Page 88 of The Haunting of Lockton
“Is that even possible?” he asked. “Cutting ties and moving on? Never talking again?”
“Sounds to me like you’ve done it many times before. New town, new person to warm your bed, then you move on and forget all about them. Why would this time be any different?”
“Becauseyou’redifferent, Paxton.” Skyler sharply exhaled and mussed up the back of his hair. “Jesus Christ. You have my head ten kinds of fucked-up. I’ve never felt like this.”
“Like what?”
He gnashed his teeth over his bottom lip and turned to face the willow tree, his muscles tensing up. “Forget it. This is why I avoid this shit. I don’t know what I expected by coming here tonight.”
I would put my money on sex. However, the words wouldn’t form on my lips. Because if sex was all he wanted from me, why did he have that hurt look in his eyes? Why was he coiled tight like a spring about to pop?
“I’ve never felt like this either,” I said softly. Emotion had bled back into my tone, replacing the hollowness with the true feeling I’d tried so hard not to let him see. “My whole life, I’ve never had many friends. Growing up, other kids called me weird. I even earned the nicknamethe freaky ghost boybecause I slipped up once and mentioned Alan to a boy in my class. It led to some heavy bullying.”
Skyler shifted his gaze to me.
“So, I started distancing myself from everyone,” I continued. “They just… don’t understand me. Very few people do. Guys I’ve dated never stuck around for long. They all said I was too closed off. And they were right. I didn’t care enough to put forth effort to keep them.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t believe I’m even admitting this out loud…” My face got hot. “But I didn’t feel a spark with any of them.”
“A spark?”
I nodded. “I once read that kissing the right person is like fireworks exploding in your chest. How your heart speeds up and your breaths become unsteady. How a single touch from them can ignite something in your core. None of them made me feel that way.”
“You’re a romantic,” he said with a level of surprise. “I didn’t expect that.”
Not for the first time since meeting him, I wished a hole would open up in the ground and swallow me whole. Slightly mortified by the confession, I focused on the nearest tombstone. Okay, not slightly. It was a full-blown horror I’d more than likely lose sleep over.
“Fireworks, huh?” Skyler lightly breathed out, the sound like an audible smile.
“Stop.” I groaned. “Forget I said anything.”
I started to walk away, and he grabbed my hand, spinning me back into his orbit. Once there, gravity kept me in place, every part of me attracted to every part of him. Our bodies met with the softest of presses.
“I’d describe it more as a bomb,” Skyler said, his long dark lashes lowering as his eyes hooded. His palm skated across mine before our fingers slid together. “One that knocked the fucking breath from my lungs.”
“Skyler…” His name came out strained. A bit gruff. “This… we should just end this now.”
“What if I don’t want to?” He squeezed my hand. “For years, I’ve settled for random hookups because honestly? The thought of letting anyone closer than that scared the fuck outta me. But the thought of walking away from you scares me more.”
My heart lodged in my throat. I glanced at his lips, fighting the urge to claim them. Even if it was only for one last time.
That ice in my lungs shattered as he claimed mine instead.
Skyler had always felt so warm, like a crackling fire on a cold winter day. As we kissed, those flames seeped into me, traveling through my veins and settling in my heart. I always knew he would set me on fire. Burn me. But maybe the burn wasn’t so bad. It was proof that something had been there. Something I’d never felt before and would probably never feel again.
With his mouth on mine, those fireworks I’d only ever read about shot up into the sky and burst. My mouth trembled on his. He seemed to be trembling too.
He broke the kiss and whispered against my lips, “Look. I don’t know what the future holds. I’m a ‘live in the moment’ kind of guy.” He glided the tip of his nose along my cheekbone. “But your question earlier got me thinking.”
I drew back to meet his gaze. Even in the darkness of the cemetery, beneath a starless sky with only slivers of moonlight bleeding through the clouds that had rolled in, I saw something achingly tender shine in his eyes. “About what?”
“You.” Skyler wrapped both arms around my waist. “About us and what happens when all this is done.”
I stilled against him, refusing to get my hopes up. “And?”
“Truth is, I don’t know what’ll happen,” he admitted. “But this thing between us? It’s not just a casual thing to me, Pax. I meant it when I said I’ve never felt like this about anyone.”
