Page 76 of Next Time We'll Fall

And as I watch him kneeling down, stroking Sabrina, and holding and inspecting each puppy one at a time, my heart melts.

I know deep inside that he’s an even better man than I thought he was.

Chapter 19

RAFE

The sound of Juniper’s giggles as we walk along the beach warms my heart. There’s a calm that exists inside of me every time we’re together and there’s nothing more peaceful than being with her and listening to the waves crash into each other as they make their way up the sand.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here together on our first date. It feels like it came out of nowhere, and yet it feels like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment. Where are we going?” she says as she gazes at me with light eyes. “Also, does Mia know we’re here?”

“No. Why would she?” I love my sister, but I certainly do not run my dating life by her first.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t sure if you asked her permission or what.”

“Why would I ask my sister’s permission to take you on a date?” I pause. “Wait, do you think she’s going to be mad at me that I didn’t ask her?”

“I don’t know.” Juniper shrugs. “Maybe she’ll be mad at me because I don’t know she realizes quite how big of a crush I have on you. Wait, I didn’t mean to say that,” she says, laughing nervously as her face goes bright red.

“Ah, so you have a crush on me, do you?” My heart lights up, and I grab her hands and pull her into me. Her body feels soft against my hard one. Her breasts crush against my chest and I run my fingers down the side of her face. I want to rip her clothes off, but I’m trying to be a good boy. Even though I’m normally a very bad one.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say that. I was just saying it to see how you’d react.” The smile on her face tells me that’s a lie and I lightly run my fingers through her hair.

“What would you say if I told you that I had a crush on you as well?” I speak the words slowly, making sure to look her in the eyes as I speak. I want to say so much more than that. I want to say that not only do I have a crush on you, but I really like you as well. That my heart races for you like it’s in the 100 sprint at the Olympics. I want to say that I think Cupid left his arrow inside of me, but I don’t want to sound like a loser.

“I wouldn’t believe you. I think you are just trying to be an alpha dog here, and you’re just taking me on a date because you’re threatened by all the other men coming after me.”

“Number one, I’m not threatened by any other men. And number two, I don’t want to have that conversation. I want to talk about how you just told me that you have a crush on me.”

“Rafe,” she says, her eyes dropping slightly, “I was just joking around.”

“I have a crush on you too, you know?” I am direct now because I don’t want her to be insecure or unsure of herself. I know that she’s carried the past with her and I hate that. “Maybe I even have a really big crush.”

“A really big one, huh?” Her eyes rise, and she looks at me again. I can see she’s studying my face carefully and being serious. Her brown eyes are warm and deep and I could stare into them for hours and never grow bored.

“I’m trying to be on my best behavior, so stop looking at me like that, or I don’t know what I’m going to do.” I know what I want to do. I want to rip her clothes off and feel her on top of me. I want her to ride my face. I want her wetness across my lips. But now is not the time to tell her that. Not when I’m trying to be good.

“What do you mean, you’re trying to be on your best behavior?”

“I mean, I’m trying not to pull you into me and ravish you here on the beach.”

“You would ravish me here on the beach?”

“Oh, in a heartbeat,” I say. “But this is only our first date, and I don’t want to rush anything.”

“You were literally in my bed, going down on me, yesterday. What do you mean, you don’t want to rush anything?”

“Well, I kind of think you like romance, and I kind of think you want your first time to be somewhere special. I mean, you did say you’d like to be whisked away to Paris on a date.”

“I didn’t say I would like to be whisked away to Paris on a date. I was just saying, imagine that.” She pauses anyway. “I’m not saying that I wouldn’t like to be. I’m just saying that I don’t have to be in Paris for, you know?—”

“No, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

“For our first time,” she says.

“I know, but I want to make sure when you look back at our first time, there are fireworks.”

“So, what? We have to wait for the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve?”