Chapter 14 Wes
I stare down at Rose. Her hair falls in wet strands around her face, soaked through. I know she’s furious with me right now, but there is so much I still want to say. My eyes linger on her lips. Her gorgeous, full lips, slightly parted as her eyes stare into mine. I bring my hand to her shoulder and drop it before touching her.
Suddenly she crushes her mouth against mine. I audibly gasp at the surprise of it.
I did not think that’s where this was going .
I lean into the kiss, deepening it. I explore her mouth, her delicious lips parting and opening to me as I go.
This is not the Rose I remember.
Running my hands around her face and into her hair, she pulls my shirt and body tight against her. Nibbling at my lower lip, she’s giving me the most sultry eyes when I momentarily pull away. She pulls me back in and I can’t help but imagine doing other things with her. Is it even possible here, in the wet woods? I pull away from her again, looking into her eyes, not letting go of her shoulders.
“What is happening?” I ask.
“I’m not sure.” She looks back at my own lips. Hers are flushed pink and puffy. “You were embarrassed? What were you embarrassed about?” She pouts.
How is she so damn beautiful?
“That I didn’t do enough. I didn’t make up with you before leaving, and then things all felt too jumbled to put right. You’ve always been on my mind, Rose. By the time I crawled out of my depression, after moving and dealing with my parent’s shit, it had been years and I thought you’d moved on. I missed you more than you could ever know and know I fucked up by not talking with you.” My own eyes tear up at this. Damnit. She brushes them away softly with the back of her hand.
“You did. You didn’t care enough to call, even after my father died. That’s a big deal, Wes.” She leans into my shoulder, touching my chin and bringing me down into a perplexing kiss. “I have a lot of confusing feelings right now to be honest.”
“I’m feeling confused myself. You’re upset with me, but you’re also kissing me?” I run my hands through my hair. “I don’t understand . ”
“I don’t either. You, me. It’s bringing up a lot of things for me that were issues after my dad died—anxiety, panic attacks. I’m not sure why but it’s like everytime I see you, there’s this flood of memories and it all mixes in with that.” She pauses.
I wasn’t even thinking that this might have something to do with her dad. Wes, you dick. “I’m so sorry, Rose. I didn’t even think about how this might connect with your father.”
“It’s okay, it was all a long time ago and I’ve done a lot of emotional work to push through it, but it looks like I have some more to do. I’m sorry for making this all so confusing.”
“Do you remember the summer before high school, when we were hiding down at the waterfall by the park and we wanted to have our first kiss, but you were nervous and we talked about how it was like all the excitement, dreams, worries, and every feeling you can have rolled up into one tiny thing? But then, after we both got up the courage it wasn’t so scary anymore?”
“Yeah, I remember.” She blushes a little and I continue.
“I think, for me, this feels similar. Seeing you again brought back all the feelings I had, and I don’t know what that means, or what comes next, but I know that I still have feelings for you.” She leans in for another kiss, her soft lips grazing their way to my neck.
I can’t help myself and scoop her up. Her legs wrap around my waist and I set her down on the fallen log so she’s sitting at the perfect height for me to lean down and kiss her. I angle closer to her, feeling her heat, and pull her close to me again. Now it’s my turn to surprise her by pushing my hips in even closer to her. She lets out the tiniest gasp and then a moan that turns me inside out.
She throws her arms around me, pulling me in tighter, moving her hips and showing me what she wants. I move my hands down to her waist, running them up and down her body. This was unexpected and I’m loving every minute of it. Grabbing her hand, I lead her back to the kayaks and my pack, grabbing a blanket and moving further away from the river—just in case Elle and Erick are closer behind us than we thought.
Laying her down, I plant a kiss at her collar bone, then on her neck, then make my way back to her lips. She looks at me through her gorgeous lashes and pushes up on her arms, dragging my head back for another impossibly delicious kiss.
“Wes . . .”
“Yes?” I stop.
Brushing the hair from her face, she leans into me. I give her forehead a soft kiss and relish the feeling of her nuzzling into my neck. Even soaked from the rain, dirty, on the ground, she smells amazing, like lavender and peppermint.
“You’re so beautiful, Rose.”
She reaches up and cradles my face, giving me a deep, long kiss.
“As much as I’m enjoying this, I have a lot going on emotionally that I don’t understand with you coming back. I need to figure that stuff out before I can even begin to figure out what you and I are now.”
Me too .
“Yeah, of course. I’m feeling the same way. We’re older, we’ve both been through a lot, and I want to get to know you as you are now. I want you to feel comfortable, and like you understand what happened before. I want to understand everything you went through and are going through with your dad. I’d love to listen, when you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Wes,” she whispers.
Stiffening at the change in atmosphere, I sit up and sift through my pack to find some water and a bar. Handing her some, we sit, eating in silence, neither of us sure of what comes next.