Barely Breathing (The Breathing #2)(167)

"Thank you," he smiled and then added, "for the perfect present." My cheeks warmed. Evan ran his finger along my blush, brushing the hair from my face.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, making my cheeks even redder. He swept his finger over my lips and followed the touch with a kiss, barely touching―stealing my breath.

"I love you," I murmured, lost in the depths of his eyes as they flickered in front of me like he was silently listening to my every thought. Evan pulled me against him and held me. I inhaled the sweet scent of his skin. "Do we have to leave here?"

"We should probably think about it."

My stomach growled, and I placed my hand over it. Evan grinned. "And it sounds like you need to eat."

"Fine," I conceded reluctantly, "we can get up." I sat up, holding the sleeping bag over me. "You know, I've never slept naked before."



       
         
       
        

Evan laughed lightly. "And I bet you've never roasted marshmallows naked either." He leaned over and kissed my shoulder.

"No, that was a first too," I nodded, making him smile. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"No, but I'm sure Jared's looking for me."

"That's right," I grinned, trying not to blow the surprise. "You're going hiking." I began searching under the sleeping bag. "Where are our clothes?"

"I think they're still outside," Evan noted.

"Oh," I responded with wide eyes. I unzipped the tent and a breeze of cool morning air swept in. The grass still glistened with morning dew. I spotted our clothes tossed in a small pile next to the abandoned blanket. I contemplated how cold the grass was going to be on my bare feet.

"I'll get them," Evan offered.

"No," I sighed, wrapping the sleeping bag around me to fend off the chill, "I'll get them."

I ducked out of the tent and scampered across the chilled, wet grass on the balls of my feet. I scooped up the pile and rushed back to the tent, tossing the clothes in before climbing in after them. "Oooh, it's cold out there," I shuddered. Evan laughed as he sorted through the articles of clothing.

"Well, you're not going to love this. Our clothes are kinda wet." He slid his jeans over his hips, fastening them.

"Great," I groaned, feeling the dampness against my skin as I pulled on my shirt.

"How are you feeling? I mean, are you... okay?" Evan asked cautiously as we dressed.

"I feel a little... different," I tried to explain, not sure how to describe the post-first-time sex discomfort. Evan hesitated, not exactly following along, so I added, "But I also feel amazing." And that wasn't at all an exaggeration.

"Good," Evan accepted, giving me a quick kiss. "Let's go back to the house, and I'll make us breakfast and figure out what Jared has planned. And I can give you a dry sweatshirt to wear."

Jared was waiting for Evan in the kitchen when we walked in. He looked from one to the other―I could only imagine what we looked like, wearing damp, wrinkled clothes, our hair unkempt. He arched his eyebrow slightly, but then redirected his attention to the bowl of cereal. "We're leaving in twenty minutes."

"Cereal sounds good to me," I said, sitting on the stool next to Jared. He remained non-reactive to my discombobulated state. I was certain Sara wasn't going to have the same lack of reaction.



"Where have you been?!" she demanded when I called her from my car, having just left Evan and Jared to pack for their hike. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for forever." 

"I was with Evan," I explained, completely baffled by her overreaction.

"I know that, but I needed to talk to you. My mother's having a dinner at the house tonight."

"What?" I practically shouted, my pulse quickening. "Sara, what am I supposed to do?"

"That's what I needed to talk to you about," she stressed. "Just get to the house and we'll figure something out.

My phone beeped as I said, "Okay." When I looked at the screen, my battery light was flashing. That was the least of my worries as I dumped it on the passenger seat and continued to the McKinleys' house.

When I entered, Anna was in the sitting room with a woman in a suit, reviewing some papers. She stood when she saw me. I was hoping to sneak upstairs, fearing just had sex was written all over my face.

"Emma, I am so sorry about tonight. I knew about the party at Evan's, but I didn't realize you were planning to have dinner here first."