Chapter 37
SPENCER
EIGHT YEARS AGO
“Ilove Christmas,” Harlow says with a smile, adding an ornament to the tree in my dorm room. It’s one of those small, tabletop trees, but she insisted that the room needed something. She even wrapped string lights around my headboard.
Parker is out for the evening with a girl who he swears isn’t his girlfriend even though he’s been exclusively seeing her since the end of September.
“We have an hour before I need to leave,” she says in a suggestive tone. She wraps her hands around my waist, resting her chin on my chest and blinking up at me with big doe eyes.
“Not yet,” I remind her.
Since she first brought up the topic of sex and we agreed to wait until her birthday if she still wants to then, she’s mentioned it a few more times. I think she’s scared if she doesn’t continue to show interest I’ll think she’s changed her mind.
“My birthday isn’t until February.” She pouts up at me. “That’s forever away.”
“It’s less than three months,” I reason. “Is it so wrong that I want us to wait? That I want you to be one hundred percent sure you want this?” I take her face in my hands. “I don’t want you to ever regret me.”
She grasps the fabric of my hoodie between her fists. “I could never regret you.”
She says that now, but I’m terrified she might in the future and that’s a possibility that makes my stomach churn. We might be young, but this girl is it for me. She’s my everything. I want her to be my wife one day, the mother of my children, the woman I grow old beside.
“Your birthday,” I reiterate, sliding my hands down to grip her elbows.
“Fine,” she agrees, and flops onto my bed. The mattress bounces and settles. She smiles at me in a way that lets me know she’s not upset. “Can we make out then instead?”
I struggle not to laugh, but I’m more than happy to indulge that request.
Climbing onto the bed beside her, I grip her waist and tug until I’m on my back and she’s straddling me.
Her blond hair forms a shield around us as she lowers, letting her lips find mine.
Kissing Harlow is my favorite hobby. Sometimes it’s slow and sweet, sometimes it’s intense, and sometimes it feels like a damn freefall.
“I love you,” I whisper between kisses.
“I love you, too.” She kisses my neck. “Take your shirt off.”
Even though we haven’t had sex yet, it doesn’t mean we haven’t fooled around in other ways. Sitting up, I yank the long-sleeve shirt up and over my head.
Harlow traces my bare torso with her eyes before following the same path with the tips of her fingers.
I capture her hand, lacing our fingers together. “You’re playing with fire,” I warn her, and a smile curls her lips.
“Good.”
She has no idea what a dangerous temptation she is for me. I’m trying to be on my best behavior and she’s always making it damn near impossible.
Pulling her own shirt off, she drops it onto the bed beside us. I groan.
“That’s not fair.” Her light blue bra is mesh—completely see-through.
Leaning down, her lips find my ear. “That’s the point.”
This girl has no idea how dangerous she is for me.
I roll over until she’s pinned beneath me. I bury my face in her neck, sucking and kissing at her sensitive flesh. She squirms beneath me, begging for more, but I refuse to give in until she’s so rattled with desire that her face is flushed and she can’t stop biting her lip.
That’s when I pop the button on her jeans and slide my fingers inside her panties.
She gasps, arching against my fingers. Her eyes are wide, the pupils blown as we lock eyes.
I bring her to orgasm and suck my fingers clean while she pants beneath me, attempting to catch her breath.
I grin down at her, loving how undone she looks.
Rolling off her, I settle on the bed beside her and prop my head in my hand.
“You’re forgiven,” she says breathlessly.
“For what?”
“For making me wait.”
I laugh. “Until you beg me again next time.”
“I’m starting to think you like it when I beg,” she teases.
“A little.” I drag my thumb over her bottom lip.
She sits up and looks at the time. “Ugh. I should get ready and go.”
I grab her shirt and hand it to her before searching for my own.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” I say, hopping off the bed and tugging on a jacket.
“You don’t have to.”
I stuff my feet into my sneakers. “Nice try, Low.”
We walk hand in hand out to the parking lot, and I kiss her before she slips in her car. She rolls her window down and smiles, “I love you.”
“Forever?” I ask, sliding my hands into my pockets.
“Forever,” she promises.
“I love you,” I reply and lean in to kiss her one last time.
Stepping onto the sidewalk, I watch her back out and don’t head back to my room until her taillights have disappeared from my view.