Chapter 24
“How the hell did you do that?”
At first, I thought David was upset. So I readied my guard, willing and able to provide my defense like always.
“I did what you asked,” I said. “Pretended to be your girlfriend. One who was ignored most of the night, by the way—”
“Yara, you were incredible.”
I paused. We were in the parking lot. There were still plenty of cars as people filtered out of the closing restaurant.
We’d parked so far away from the entrance that streetlights were more helpful than the glow of the restaurant’s warm windows.
I studied the blue shadows on David’s skin. The admiration in his eyes.
“Incredible—” I yelped when he pulled me into a hug. My arms wrapped around his neck in an automatic response, and he spun me around.
“How the hell did you get Rory Haynes to talk to you?” David asked once he put me down.
I gasped for air, trying to catch up to the fact that my feet were back on the ground even though my head was still spinning.
David’s hands still gripped my waist, holding me close enough that I could feel his chest rise and fall.
The air was charged with the decades between us.
The kiss at Weston’s house. Our back and forth, I’m now considering a kind of foreplay.
Who needed a decade of foreplay? Me. Him. Us. Damn. We were ridiculous.
“I think he just… wanted to flirt with the only person close enough.” I shrugged, still breathless.
David’s smile waned a little. “Did he make you uncomfortable?”
“No, he was nice,” I insisted.
He nodded more seriously. “Did I make you uncomfortable?”
My eyes widened. “No, David. Not even almost.”
“I wasn’t trying to ignore you,” he said. “I kept reaching for you and… no. I’m sorry. This is a moment for sorry.”
I laughed a little. “Are you becoming sentient? Aware of others’ emotions and the need to connect?”
“I’m trying.” His cheeks were a bit red. “I’m sorry it doesn’t come naturally to me.”
“David, it’s fine. Promise.”
“It wasn’t just because you’re beautiful,” he said.
My heart was racing a mile a minute. “What?”
“It’s because you make people feel like they know you. Or could know you. There isn’t an ounce of judgment in your voice when you talk to people.”
“You’ve told me the opposite.”
“Because it’s always been the opposite for me.” He pressed his hand against my cheek, not needing to pretend he was brushing away a twist because my hair was pulled back.
“Only because you’ve always been so…” I couldn’t find the right word. I used to have a million and one words to describe David, but all of them seem unfair and unfounded. Maybe some of those words fit still, but he was so much more.
“So what?” He was close enough to brush his nose against mine. His breath was warm and smelled of peppermint. I parted my lips, ready to respond with words I didn’t yet have.
“You.”
“And that’s a bad thing.”
I shook my head. “Not all the time. Not anymore.”
“Yara?” he whispered, and I nodded, knowing the million and one words he had for me didn’t quite fit anymore. Understanding we didn’t need to find the word for us if we could experience the feeling instead.
He pressed his lips against mine, and like the other times, the world outside faded. This kiss wasn’t as hesitant or confused as our others. Not on his end anyway. David knew what he wanted, coaxing my lips apart, gazing his tongue against mine.
Every one of my nerve-endings screamed for him. Begged me to get closer, kiss harder, give more.
David backed me up onto the side of his car. My spine pressed against the cold window. He tugged my thigh up around his waist. The hardness between us made me moan into his mouth. And the sound of my response to his arousal made David reply with equal desperation.
“Thank you for tonight,” he whispered against my lips when we split for a breath. “For being here with me. For being mine.”
“I did it for the dare,” I reminded him with a smile and another kiss.
He shook his head. “Not all of it.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know you.” He pressed himself against me, applying the pressure I craved. It’d been forever since I had done this with someone, so every sensation felt new. I’d forgotten what it was like to breathe in sync. Wanting someone so badly both soothed my soul and set me on fire like no other.
“I’m going to have to keep reminding Rory you’re mine,” he said. I thought it was supposed to be a question, but I couldn’t really focus on words when he slipped his hand underneath my butt, pressing me firmly against him. I rocked against him, trying to resolve my growing desire.
David’s eyes darkened. “Hart, too.”
“Is that what you want?” I smiled against his lips.
“It’s what I need.” His mouth was on mine again, hot and hungry. And when I needed a break for air, he continued, his lips painting fire against my jaw and neck. Teeth grazing my pulse and tongue, making the sting all better.
“What about you?” David asked, desperation making his voice low. “Do you want me to make sure I’m the only name on your lips every time you moan? Or do you want to be there to be others?”
“You’d share?” I asked, surprised.
“Not happily.” He shook his head. “But for you, I’d try. For you, I’d take anything you offered. No matter how small. You are more than I ever thought I deserved.”
“You can’t be serious.” I tried to smile, but it didn’t quite work. The longing in his voice was the stuff of daydreams. David would never lay himself bare to anyone. I never for a second believed he’d do as much for me. But hell, it was a lovely fantasy.
Before David could respond, the car behind me beeped.
I jumped, startled, and confused about how his doors locked when he didn’t have the key in hand.
My answer came in the form of Westbrooke’s offensive coordinator, Lukas.
I’d seen him once or twice before. He’d been the one to let me in the arena when David needed his change of water bottles.
“Sir.” David moved back so I could step away from the car that was clearly not his.
“David.” Lukas offered him a smile and me an unimpressed once-over. “Nice work in there tonight. A couple of guys were asking about you. Things are looking bright.”
“Yeah. Yes.” David nodded. His arm was still around my waist, pinning me to his side in a protective stance. “Thank you, sir.”
“Make sure you keep your head in the game.” Lukas gave me another glance. “You’re this close to the finish line.”
“Right, thanks.” David’s voice was a little harder, jaw tight as Lukas gave him a small smile and opened his car door.
“Night, kids,” he said. “Don’t stay out too late.”
Once the car sped off and the heavy cloud Lukas had carried dispersed, I turned to David.
“What was that about?”
David watched as the car disappeared down the street. “He’s just an asshole.”
“No, I know assholes,” I reminded him. “That was something else.”
He let out a heavy breath. “Yara, let’s not—”
“Let’s get something straight.”
“Didn’t think either of us was capable of that,” he joked. When I didn’t smile, he sighed.
“I don’t want to be the woman you come to just for some physical exchange.”
“Physical exchange?” He chuckled. “You mean sex? How old are you?”
“Old enough to know when a guy’s emotionally stunted,” I said.
He blinked, all humor washed away.
“If you want this to work, I want to know you. Need to.”
“Alright,” he said simply.
“Alright?” I squeaked, surprised at how simple he’d made it.
“Only if the same applies to you,” he said. “I want to know you. Not the version you’ve kept on display. The Yara who sketches in secret books and hides them in dark corners.”
There’s no taking it back now. “Fair is fair.”