Page 24 of Come Back to Me

“Gray.” She walks closer to me.

I can feel her hot breath melding into my skin and becoming a part ofme.

I shake my head. “D-don’t come near me.”

“Grayson.” She cups my face with both of her hands. “Look at me,” she whispers.

I meet her ocean blue eyes and find myself in quite the predicament. I can’t look away. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything. I promise,” she reassures me. “Gray…I fell in love with you from the very first second we met. You weren’t like the boys who were our age. You were sweet, perceptive, and gentle. You’re still all those things.”

How did I not know this?

My mouth forms into a small circle. “You’re in love with me?”

She smiles. “I’m surprised you didn’t find out until now. I think I’ve made it pretty obvious.”

“Yeah, well, I can be oblivious sometimes.”

She laughs, the infectious sound bouncing off the concrete walls. “I’ve wanted this to happen for years, but there was always this voice inside my head. It kept telling me how this couldn’t happen. Do you know whose voice that was?”

“Your brother’s.”

“Right.Mybrother who happens to beyourfriend. That’s why I got nervous a bit earlier.” She exhales. “And here we are. We kissed, and I want it to happen again.”

I blink my eyes rapidly. “I’m confused. First, you wanted me to kiss you, but you told me stop. Now, you want me to kiss you again. Violet, I can tell you right now, if I kiss you again, I won’t be able to stop. If we do this, this is it. You’re it for me. You’ve been it for me for a long damn time. And I sure as hell can’t just be your friend now.” I stare at her for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you for several months. I think about you all the time. Trust me, you don’t want to know the things I think about when it comes to you. It’s hard because all I want is to be with you and around you.You. Consume. Me.”

She swallows, deep and hard. I can see the lump travelingdown her throat. Her mouth parts open before she licks her lips. “What are you saying?”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?”

She nods. “Yes, please.”

“I’m in love with you, Vi.”

“That’s what I was getting from all the romantic stuff you said to me, but I wanted to be one-hundred-percent sure.”

A breathy laugh escapes my mouth. “I want to be with you. I want there to be anus. Do you?”

“Of course I do. How are we going to do this without Blake knowing?”

“Have you ever heard of the concept of sneaking around?”

“This is a bad idea, Gray.”

“I won’t be able to be around you anymore if you reject me,” I blurt out.

“I have no idea where that came from, but I’m not rejecting you.” She threads her fingers into mine, looking up at me with those big blue eyes of hers. “Weneedto be smart about this. Blake canneverfind out about us. Okay?”

“Okay, Angel.” I gulp. “Can I kiss you now?”

She giggles. “Yes, you can.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Okay, because you know what I said. Once I kiss you, I won’t be able to stop.”