“Excuse me!” She pulls away from me and climbs up onto the pier’s railing, shouting loud enough to turn heads. “Excusez-moi!I have an important message for everyone.”
“DeeDee!” I grab her hand to steady her as she wobbles on the rail. “You’re going to end up in the river.”
“Shhh!” She keeps hold of my hand and addresses the half dozen confused tourists who are paying attention to her. One of them is filming her on his phone. “Listen up, everyone. I have something to say. This man here, his name is Zach, and I would very much like to be his girlfriend. I would like for everyone in the world to know that he is mine and I am his. It took me a very long time to be ready for that, and I probably do not deserve another chance with him at all, but I am asking for it anyway. I will stand up in front of any crowd he wants and say this all again. Thank you for your time.”
She hops off the railing and curtsies. The tiny crowd blinks in confusion before going back to taking pictures of the Port.
“DeeDee...” I pull her in close to me again. “Did you mean that?”
She beams at me. “Every word. Hit me with your limits, because I’m ready for them. I have never been more sure of anything in my whole life, and I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it. I’llproveit to you. I’m here, and I’m sure. You have my whole heart, Zach.”
I tuck her hair behind her ear as I stare into those brown eyes. “And you have mine.”
Twenty-Seven
Zach
LIQUEUR: a strong, sweet liquor
I can’t gether to my apartment fast enough. She wanted to take the metro, but I was calling us an Uber before we even got off the pier. I’m almost crawling out of my skin by the time we finally pull up outside my building.
Her hand on my thigh the whole way over was not helping.
I need her skin. I need her mouth. I need her body under mine. We’re past the point of words. I need to show her everything this moment means to me. I need us to be as close as we can possibly be, and I need it now.
“Zach!” She giggles and protests for a few seconds when I back her up against the wall in my building’s entryway, but when my hips meet hers, she sighs and melts into me.
It’s only once my thigh has slipped between her legs and she’s biting my neck that we both decide actually getting into my apartment might be a good idea.
I still stop to kiss her at the top of every flight of stairs.
“Is Paige home?” she pants, tugging on the hem of my shirt where she stands behind me as I struggle to get the damn door unlocked.
Her hands slip under the shirt and slide up my back. I groan and rest my forehead against the door.
“If she is, then she better get ready to leave. Fast. I’m not slowing down for anything.”
DeeDee lets out a breathless laugh just as I finally get the key to turn in the lock.
I pull her into the living room without stopping to take our shoes off. Paige’s door is cracked open a few inches, which means she’s definitely not home. I hardly give myself the time to notice as I scoop DeeDee up in my arms, bride over the threshold style, and carry her to my room before tossing her onto the bed.
Apparently I have an inner caveman. Thankfully, DeeDee looks thrilled about it.
She rolls onto her back and props herself up on her elbows, bare legs stretched out in front of her. I kneel at the edge of the bed.
“Give me your foot.”
She gives me a dubious look. “My foot?”
“I’m taking your shoes off,” I explain.
What I want is to be inside her as fast as humanly possible, but I need to do this right. I need to make this as memorable as it should be. Today is part of our story. It might even be where our story begins, and I’m not going to rush it.
So I’ve got to slow myself down.
DeeDee shifts around so her feet are right in front of me. I start on the laces of one of her white Converse and slide it off with all the patience I can muster, like it’s a glass slipper I don’t want to break. I peel her sock off and then start kneading the sole of her foot with my thumbs, working the muscles until she’s humming with pleasure.
“That feels so nice,” she purrs.
