Chapter 61
Gage
“Do you need rescuing?” I asked, my voice low, amused, as I looked down at the beautiful girl in my arms. My girl.
A sound tumbled from her lips, light and bubbling–half giggle, half sigh–before she twisted in my hold to face me properly. Her hands slid up my chest with the kind of careless ease that told me everything I needed to know. She was tipsy. The signs were written all over her. The soft flush on her cheeks, the slight shine in her eyes, the way her smile couldn’t quite stay serious even when she tried. And still, she was stunning. Breath–stealing. Mine.
“Not anymore, no,” she said, her lips quirking like she was trying too hard to pull herself together. Her hands looped around my neck, tugging me slightly forward so we were bent closer, so her breath touched my skin.
I let my gaze travel down her, dragging heat with it. My blood shifted lower, hardening me instantly. That wrap–around dress clung to her waist, showing off the subtle flare of her hips like a secret only I was allowed to see. The skirt brushed past her knees, black fabric scattered with tiny red roses, the green leaves curling in delicate patterns. It was sweet, almost innocent, but what it did across her chest wasn’t innocent at all. The fabric stretched just enough to frame her cleavage, teasing me with the thought of what I could take if I wanted. If I tugged on that thin tie at her side, the whole thing would unravel, slipping right off her shoulders, and she’d be laid bare for me. For only me.
My fingers found her hips, gliding over the fabric until they rested at the very top of the curve of her ass. My voice dropped even lower. “How much have you had to drink, gorgeous?”
Her lips parted in a grin so wide it was almost a laugh. “Not enough!” Savannah’s voice burst out instead, shrill and cutting across the moment like glass shattering. She staggered up to us, already reaching to grab at Bree’s arm. “I’m gonna go get us some more!”
Before I could intervene, Savannah slipped back into the thick press of swaying bodies, her glittering dress flashing once before she disappeared into the crowd.
I didn’t follow her with my eyes. I didn’t even care. My focus was locked where it had been all night–on Bree.
Her blue eyes caught mine again, bright and burning, pulling me straight under. That look, the way she searched me, the way she seemed to need me–it made me want to clear the whole ******g room. I wanted to snap my fingers, bark out a command, do whatever it took to leave us alone in the silence. Just her and me.
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<Chapter 61
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It had been too damn long since she touched me like this. Too long since her arms had wrapped around my neck willingly, since she’d pressed herself close without me having to coax her, without me taking the first step.
Because I always took the first step.
I’d brushed against her on purpose, brushed her hand, her shoulder, let my fingers linger when I shouldn’t. Anything to keep the spark between us alive, to remind her it was still there. That we were still there. But she never met me halfway. She never reached out on her own. And I told myself I was fine with it. That I’d wait. That I’d take scraps if that’s all she’d give.
But right here, right now?
Her hands were on me first. Her body was pushing into mine. Her touch felt like more than a scrap–it felt like a shift. Like she was finally leaning across that line, finally deciding to stop fighting me, stop fighting us.
And damn, if that didn’t feel like the start of something dangerous, something I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.
“She’s not gonna come back,” I murmured, my mouth brushing the shell of Bree’s ear as I spoke. The bass thumped against us like a pulse, the floor shifting beneath our feet, but all I could feel was her. I slid my hands further down her back, pulling her tighter against me, and the moment she pressed into me, the entire room disappeared.
“Why not?” she asked. Her voice was soft, but her eyes weren’t. They were locked on my mouth, and there was something there–something I couldn’t name. Maybe she was just trying to read my lips over the music. Maybe she wanted me to kiss her. I couldn’t tell. And f**k, not knowing was driving me insane.
“Kenneth is at the drinks table,” I grinned, my thumb stroking the small of her back. The image of him leaning over Savannah’s shoulder popped into my mind, and it made me chuckle. “He’s going in for the kill tonight.”
A flicker of a smile curved over Bree’s lips, like she wanted to laugh but couldn’t quite let herself. The way it softened her face made me want to drag her somewhere dark and quiet and keep her there until she stopped looking at me like she might vanish at any second.
“And what about you?” she asked. Her voice was different this time–lower, huskier. Her fingers slid higher, threading into my hair, and my eyes nearly rolled back from the simple drag of her nails against my scalp. Jesus. It shouldn’t feel like that. Something so small shouldn’t feel like her hands on my skin, her mouth on my neck, her entire body under mine.
“What about me, gorgeous?” I rasped, tightening my arms around her, drawing her close enough that her curves lined up perfectly against me. Her scent, her warmth–it was like my
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<Chapter 61
body had been starving and didn’t know it until right then.
