can call me, never."
"What?" he spits out in a surprised gasp.
"You heard me. This is all too coincidental for me. I just wanted to fuck. Now, I just want to go home." I grab my clutch off the bar and begin to walk away. "Have a nice life, Mister Mysterious."
He grabs my wrist, stopping me in my place beside him. Our eyes meet and stay locked. You'd think it would be uncomfortable, but it isn't.
Again, it feels familiar. Everything about him does, including the way he makes me feel…
Almost the same way Jett used to.
I shake my head, clearing the thought.
I hate that everythingrealstill reminds me ofhim.
I always hoped that after all the time that’s passed between us, he’d be off my mind by now. That isn’t the case. I fear it mayneverbe.
Jett set the bar high—not just for a standard of what a guy should do or act, but for how a guy should rip down my barrier of walls without concern and push my boundaries. Force me tofeel.Only he has ever been able to accomplish that.
Granted, it’s the very thing that scared me away.
My point is: I have serious doubts that I’ll ever feel what I felt for him, for any other man. I’ve accepted this a long time ago. Or so I try to convince myself that I have.
"Kiss me," Maverick whispers roughly directly into my ear as he leans in.
"What?" I huff. "Did you not hear what I just said?"
"Oh, I did, and I'll say it again... Kiss. Me."
I don't like kissing. It feels so.... Intimate. Whereas, when I'm with a guy, it's strictly only to get off. Fuck feelings and emotions.
The truth is, there's only one man I ever felt comfortable kissing, and I lost him long ago due to my own issues.
Ugh. Here I go again, thinking of Jett.
Alwaysthinking of Jett.
FUCK IT!
Didn’t I just say I wanted a man to push my boundaries?
I lean in and press my lips to his, drowning out my relentless thoughts and memories. His fresh, citrusy scent invades my senses, sending my body into overdrive. I place a hand on his chest to stop the kiss just as one of his hands wraps in my hair, pulling me closer.
