Page 95 of Only Ever You

He swallows hard, his throat twitching. “Then why did you come? To accuse me of stalking you? Or to show me how much you don’t care?”

Flinching, I take a step back. “I can’t do this with you.” I shake my head. “Not when everything between us is still…broken. Not when we can’t even talk without hurting each other.”

“Stay. Please,” he whispers. “Let’s work through it now.”

The desperation in his voice sends fissures through the armor I’ve surrounded myself with. I can almost feel it on my skin. Almost.

But our past still burns bright between us. We have too many unresolved issues, and I’m feeling too vulnerable to be anywhere near him. I need space before I do something even dumber than kissing him.

“No. I can’t.” I push the words out, dropping my attention to my hands. “Just stop coming to my practice. That’s all I want. Please.”

“Okay, but for the record—that wasn’t our first kiss.”

My jaw unhinges. I feel lost and confused, so before he can say anything else, I dart for the exit. I’ll text Asher when I’m safely behind my own locked door.

Michael belongs to my past, and he needs to stay there.

Because simply being near him hurts.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

i want to kiss her again

MICHAEL

Nineteen years old

Head in my hands, I sit on the edge of my bed and replay my interaction with Isla from start to finish.

Her demand that I stop showing up at her practices.

Her belief that I could ever want her to fall and hurt herself.

The pain that shot through my heart when she said that nearly made me stumble backward. How could she believe that? How can she not understand I still care?

I was stunned. But then she kissed me, and the whole world stopped.

Isla caught me in her orbit, became my sun, my sole reason to fucking breathe.

Soft and warm, her lips fit mine in the most perfect way. Her familiar scent enveloped me, the peach and vanilla aroma like a welcoming embrace. And damn, she felt good in my arms. I’ve never experienced a kiss like that before, one that felt right in every way.

But then, she pulled back.

Maybe it’s all my imagination, but when I said her name, I swear, she felt physical pain. Her eyebrows pulled together, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears, like she regretted the kiss. Regretted me.

But I could never regret her. I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without knowing what it’s like to kiss her.

What it’s like to kiss the girl I’ve been in love with since I was a kid.

The knock on my door breaks through my thoughts, and I straighten. “Yeah?”

Asher steps into the room, hands in his pockets, and drops into my desk chair. Elbows on his knees and green eyes narrowed, he leans forward. “What happened?”

Head hanging, I shake it. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” He snorts, the sound derisive. “Isla came over to hang out with me, then said she needed to talk to you. I didn’t interfere when you two were arguing. I figured you were both mature enough to handle yourselves. But then she left, and all I got was an apology text. So I’m asking again: what happened?”

I rough a hand down my face, the light stubble on my cheeks rasping. “She found out that I’ve been watching her practice and came here to tell me to fuck off.” I focus on the wall behind him, not at all interested in seeing the condemnation on his face. “Said that I’m…messing with her.”