Pushing aside a thick piece of blond bangs, I let my thumb skim her swelling cheek.
“I’m so sorry, snowflake.” I swallowed hard.
I’d never felt more like a failure in my entire life. I let her down. He should’ve never been able to get near her.
“You did nothing wrong, Zeke.” She covered my hand with hers.
Turning her face into my palm, she closed her eyes and smiled.
“I never thought I’d enjoy this so much,” she whispered.
“Enjoy what?”
She rubbed my palm with her cheek again.
“Your touch.” She grinned up at me.
“Well, since you like it that much…” I said as I wrapped my other arm around her waist and pulled her close to me.
Her body fit to mine with perfection. It made me question every other woman I’d ever touched in my life. My hand shifted from her cheek and down her neck and my eyes took in her full, pouty mouth. After last night’s kiss, kissing Patience didn’t seem like a tragedy. If anything, her kisses were tiny miracles. They turned the asshole inside me into a big teddy bear.
The smell of her hair filled me when I leaned in and ran my nose up the side of her neck. She stiffened in my arms, but pulled me closer at the same time. When I got to her ear, I laid a tiny kiss on her earlobe.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I whispered my warning.
I’d been thinking about kissing her since the moment the last kiss ended.
I felt a shiver run through her body and I knew I’d won the opportunity for another kiss. Her skin felt smooth against my lips as I ran them across her cheek to get to her mouth. When I pressed my lips to hers, she leaned into my kiss and exhaled a hard breath through her nose.
It was small, not much more than us pressing our mouths together, but it was enough. Everything was enough when it came to her. Her hand tightened in the back of my shirt and she wrapped her other arm around me. I pulled away first, not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because my mind went into sexual overdrive. I didn’t want to get to a point where I pushed her too far.
I nudged her nose with mine and grinned down at her.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll never get tired of that,” she murmured.
“Only pretty sure?” I teased
“Okay, I’m absolutely positive I’ll never get tired of that.” She smiled.
“That’s more like it.” I gave her another quick peck. “But now, I must shower.”
Snatching up my bag, I dug through it for a fresh pair of clothes. I handed her the remote to the TV.
“Occupy yourself while I go in the bathroom and get naked and wet.” I winked at her.
She laughed and set down the remote.
“Actually, I have to get home.” She shrugged. “School tomorrow and everything. You have my number if you need anything.”
I didn’t want her to leave. My life was getting crazy, and if I were being honest with myself, I didn’t really want to be alone. But instead of saying anything and looking like a total punk, I shook my head.
“I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Hopefully.” She shyly shrugged and looked away.
After Patience left, I took a hot shower and watched sitcoms on the crappiest TV known to man. An hour after that, the sun had gone down and I was dying from boredom.
I picked up my phone and texted Patience.
Me: FYI, you’re missing a great party over here.
Patience: I am?
Me: Not really. I’m bored.
Patience: Oh, and here I was thinking you texted me because you were thinking about me.
Me: If I texted you every time I thought about you, I’d never stop texting.
Patience: You’re so full of it.
Me: You should be full of it.
Patience: Pervert
Me: You like it.
Patience: Maybe
Me: Come spend the night with me. No sex. Just hanging out.
My phone was silent for almost an hour. I was about to doze off when she responded and I couldn’t stop myself from getting excited.
Patience: OK. On the way.
Eighteen
Patience
I was nervous the entire trip back to Zeke’s motel room. What if he expected something I couldn’t give? I knew being stuck in a motel room with a guy like him wasn’t safe, mostly because I couldn’t stop thinking about his hands and mouth, but I wanted to be near him.
When I got home and found out my dad went out of town for the week, I couldn’t squelch the excitement that took over me. A week of no dad worries—a week of coming and going as I pleased and not having to play protector... not having to play Patience. I was excited to enjoy my father-free week.
When it came to Zeke, driving the car from my dad didn’t seem like such a sin. I hated the car and everything it stood for, but I loved being around Zeke more.