21. Bennett
TWENTY-ONE
BENNETT
While Marley is in the shower I pace between the door to her bedroom and mine. Today has possibly been more bizarre than the day I found Marley sitting on that log. No, definitely more bizarre because she kissed me and I kissed her back and even though I’ve wanted to kiss her since she first smiled at me, I acted like there was something wrong with it, like maybe she felt like she had to thank me with some kind of sexual favor. I don’t truly think that, but self-doubt is a powerful thing. Her lips on mine were better than any dream I’d had since she’d arrived. Realizing she was attracted to me in the same way I was to her was overwhelming, and in that moment I doubted it. Then I went and acted like the reason I pulled back was because she smelled like cows—which she absolutely did, but I didn’t actually care. Hell, I’d take Marley any way she’d let me if it meant getting to kiss her again.
And then there’s the fact that she still kissed me after I practically abandoned her today. I’d blame it on her just needing some kind of release, but the way she touched me didn’t feel like that’s what she was after. Maybe we both just needed this to break the tension which I had clearly not been imagining. My attraction to Marley is all-consuming and terrifying in a way that feels almost too good.
I stop pacing and stand staring at her door with my hands on my hips, replaying every look, smile and touch that just happened downstairs. I can still feel her hands applying gentle pressure to my forehead and her warm breath as it caresses my skin. The surge of need that coursed through me was something I’d never experienced before. I’ve wanted before, but what I felt downstairs overwhelmed every one of my senses. The little sounds she made while we kissed. The feeling of her hair between my fingers as I pulled it free from her elastic. I want to burst through that door and kiss her again. Burst right into the shower, fully clothed and pull her to me. She’s leaving , that little omnipresent voice says from somewhere in the depths of my mind. I know, I tell it, and yet I don’t think I fucking care anymore.