+25 Points
“Why are you here tonight?” she whispered. It almost got swallowed by the bass, but I heard it. Every syllable landed straight in my chest.
I dropped my forehead against hers, my breath mingling with hers, the distance between us almost gone. “I’m here for you, Bree,” I said. The words ripped out of me before I could think, before I could weigh how heavy they’d land. “I’m here because I can’t get you out of my head. Because I can’t picture a future where you’re not in it. Because I can’t figure out how to make you mine, and because I’ll do anything–anything–to make sure you become mine.” My fingers fisted in the fabric at her waist. “I’m here because I love you.”
She made a sound then, soft but cracked, like something inside her broke at my confession. It was the kind of sound that made me want to pull her closer, shield her, fix whatever I’d just hurt. But I couldn’t take the words back. I didn’t want to. I was done hiding.
I’d given her my letter. I’d made sure Jenna knew what Bree meant to me. I’d made sure Oliver wouldn’t touch her, wouldn’t even f*****g breathe near her again. All the barriers were gone. All the excuses stripped away. Now it was only Bree. Only her choosing to stop running.
“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice trembling, her fingers still tangled in my hair. Someone stumbled into us from the side–some drunk, thoughtless body moving to the music–and instinctively, I pivoted us, turning my back to take the hit, shielding her with my body like I always would.
“I’ll never stop loving you, Bree,” I said, my mouth right at her ear, my neck bent low so she had nowhere to look but at me. “It’d be easier to stop breathing. Easier to stop my heart. Easier to just stop existing.” My hand slid up her spine, holding her flush against me. “You’re everything.”
Her bottom lip trembled, a small quiver that spoke of more than just alcohol. There was something raw and unguarded in her eyes, something that made my stomach tighten. It hadn’t been my intention to make her cry, not tonight. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted. But some truths needed to be spoken, and this one had been building between us for far too long.
“I–I love you too, Gage,” she whispered, her voice breaking in the middle. As the words spilled from her lips, I could almost see the weight lifting off her shoulders, see how her posture straightened just a little. It was like a physical release, like she could finally breathe without pain.
My eyes slid closed as a rush of air escaped me, my chest rising and falling hard. My heart was hammering so loud it drowned out the music and the chatter around us. Hearing those words out loud–words I had dreamed about, ached for–was like someone pressing balm
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into a wound I’d been nursing for years. Each syllable of her confession stitched another piece of my heart back together, slow and sure, until it almost felt whole again.
“And I’m done running from it,” she added softly, her voice carrying the kind of resolve that made my eyes snap open. She was looking up at me, her face tilted, eyes steady and burning with determination. “I’m done running from you.”
“You are?” My voice cracked, and I hated how vulnerable it sounded. But it was the truth- relief and hope churned inside of me, fighting for space. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,
Bree. I can’t-”
“I love you, Gage Simmons,” she said, louder this time, so sure of herself that a couple of people nearby actually turned their heads to stare. Her voice didn’t waver, even as she swallowed roughly. “And if I haven’t ruined everything, if I haven’t waited too long…” She paused, drawing a shaky breath. “Then I would love to be your girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. Bree Morgan wanted to be my girlfriend. Officially. The word felt too small for what she was to me. It felt like I should be getting down on one knee, not standing in the middle of a crowded room with my heart in my throat. But maybe she was right–maybe baby steps were exactly what we needed.
“You wanna be my girlfriend?” I asked, my lips curving into an unrestrained smirk despite the chaos inside me. “You know what that entails, right?”
Her eyes darted between mine, curious and unsure. “What do you mean?”
I let my hand travel further down until it rested firmly on the curve of her ass. Her lips parted with a soft gasp, and a flash of heat surged between us. “It means you’re mine, Bree. It means you come to my games and you wear my jersey. It means I’ll walk you to your classes, kissing you senseless before you disappear inside to get even smarter than you already are. It means you’ll have mercy on me and let me cook at my dorm instead of going to the goddamn cafeteria every day. It means,” I murmured, leaning closer, “you’ll be with me.”
She blinked up at me, her eyes shining, her brain clearly trying to process everything I had just thrown at her. “I’m already yours, Gage,” she whispered. “Every single part of me–all of it is yours.”
A grin broke across my face before I could stop it. Both of my hands slid up to cradle her face, my thumbs brushing against her damp cheeks. And then, unable to wait a second longer, I crushed my lips against hers–kissing my girlfriend.
<Chapter 61
Emilia M
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Aaaaand I’m back! I know I’ve been gone a while, but I promise I’m back, and I will be updating DAILY until this story concludes later this month. Thank you for being patient, and thank you for waiting on me.
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