Page 87 of Fake it 'Til Christmas
I give a weak smile.“Like I said.I’m not great at this.”
She lets out a sob-laugh and launches herself into my chest.Her arms wrap tight around me, face pressed to my neck, and I swear the second I feel her cling like that—like she needs me back—I break too.
I wrap my arms around her tighter than I probably should.
“You idiot,” she says, voice muffled.“I’ve been in love with you since ...I don’t know.I wanted to avoid it, but our pre-Thanksgiving dinner blew my plans.”
I freeze.Pull back just enough to see her face.
Her cheeks are blotchy.Her mascara smudged.Her mouth trembling.
And she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“I thought you were going to shut down again,” she whispers.“That you were going to pretend none of it meant anything.”
“I wanted to,” I admit.“It was easier.”
“But?”
“But loving you feels better than being safe.”
And then I kiss her.
Not a thank-you kiss.Not a goodbye or a maybe someday kiss.
It’s all in.All the shit I’m bad at saying poured into her mouth like she’s the only person I’ve ever wanted to tell the truth to.
I kiss her like it’s the first time I’ve ever meant anything.
Her hands fist in my jacket.She kisses me back like she’s trying to memorize it—it’s as if she’s scared it won’t last, but she’s going to take every damn second of it anyway.
When we finally pull apart, she’s breathless, flushed, eyes bright with something that makes my ribs ache.
“I don’t want to go back to pretending,” she whispers.
“Then don’t.”
She laughs once, then swallows it.Her voice breaks.
“I want to be yours.For real.Not just for a weekend.Not just for a fake story we sell to our families.I want to be your too-much, says-too-much, feels-too-hard girlfriend who accidentally fell for the guy she was never supposed to keep.”
“You already are,” I whisper, leaning in.
I kiss her again.Slower.Like we’re catching our breath in the middle of something we both want to last.
She pulls back, lips still parted, eyes on mine.
And then she says it.
Low.Sure.Almost smiling.
“Come inside, stay with me.”
I follow her, heart in my throat, hope in my hands.
This time, I’m not running.
This time, I’m staying to be with her, to love her.
