Page 113 of Hail Marry
“I’m absolutely and completely, out-of-my-mind terrified of losing you, Tori.”
My gaze snaps to his.
“I can’t,” he says. “I won’t.”
My eyelids flutter, and the room spins slightly, so I grip the counter.
“Tori, I…” He clenches his jaw shut and takes a second before speaking again. “I love you.”
My breath hitches.
“And I’m gonna kiss you again right now,” he says.
My heart pummels my ribs, and I nod.
His gaze grows more fixed, and I wait.
The second his fingers touch my waist, chills ripple across my skin, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
He takes a step closer, his eyes growing dark as they travel over my face and pause on my lips, like they’ve found their target. They sweep to my eyes once more, and the pressure of his fingertips on my waist grows more insistent before he dips his head and his lips touch mine.
It’s slow, deep, and thorough, like he wants to make certain no part is left wanting. But it doesn’t work. No matter how much he kisses me, I’m in a constant state of waiting and wanting more. And it’s not just me.
He scoops me into his arms and takes me to his room, laying me on the bed as he shoves the pillow aside, his lips never leaving mine.
And the tacos go cold on the kitchen counter.
26
LUCA
I’ve experienceda lot of ups and downs in my life. Hard-won wins like yesterday’s. Gut-wrenching losses—the kind where you lose by a point or a penaltyandthe kind where you get absolutely crushed.
The depth and breadth of those emotions feel like child’s play compared to waking up to Tori next to me this morning. Not just next to me but in my arms.
A little voice in my head whispers,“You’ll lose her too.”
I counter it by pressing lips softly to Tori’s temple. It’s possible that things with Tori don’t work out, but if they don’t, I’ll do everything to make sure it’s not my fault. If there’s any risk worth taking, it’s Tori.
I stay in bed for what feels like hours. I’m awake, but my eyes are closed as I relive the last two days of life, from the youth camp and the immigration visit and the game to last night.
Tori shifts in my arms, and I watch her as she slowly begins to wake, love for her consuming me.
I worried I’d regret telling her how I felt, but I know now that’s impossible. She deserves to know how much I adore her. She deserves everything. And I want so badly to be the one to give it to her.
Her eyes finally settle on me, and I wait until the realization of where she is hits her.
She smiles sleepily up at me and nestles closer, pressing her cheek against my bare chest.
“Did you sleep at all?” she asks.
I rest my chin on her head, reveling in the feeling of knowing she wants to be close just like I do, like a confirmation of everything we said last night and all the ways we expressed it afterward. “Yeah.”
“Even without your magic pillow?”
I smile into her hair and press a kiss to it. “You’remy new magic pillow.”
She wraps her arm around me and pulls me closer, lifting her chin so her lips rest on my neck. “Does that mean you’ll be needing me every night?”
