AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sound of his name on her lips—lips moist from our kiss—awakens something inside me. A jealous monster rears its ugly head. “If you still think he’s going to give you anything close to what happened between us, you’re even more naive than I thought.”
Hurt flashes on her face. Shit, what the hell did I say?
“How dare you, you hypocrite! You have no right to say that to me,” she screeches while scrambling to get away. I don’t stop her, although I foolishly put my hand over her head because I’m worried she’ll bash her head against the roof. Ana pushes me away before plopping her lush ass on the other side of the car.
The cold that descends between us settles deep in my bones.
“Get out,” she says.
“Ana, I’m sorry. I keep screwing up. Please let me explain.” How to begin when I’m not sure where reality ends and my fantasies begin? “Just give me a minute.”
My rambling does not impress her one bit.
“Why? So you can assess how naive I am? Maybe you and your not-girlfriend can make fun of how sheltered and immature and inexperienced I am. Or how I kiss like I’m trying to take your tonsils out.”
A snort busts out of me in response to that last sentence. “What?”
“Shut up.”
“No one could make fun of you, alright? You’re passionate and beautiful and so fucking perfect. That’s the problem, isn’t it?” If I sound like a blubbering horny fool, it’s because that’s exactly what I am.
“Stop bullshitting me and get out, Bryce. I have places to be too.”
Shit. Did I get Ana hot and ready before she meets up with another guy? What kind of idiot does that?
“I’ll leave, but please promise me something.”
“No,” she declares stubbornly. “I don’t have to promise you a single thing.”
“Give this Darren thing a minute, alright?”
“I’ll give him more than a minute,” she declares, stunning in her defiance.
“Ana, I’m serious! Don’t jump into something for the sake of experience.”
“You’re in no position to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.”
She’s right. But there’s something else going on in her features beyond righteous anger. For once, I realize what she’s asking without her having to say it.
“I won’t see Blakely either, OK? You and I need to talk about what happened but it’s too much to take on right now. To be honest, it’s hard to think straight. It’s a lot for me too.”
“But you’re… you’re you.”
I engulf her hand in mine. How do I explain how profound it is to be able to touch her intimately? How do I express myself without scaring her away?
“That blew me away, Ana. I guess I’m saying what happened was incredible. Overwhelmingly so. Can we take some time and talk about it in a few days?”
“Why? Do you plan to call your not-girlfriend and get together tonight?”
“The only reason I’ll call her is to say it’s over.” Her eyes widen and she presses her teeth into her tender lower lip. “Would you like that, Ana? For me to end it with Blakely?”
“You can do whatever you want,” she mumbles with a hesitant bobbing of her head.
“It’s what I want,” I confess the truth. But not the whole truth, which is that tonight changes everything.
From now on, the memory of Ana’s body pressed to mine is as indelible as a tattoo etched on my skin. A vague, ambient desire was always present, but I’ve only now acknowledged the stark permanence of this fact: I want to make love to Anastasia Petrov.
I lie in bed looking at the ceiling, a movie starring Bryce MacElroy playing in my mind’s eye. Bryce at the height of passion with his pupils dilated and lips parted and cheeks flushed. Bryce huskily asking me if I want more. His soft, sandy-colored hair messed up by my greedy fingers and his chest crushing my aching breasts.
