Page 138 of A Million To Fall

Because for the first time in what feels like forever, I don’t have to wonder if this thing between us exists.

I can feel it.

His hand cradles the back of my head, and everything between us deepens.

A low groan vibrates through his chest. The sound seems to jolt something loose in both of us.

Reality.

We break apart on the same breath—not far, but enough—his forehead still pressed to mine.

We don’t speak. We don’t move. Just breathe. Too hard. Trying to make sense of what we just did.

I lift my fingers to my lips without thinking. They’re warm. Tingly. Swollen.

Boston’s gaze follows the movement, and the look in his eyes steals the air from my lungs all over again. For a moment, I think he might kiss me again.

A part of me desperately wants him to, but another part knows better.

I glance toward the apartment door. “We should probably get you over to my mom's office.” My voice sounds strange. Breathless. “You need to sign the lease and other paperwork before you head into AJ’s.”

“Right.” Boston swallows. “The paperwork.”

forty-one

Boston

The last couple of hours have felt like an out-of-body experience—the apartment, Skye telling me it’s mine if I wanted it, and… the kiss—holy shit, the kiss—and then our meeting with her mom afterwards.

It was the first time I truly laid myself bare, dug deep and shared with Skye and her mom what happened with Eddie two years ago. I talked about my dad’s death, my mom’s decline into drugs, the boyfriends and baby daddies, the prostitution, and Eddie’s ultimatum. By the time it was all out, I felt scraped raw from the inside.

But it didn’t stay like that for long. Not after Mrs. Monroe told me that I could move into the apartment as soon as my schedule allowed—tomorrow—that there was no deposit, and no credit check.

Life couldn't possibly be this generous… right?

I might be young, but I’ve been through enough shit to understand that life has a way of balancing the scales and that guys like me don’t usually get this lucky without something truly ugly waiting around the next corner. Then she asked me how I was planning to manage my not-insignificant workload once I had custody of my siblings.

Honestly? That was never a question I got even close enough to explore.

“Here’s the thing, Boston,” Skye’s mom said. “I’ve known you a long time. I remember you and Skye and Jake playing out on the street when you were five. And I know how smart you are. You’re one of those good people who really bad things happened to.”

She leaned forward, smiling a smile that was almost as bright as Skye’s. “We’re going to help you turn that around. So here’s my proposal: you get your GED, and then you come work for me. Full-time. Benefits. Weekends off. That way you can actually be there for your siblings.”

Deal.

While time is one of those precious luxuries for me, I’m determined to figure out how to squeeze that into my busy schedule. I made it almost all the way through high school with a 4.1 GPA. I can pass this GED thing before I take custody of Cassie and Bronx.

After speaking with Skye’s mom, getting everything in order, I drove Skye back to that sketchy-ass parking lot, hoping her Mercedes was still in one piece.

The ride back passed in a blur. We spent the entire time talking about the apartment, the conversation with her mom. Anything but the kiss, really.

I don’t know if either of us knew how. Every now and then, I’d glance over and catch her touching her lips absentmindedly, almost like she couldn’t quite believe it really happened.

Truth be told, neither could I.

Because somewhere between her handing me keys to an apartment and promising me a future I stopped believing I deserved, Skye Monroe kissed me.

And I kissed her back.