Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
MAGNOLIA
By the time Bowen was done, we were drenched, clothes stuck to our skin.
We stayed there, foreheads pressed together, our lungs pulling air in the same fragile rhythm.
Bowen’s tears were gone, but mine kept falling, disguising themselves among the raindrops.
Of all the things I’d imagined could’ve caused the rift between Bowen and Griffin, none were half as heartbreaking as the truth.
Once I could speak, I whispered, “She sexually assaulted you.”
“That’s what my therapist said.” His breath turned into a puff of condensation, water dripping off his nose. “But I should’ve pushed her off sooner. Or not gone in the pantry at all. What was I thinking?”
“Hey,” I soothed. “You didn’t do anything wrong. She caught you off guard.” I leaned back to take him in, hair plastered to his scalp, eyes practically glowing from crying.
“You believe me?” His tone was a mixture of hope and disbelief.
The past four years played in my mind like a reel on fast forward. Disappearing at Sole Mates, him being so unkind the first time I came to their house, the lies, the last-minute jabs before he walked away. “I have to. It explains…”
“Everything?” he asked, words thick with guilt.
“Yeah.” I brushed his bangs over. “I’m so sorry she did that to you.”
He shook his head like Selene was the least of his worries. “But now you understand why I felt like I had to give you up for Griffin? I’d already hurt him so much.”
“You didn’t hurt him. She did. You were just collateral damage.” My thumbs stroked over his cheeks. “But, yes. I understand.”
“I’m not going to hurt you anymore,” he said, full of conviction.
“Okay,” I said, but it came out unsure. The past had taught me not to get too comfortable around Bowen. That wouldn’t disappear in a day. It was going to take time.
“I’ll pay all the penance,” he pleaded like he’d let me whip him if I wanted. “Whatever you want, you get, as long as you’re mine.”
“I’m not going to punish you for the past. That’s not what this is,” I said, needing him to understand.
“What’s wrong then? It feels like you’re still…wavering.”
My stomach clenched, unable to relax, because I had bigger concerns than the past. It was the future that terrified me. “What if…” I chickened out, too afraid of the answer.
“What if Griffin comes back?” he guessed.
“Yeah.” I nodded, my teeth trying to chatter.
“Too bad. I choose you,” he said stubbornly. Defiantly.
My head tilted as I studied him. “He’s your brother.”
“Yeah. A brother who won’t even text me back,” he bit out. His eyes burned into me. “But you’re my everything. And you’re here, giving me a second chance.”
I froze, heart swelling, not certain he understood the depth of what he’d just said.
“Here, I’ll prove that I’m serious.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Let’s take our first couple’s selfie right now. I’ll post it on my Instagram and tag you in my profile.” He angled the screen toward us.
“Don’t you dare.” I grabbed his wrist. “First of all, I look like a drowned rat.”
“A goddess,” he murmured, eyes twinkling.
My lips pursed, but it was no good. My cheeks were on fire, which was something of a miracle for how cold I was. “And second, my dad stalks my socials. He will murder me if he finds out I even talked to you.”
Bowen rubbed my arms, trying to warm me. “What will it take for him to give me a chance? Do you think he’ll be able to forgive me?” The worry in his voice undid me.
In that moment, I finally admitted what I already knew. “He’ll have t-to…” I breathed, my pointer finger tracing over his piercing scar. “Because I’m ch-choosing you too.”
His eyes brightened. “You are?”
The relief in his voice broke what little reserve I had left, and all the love I’d been holding back burst open in my chest. I smiled so wide. “Y-yes.”
“Thank you, God,” he uttered. One of his hands slid up, cradling the back of my head, while the other pulled me so tight.
I looked into his beautiful eyes. “W-wah,” my teeth chattered. I concentrated, trying again. “Wah-h-hoo-wah, B-bowen.”
But he didn’t say it back this time because…
He was too busy kissing me.
His mouth claimed mine, gentle but confident.
Treating me like fine china, while also making it clear that he was done telling me how he felt.
Now he was going to show me. His hands gripped my hips, guiding me back until the cinderblock wall caught me.
My fingers dug into his neck, kneading his muscles right along with the rhythm of our lips.
The heat, the clarity, the rightness—it felt like breathing after drowning.
Like too much and not nearly enough. My lips were searching, lungs inhaling, like a single kiss could make up for all the years we’d lost and all the hurt between us.
His mouth left mine just long enough to breathe out, “Magnolia.”
A wild, searing wave rolled over me, leaving my knees buckling, my stomach buoyant. Then I stole my name straight off of his lips, kissing him even harder. Or I was trying to. I couldn’t stop my jaw from convulsing. He didn’t seem to mind. Just tilted his head, deepening the kiss.
His tongue slid across mine in warm, breath-stealing strokes, and I thought I might explode from the hormones pounding through me. While he pressed kisses across my jaw and down my throat, I tipped my head up to the sky.
As the rain washed over us, I felt whole for the first time in years—like maybe we were being cleansed of our past sins. This felt so incredibly right, and I knew at that moment, of all the places I’d lived and all the people I’d known, kissing Bowen felt like…
I’d finally come home.
When our lips were fused once again, his hands slipped up under the hem of my shirt.
I welcomed his warm touch, murmuring my approval.
Swirling, massaging, he trailed lower across my belly.
His fingertips ran along the top of my high-waisted jeans.
Then he was fumbling with the button. Before I realized what was happening, he had it undone.
My stomach flipped—about to remind him what kind of girl I was—when he said, “Trust me.”
I relaxed against his touch, doing just that. When he found my navel piercing, he stopped, going no lower.
Oh.
I smiled against his mouth, and a chuckle rumbled in his chest. He drew circles around it, driving me wild, pushing me to the edge, my grip fisting in his shirt to keep from unraveling. I must’ve been driving him wild, too, because his chest shook with each breath, like he was struggling for air.
Then he whispered the last words I expected him to say. “I love you,” he breathed.
I moaned—it’s all I could do. Head dizzy, mind blown, I pulled his lips back to mine.
But he broke the kiss again. “I love you,” he repeated, his breath ghosting over my lips. Oh, he was waiting for me to reciprocate.
“I l-love you t-too,” I blurted. “L-like I’m c-crazy, s-stupid in lov-v-ve with you. The forev-v-ver k-k-k-ind.”
His forehead tipped to mine and he let out a throaty noise of satisfaction. “Finally,” he whispered, full of awe. “We need to get you warm.”
I didn’t want to stop kissing, but I was frozen. I inclined my head toward the door. “Sh-should we?”
His eyes turned down. “I can’t go in there. How about we head across the parking lot to TJ Maxx and get you some dry clothes? My treat.” He cocked a brow. “And don’t argue. You’re my girlfriend now. Get ready to be spoiled.”
Pretty sure on the word girlfriend, my internal organs turned to glitter. “O-okay.” I beamed. “If y-you insis-s-st. But-t-t only if-f I get-t-t to spoil y-y-ou t—”
“Stop talking, Magnolia.” He laughed. “Before you break a molar. Here.” He turned his back to me. “Hop on.”
As he booked it across the parking lot, me hanging off his back like a baby koala, I gazed up at the sky, hoping, praying, that Mom was watching.