Page 82 of Next Time We'll Fall

“No, I haven’t,” she says. “You know something else I’ve never done?”

“What?” I ask her.

“Fucked in the ocean.”

I growl as I grab her hand, and we run into the waves together.

As I pull her up into my arms and kiss her, I want to tell her I love her.

I want to tell her there are so many feelings I have for her, but I know it’s too soon.

I know everything’s going too fast, and I don’t want her to think it’s not real.

I don’t want her to think it’s some sort of whirlwind that’s come out of nowhere.

So, I don’t say anything, but I think it.

And as I press her into my heart, I wonder if she knows.

I wonder if she can tell that my heart is beating for her.

And as I press my hand against her wrist and listen to her heart, as I look at the smile in her eyes and the way she’s stroking the side of my face, I wonder if she feels the same way as well.

I wonder if she loves me, too, but is too scared to say it.

I pray to God that we’re both on the same page, but I’m not willing to risk it yet.

I want to make sure that the moment we say we love each other is perfect.

Though a part of me thinks that I thought that about making love for the first time as well, and we’ve already done it.

So, maybe everything I had planned in my mind was wrong anyway.

Chapter 20

JUNIPER

My entire body feels different as I get ready for the day. I look at my reflection in the mirror and stare at my long, silky hair. My face looks like it’s glowing, and there’s an excitement about me that I haven’t felt in a long while.

I take another look at my floral dress and head out into the kitchen. Rosie and Sage are sitting at the island countertop, eating cereal. Both of them have twinkles in their eyes as they gaze at me.

“Morning,” I say.

“Morning to you too,” they say almost in unison.

Their faces look so similar that you would think they were twins if you didn’t know there were a couple of years between them. I love my cousins, and I love their bond, but sometimes, it irks me at how well they can read me.

“So, last night was fun,” Sage says, standing up. “I suppose … was last night fun for you?”

“Don’t play coy, Juniper. We know you did the dirty with Rafe.”

“What do you mean, you know I did the dirty with Rafe? What are you talking about?”

“Girl, you were on the phone with him half the night, and we heard you.”

“What?”

“You were like,Oh, I loved it too. It was so amazing,” Rosie says.