Where We Left Off by Megan Squires Read Free Book Online

you?”
    Flirting was not an art form I was adept in. I’m sure I’d had the opportunity , but it went unnoticed if it was ever there. Over the years, there had been a few guys I’d had crushes on. It never got past the puffy hearts drawn on binders with plus signs between names. Only a few close friends knew about the boys I’d liked. But now I was standing in front of a boy I liked very much, and I had a feeling he was well aware just how much.
    I went to the nightstand to flip on the bedside lamp. Sharp white illuminated the room, and it cast long, jagged shadows like the light struggled and clawed to reach across the walls. Heath took one step toward me, out from the dark.
    “So,” he murmured in a hushed tone. He dragged his hand over his scalp. “I’ve never done this before.”
    “Snuck into a girl’s room?”
    “Liked someone as much as I like you. This quickly.” One more step. “It kinda scares me.”
    “I’m scared, too.”
    Another step and we were standing right in front of each other. If I wanted to, I could reach out and press my hands to his chest or his hips or slip the errant curl that fell across his cheekbone back behind his ear. I didn’t do those things. I stood still, unmoving. My choppy breath shook out of me and my fingers trembled as if I’d had ten cups of coffee. It couldn’t have been noticeable to anyone else, but to me if felt like I was flailing. It made remaining still difficult.
    “I don’t want you to be scared of me, Mallory.”
    “I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of being this young and feeling this much. I’m scared that if I’m experiencing all of this now, I’ll never experience it again, you know?”
    “Not sure I do.”
    “You’re setting the standard, Heath. Any other guy to come into my life from this moment forward will never live up.”
    Taking me by surprise, he grabbed on to my hand. “I don’t want any other guys to come into your life.” He lifted my hand to his lips and moved his mouth onto my knuckles. It was warm and his lips were soft and full. “I know that’s selfish and probably unrealistic, but I’m not looking at this as some high school romance. What’s the point of being in a relationship if you’re not hopeful it will last?”
    “To have fun, I guess. Be kids.”
    He brought my hand down from his lips but kept our fingers woven. His thumb traced circles over my skin. “I’m all for having fun,” he said. “Believe me. Fun is good. But this is our beginning, Mallory. Why think about an end?”
    That’s when I kissed him.
    Reactions came in all different forms. You jumped out of your skin when watching a horror movie. You burst out laughing at something funny. You cried when emotion overtook you.
    And you kissed someone when you were absolutely falling for them.
    At first he startled , drawing back when my mouth slammed boldly onto his. It wasn’t the play-by-play like he’d described, and that was fine. I didn’t take my time or move in cautiously. I was past that. My feelings were so far past that. I had to make the physical side of things catch up, and the only way I knew to do that was to forget my fear, forget my hesitation, and give in to what I really wanted. Just give in.
    “Mallory.”
    My hands flew to his hair, my fingers winding around each tendril. I could feel his hand on the low slope of my back, and he pulled my body completely flush with his. My back arched and Heath moved over me. It all happened so quickly that I hadn’t thought much past the initial my-lips-on-his-lips part of the kiss. I’d seen enough movies to know there was more involved than that. There was movement and rhythm, but I struggled to find the right pace.
    Frustration filled me. Heath sensed it.
    “Hey,” he said near my ear. “It’s okay.”
    I dropped my head to his shoulder. I wanted to hide, to curl up and close my eyes and pretend I hadn’t completely butchered my hasty attempt at our first kiss, the one that should’ve