Page 137 of Bend

“You really think I waited all this fucking time for you to finally admit how you feel just to screw it up once I got you?”

His mouth twitches.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

I shake my head.

“Thorne, I spent months watching you look at me like you wanted to climb me and then lie to yourself and everyone around you about everything you felt,”

“Your arse is distracting.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It kind of is.”

He gives me a warning look.

I soften.

“I’m not treating this like a joke.”

The tension in his shoulders eases slightly.

“I know I fuck around. I know I flirt. That’s me.”

“I know.”

“But you know the difference.”

His eyes stay on mine.

“Do I?”

I cup the back of his neck.

“You should.”

My thumb runs slowly beneath his ear.

“I don’t look at everyone the way I look at you.”

Thorne goes still.

I kiss him before he can turn that into something bigger than it needs to be.

Slow.

His mouth moves against mine, softer now.

When I pull back, his forehead rests against mine.

“You matter to me,” I say. “Echo matters to me. Whatever we’re building here, I’m taking it seriously.”

His hand slides up my spine.