Stepping even closer to her, I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. Cupping her cheek, I lower my gaze just as she licks her lips. Her lips that I’ve been dying to taste—to claim.
Lowering my lips to her ear, I ask, “You’re sure?”
She wraps her arms around my neck, playing with the hair at my nape as she pulls back and stares back at me. “I’m yours if you’ll have me.”
My knees feel weak hearing those words leave her lips.
“Mine,” I murmur, leaning in to finally claim her mouth.
“Carse, Kota? Are you guys ready to go to the stadium?” Mack asks from behind us.
Closing my eyes, I try but fail to hide my disappointment at the interruption. Dakota’s forehead crashes against my chest as she sighs in frustration.
Slipping her hand into mine, I lift her chin and place a chaste kiss on her forehead.
“Something to look forward to later,” I declare, shooting her a playful wink.
Because now that I know she’s ready, I refuse to go another day without claiming her as mine.
22
July
With Carson standing at my back, his strong arms wrapped around my waist, we stand in amazement as the renowned intro for The Eras Tour sounds throughout the stadium.
He grips onto my hips as the dancers lift the fabric from center stage to reveal the queen herself, Taylor Alison Swift.
The literal scream that comes from Carson shouldn’t surprise me, but it does nonetheless. When Carson notices my shoulders tense, he pulls me closer to his chest and brings his arms up to wrap around my shoulders. He rocks us side to side as Taylor performs “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see Kenna looking over at us. A wide smile spreads across her lips as she reaches her hand out and grabs mine.
Carson holds me in his arms like that until the opening beats of “Lover” begin to play. Spinning me around, he envelops me in his arms, leaving me to deeply breathe in his sandalwood and bergamot cologne. Resting his chin on the top of my head, he serenades me as we gently sway to the beat of the drum.
Pulling my head back, I look up at him and am captivated by his detonating grin before he brings me in for a crushing hug.
When the lights change and golden sparks start falling from the top of the stage, it’s Griff who lets out a piercing squeal just as Taylor comes skipping out onto the stage with her rhinestone guitar to sing the opening lines of “Fearless.”
The moment Carson hears “22” he lifts me into his arms and spins me around, shouting that that’s his hockey number and asking if I remembered.
“Of course I know that, I watched nearly every game of yours this season!” I shout.
“Mack! We’re going to be twenty-two next month. We’ve got to dance to this on our birthday,” he pleads.
“As if not dancing to this song on our twenty-second birthday was ever an option!” she yells as she rolls her eyes at him.
It’s only a few songs later when goosebumps erupt all over my body as Carson’s fingers dance across the base of my spine, just above the dimples on my back.
Even when I notice the opening chords of my favorite song starting to play, I can’t help but continue to stare up at Carson instead of turning toward the stage. The way the lights reflect in his eyes, giving them an almost violet hue, has me completely enthralled. As Taylor begins to sing the lyrics of “Enchanted,” it’s like he and I are in our own little world in this moment. The crowd’s deafening chants, the thousands of people surrounding us, the lights and sounds from the amazing performance before us—it all melts away as his hands skim lower, over the curve of my spine. When he gives my butt a playful squeeze, there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes, leaving my chest heaving as I struggle to catch my breath.
I want nothing more than for him to lean down and finally press his lips to mine.
When we were interrupted earlier, I could’ve cried from the depravity I felt in that moment. Since Griff and Kenna’s wedding, things have shifted between us. Honestly, probably even before then. Carson went from being a complete stranger to someone I can’t imagine going a day without talking to. I thought I’d be more guarded with my heart, but for him I think I’m willing to lay it all on the line.
We’ve lived together for over six months, but even before then, he was intentional with every interaction we had even though he knew it couldn’t go anywhere.
If I had to pick my favorite thing about Carson I don’t think I could pick just one. This man cares deeply, loves fiercely, lives freely, and I just know he’d kiss me fervently. He’s compassionate, selfless, quirky, funny, loyal, and all of those things only make him sexier, if that’s even possible, since he’s drop-dead gorgeous.
The rest of the concert passes in the blink of an eye, and before I know it, Kenna and I are in line for the restrooms.
