Chapter 16
REID RATHE
I can’t pay attention to the movie. She’s curled against me, chuckling at the funny moments and snuggling in deeper during the cute ones.
I continue to hold on to her hand because I know that I’m lucky to do such a simple act.
But slowly—and I know this with certainty—she’s getting used to me.
She’s thinking about letting me in. She’s thinking about us.
A part of me wonders how much her ex did to her.
I get the feeling it’s worse than what Dustin has portrayed.
What girl wouldn’t give in by now? He had to have damaged her, maybe beyond repair.
Maybe a piece of her that he took is something I’ll never have.
It kills me to know that, and if I could, I really would turn back time because we deserve to share all of our pieces. Together.
I just have to reassure her that I’ll take any pieces she has left.
The movie comes to an end, and the lights come back on. I clench my jaw when she lets go of my hand, but I know we can’t be caught holding them. She stretches and gathers herself to her feet. I follow and watch as she pulls at her fingers. “Thanks for letting me use you as a pillow.”
“It was more than that, and you know it.”
She ignores me and tries to fix her hair. “Is it sticking up in all the wrong places?”
I pinch a strand and tuck it behind her ear. “You look perfect, Avery.”
I can feel her closing off again, and I start to panic. I can’t show my panic though because it’ll just make her close off even more, so instead, I let her walk past me and down the stairs to meet Dustin and Ivy.
We throw away our trash in the can inside the theater, and Ivy turns to us, creating a little circle just inside the dim hallway. “I really have to pee. Can I meet you guys in the lobby?”
Avery nods at the same time Dustin says, “I’ll walk you there.”
“I can walk myself,” she harrumphs.
“Not at this time of night, you’re not.”
“He’s right, Ivy. You should let him go with,” Avery chimes in.
Hell, if it was Avery needing to go to the bathroom, I’d follow her too.
We live in a big city. Anything can happen, and knowing that it could riddles me with fear.
I can only imagine Dustin has the same fear when it comes to protecting his girl.
She wrinkles her nose at him and says, “Fine.”
They push through the door and disappear, leaving me with Avery.
She blows out a breath and turns to me, opening her mouth to say something, and that’s when I advance on her.
I grab her around the waist and yank her to me.
My lips crash down on hers, and at first, she stiffens, but it takes less than a second for her to melt against my chest and kiss me back.
The world fades away, and I kiss her with everything I have.
Everything I’ve been trying to tell her put into action.
I can’t stand that she’s pulling away, and knowing that, when we step out that door, we go back to being a secret and me trying to convince her that I might be worth it anyway. That we would be worth it.
I slide a hand into her hair and angle her head so I can kiss her deeper. She moans into my mouth when I let my tongue slide against hers. She tastes like her with a hint of sweet soda.
With my chest pressed to hers, I can feel how fast her heart is beating. How much I affect her. How what we share is something more than just attraction.
The door opens, and Avery breaks the kiss to look and see who entered. Ivy stands there, a look of shock on her face. “Um. I just forgot my cell in my seat.”
“We weren’t doing anything,” Avery quickly says.
“Bull.” Ivy smiles slyly. “But you should probably stop because, if we don’t get out there, Dustin will come looking for us and wonder why you two are standing in a dark hallway with kiss-swollen lips.”
Ivy walks past us in search of her phone, and we stand there, staring at one another.
I can’t stand the silence, the words left unsaid.
I break it. “You may be imperfect in your eyes, but you’re perfect in mine.
I’m begging you to let me in, Avery. Flaws.
Walls. Pain. I want it all. Don’t walk out those doors pretending that we didn’t make some progress.
Don’t let me go. Don’t shove me out. Don’t close me off. ”
Her bottom lip wobbles. “I like you, Reid.”
“I like you too.”
She looks at the door. “Just give me time to learn how to trust again.”
I close the distance, cup her cheek, and press a soft kiss to her eyebrow. “Luckily, I have all the time in the world.”
And then I leave her waiting for Ivy while I head out of the theater and toward the lobby. I blow out an unsteady breath, hoping like hell she meant what she said.