Page 97 of The Time It Takes
I pulled my knees to my chest and nodded. His head bobbed in thought just before he slammed it onto the bed. He held his elbow up before jumping and hitting the book with it. A laugh bubbled out of me as I watched him pretend to beat up the book.
It was so drawn out and ridiculous. I loved it and I loved him. So so much.
When he was done, he wiped his brow as if he had broken a sweat. I sat up on my knees and hooked my arms around his neck and kissed him like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. I was suddenly so thankful at that moment that it was an instinct I could freely act on now. He was mine and I was his—so very much his.
“Thank you,” I whispered, meaning it. He always knew how to cheer me up.
He cupped my face. “Anything for you, Damsel.”
I didn’t even care if I looked terrible. My eyes were probably puffy and swollen and my skin blotchy, but none of that mattered because he looked at me like he saw everything beneath that. I realized then that he had always looked at me like this. If only I had gotten out of my head and noticed it sooner.
He adjusted me so that we were both sitting on the edge of my bed. An odd look grew on his face as his eyes roamed mine.
“What? Do I have ice cream on my face or something?” I asked, wiping my hand over my mouth.
He shook his head and then pulled my hand away from my face. He gripped both of them, placing a kiss on the tip of each finger before holding them in his lap.
“I know you hate prom, but I kind of…like it.” He took a breath. “And so, I’d like us to meet in the middle and go for a little while,” he started. “So, Willow…”
My heart sped up at seeing the excitement he was trying very hard to contain. It made me sit up straighter. I only hated prom because of who I had spent it with. I hated it because it was never me and Oliver. I hated it because I—
“Will you go to prom with me?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, and he kissed the spot just beneath my ear. The moment was killed when I took in how good he looked in comparison to my stained baggy t-shirt.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I don’t um… I don’t have—”
His smile only widened as he stood. I watched him curiously as he walked back to my bedroom door and stepped outside of it. He came back with a long black bag.
“My mom mentioned that when you went to lunch the other day you stopped to look at this dress in the window. She bought it for you just in case you changed your mind about prom. When I told her I was going to ask you, she did laps around the house.” He chuckled. “Actual laps.”
I laughed too, but it was breathy. My eyes were glued to the black bag, picturing the dress inside. What had I ever done to deserve such great people in my life?
Tears threatened to rise again, but I blinked them away quickly.
I stood and yanked off my t-shirt quickly, making grabby hands toward the dress. Oliver laughed at my eagerness. He stepped toward me with the dress and when he unzipped the bag, my breath caught just like it did when I saw it for the first time. I’d never owned anything so beautiful in my life. I didn’t ask how much it cost, because I was certain it’d give me a heart attack since my heart was already on the verge of bursting out of my skin.
He helped me get into the dress and once I was covered, I took off my bra and tossed it blindly on the floor.
The dress was made of red silk with thin singlet straps and a cowl neckline. The split stopped at my mid-thigh.
Once he zipped me up, I turned to face him.
He went still. His eyes darkened as they rolled down my body and back up, then down again.
“Do you like it?” I asked him quietly.
Instead of responding, his arms were instantly around my waist, and he was pulling me to him. He planted small kisses all over my face, down my neck to my collarbone and my shoulder before landing one on my lips.
I laughed into the kiss, and he groaned in delight.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“It’s a hell yes. I could eat you, Damsel.” He bit my bottom lip before sweeping his tongue against mine and I sank into him with ease.
The kiss quickly took a turn, becoming fierce and undying. My hands were pushing through his hair as his fingers dug into my hips, pulling me impossibly closer to him.
