6. Will
CHAPTER 6
Will
A s the door was opening, Millie gave me the smallest tilt of her head. That was all I needed before my lips met hers. Hard.
This kiss with Millie Mae Rose feels like coming home.
Or like experiencing the first bloom of spring.
We don’t have time to be slow and soft. This kiss isn’t for us, even though I wish like hell it was.
After spending seven years kissing Millie then not being able to for the past three years, this one kiss isn’t going to be enough. If anything, my body craves more .
Kira’s gasps, her voice shrill as she discovers who’s pinned in front of me. “Oh, uh, I didn’t expect to find you—Millie?”
“Oh, Kira, hi.” Millie smiles as wide as the Cheshire Cat, playing the part of a perfect fake girlfriend.
“I didn’t hear you two were…together.”
“As of tonight! Turns out, Will couldn’t stay away from me. You’re the first person to know. Mind spreading the news for us?” Millie winks, grabs my hand, and pulls me past Kira.
Kira’s mouth gapes, her eyes wide at the revelation of Millie and I being together, especially after I turned her down earlier. Kira can’t resist town gossip, so everyone in Willow Pines will hear by tomorrow morning that Millie and I are an item. It’s not the way I expected to get in Millie’s good graces. If I remember correctly, I told myself to not linger when I’m near her.
But Millie is my sun; I can’t help but be drawn to her.
I distanced myself from her when I started dating Julia because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away if we kept in contact. She’s always been a part of my life, as much as Jeremy and the rest of the Rose family. So, I suppose if fake dating Millie and helping plan the spring festival is the only way to get her to be friends with me again, so be it.
As soon as we are out of Kira’s earshot, Millie drops my hand as if she’s been burned. She runs a hand through her hair, shaking her head with pursed lips. She paces in front of me. Back and forth, stopping every so often like she’s thought of something to say, but ultimately decides against it and paces again.
“I can’t believe you cornered me like that,” Millie grumbles.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure what to do. You know what she’s like.” I palm the back of my neck, like that excuse makes a difference.
“ You know what she’s like,” Millie mocks me in a higher-than-normal voice. “You could man up and tell her you’re not interested,” she whisper-yells at me, but I wish she’d do more.
I want her to get angry.
To tell me I fucked up all those years ago.
“Oh, geez, Mills, you know…I guess I didn’t think about that,” I snap back.
She groans, throws her hands in the air, and stops mid-pace, defeated.
“Well, this is fucked. Why do we need to fake date?”
“Oh, come on. I’m a catch!” I put my arms out in front in a “ hey, look at me!” gesture. “I don’t have a great answer for that, it was the only thing I thought of at the moment. ”
Millie heavily sighs, taps her finger on her leg, and eventually decides to head past me toward the door.
“Rose!” I yell, trying to catch her. “You’re going to have to get used to me anyway,” I say once I manage to get in front of her in time to block her from leaving.
“Will, I’m going home. We can talk about this later. Or, you know what? Why don’t you tell the town we ended things overnight?”
Millie tries to push past me, but I don’t let her.
This isn’t over.
This can’t be over.
I give her my best wide-toothed grin and say, “How will we explain working together for the spring festival?”
And that has her attention.
“No,” is all she says.
“Yes.” I grin, knowing I have her cornered once again.
“No,” she repeats, this time with an added groan, drawing out the ‘o.’
“Oh, yeah, love. It’s you and me, twenty-four seven.”
“Don’t call me that,” she chastises. “You haven’t even been here for twenty-four hours. When did you get asked about that?”
“Miss Jane asked me earlier, and I couldn’t say no.”
“You could have said no,” Millie says, pushing past me.
I run after her, thankful all my things are packed in my truck and I managed to park next to her. I thrust my hands in the pockets of my jeans. It’s dark as hell outside, with only a single light in the parking lot to illuminate us as we walk. The Shed might be nice on the inside, but outside, it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere.
If you look past the parked cars to the east, you can see the mountains lit by the moon. Normally I’d look forward to this view, but with Millie fuming at my side, trying to out-pace me to our cars, I’m feeling the opposite.
When we get to our vehicles, she fumbles with a bag I didn’t notice her carrying. It’s the same black leather backpack she’s had for years. She got it from her parents as a college graduation present.
“I remember when you got that bag,” I say as she tries to find her keys in the deep abyss of her bag, thrusting her hand from side to side.
“You don’t remember that,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I do.” I take the bag from her and grab my phone from my front pocket. Using the flashlight, I find her keys in record time. “You were so happy when you found it fit your pink notebook.”
Millie’s gaze flicks upward and she tugs her bag back. She moves to grab the keys from me, and I let her, but I grab her wrist before she can turn away.
“Let me go, Will,” she says, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“Wait, talk to me. Please.” I don’t let her go, but with my thumb on her wrist, I trace an imaginary line back and forth.
“William.” Her voice is stern but tired.
“Millie Mae, I need you to not be mad at me.”
“I have a list of reasons why I’m mad at you.”
“And I have a list of reasons why you shouldn’t be,” I say, taking a step toward her until I’m directly in front of her body.
“My list is likely longer,” she says, her gaze ping-ponging from me to the side.
My torso meets hers as I take another step, her body now pinned between me and the car. She gasps but doesn’t move to get away. If anything, she relaxes into my touch. This is starting to be a new favorite position for me, her pinned close to my chest.
“That’s okay. We have time to make a different list; one about how I can make those items disappear.” I dip my head forward and move my mouth closer to her as I whisper, “And I know how you feel about lists.”
My lips brush her ear as I speak. I don’t believe she means to do it intentionally, but her head leans slightly to the left. Is she wanting more?
“What are we doing right now?” Millie whispers.
I haven’t moved away from her. If anything, I’m closer, and there’s no way she’s not aware of how hard I am.
“Probably something dumb,” I say, and she chuckles.
I’ve missed her laugh.
“We already did that.”
I tempt fate by kissing her jaw, not able to resist her anymore. I’m not sure if I expect her to push me away or pull me closer, but she doesn’t do either.
“Should we do something dumb again?” I ask, my lips grazing hers as I speak.
“Kiss me, Will, before I come to my senses and remember how mad I am at you.”
She doesn’t need to tell me twice.
My free hand moves to the back of her neck, lightly gripping her hair. I press my lips to hers. Fuck, this is what I’ve been missing.
I moan into her mouth, not able to fight the way she feels against me. My tongue traces the seam of her lips, and she lets me in. We’ve done this enough to know how we each like to be kissed and where to go from here. Without thinking, our heads tilt and I lean into her, putting pressure near her hips.
Millie’s hand slides under my leather jacket and grips my back. Her nails dig into me, marking me. We stay like that for a minute, maybe more, kissing like we never stopped. Kissing like she’s mine .
It’s not my lucky day, as a car starts and drives out of the parking lot behind us, bringing us back to reality.
Our lips separate and I lean my forehead against hers, savoring the feeling of her in my arms in case this is the last time. Her breath matches mine, shallow and rapid. My hands slide down her body until I find hers. Wanting to feel her heartbeat against mine, I interlace our fingers for a brief moment and press a kiss to her forehead.
Without saying anything, I take two steps back from Millie, her fingers sliding away from mine.
As her car’s tail lights disappear into the night, I envision her soft lips pressed against mine and a tiny flicker of hope blooms in my chest.