Page 58 of Last Letters to Ara
Theo cuts me off by grabbing my free hand, lacing his fingers through mine. Feeling completely helpless, I look up at him, vulnerability on full display.
“Do you trust me?”
I do. I trust him with everything I have.
I nod.
“Good, then follow my lead.” He keeps hold of my hand, gently brushing the back of mine with his thumb.
My panic rises, having no idea what to do or how to act, when Theo starts laughing and pulls me closer, dropping my hand so his arm can circle me around my waist.
Theo’s hand moves up my back, reaching my shoulder before ascending to my neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake. His fingers stroke my neck, making me forget everything from why I wanted to disappear, to my goddamn name. I can only think of how his fingers feel on my skin as he begins to trace my jaw.
Theo cups my cheek and glides his thumb over my freckles with a reverent stroke. The lift of my chin happens naturally as I bask in his touch. This moment, despite being fully clothed on a public street, becomes the most intimate moment of my life.
It’s as if he can see straight to my soul and wants every part of it, yet all I see is darkness. It takes me a second too long to realize that it’s because I’ve unwittingly closed my eyes. They shoot open, not wanting to miss a single second.
It makes him smile.
As Theo’s eyes lock onto my lips, I answer his with a smile of my own. He moves even slower than he did at the car, slowly leaning in until the anticipation becomes unbearable.
“Trust me?” he whispers one last time, close enough that his lips brush mine with the question.
“Always.”
Before I can breathe, Theo’s mouth is on mine. His lips are gentle, taking it slow at first, polite even. He’s holding back, not wanting to overstep or use this situation to take liberties, but apparently, it’s not him we have to worry about.
Kissing Theo is something I can only compare to drinking a forbidden elixir, taking me to heights I’ve never known, making me dizzy and breathless, unable to imagine coming down from this altitude. Down to my bones, I know that I’ll never be able to live without it again.
How good something feels tells you in an exact ratio how bad it will hurt if it ends. Alarm crosses my mind, but my brain is no longer connected to my body, which has taken control of itself. I can only sit back and see what it does while reaping the rewards.
My hands travel up Theo’s taut arms, memorizing the feel of him. I register that I must have dropped my ice cream at some point when I sink both hands into his wavy hair, not surprised to find it just as thick and luscious as I imagined. Whatdoessurprise me is the little noise he makes in the back of his throat, somewhere between a moan and a purr.
More. I need more.
My mouth opens for him, and thankfully he deepens the kiss, but rather than ease my need, a viscous chasm of craving opens within me.
Theo wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer, as his tongue slides into my mouth, no longer polite but hungry. For once I’m not stuck thinking about the mechanics of it all, his mouth becoming my beginning and end. I let my body do what it wants, taking what it needs.
Theo moans again, letting me know I’m not alone in this. He tastes like strawberry ice cream and feels like everything I have ever desired. My body didn’t make sense being with anyone else because it was always waiting for him. My jacket suddenly feels too bulky, my clothes too rough.
Theo moves his hand to cradle my neck so he can deepen the kiss once more, and it’s not lost on me that even in this moment of passion, he takes measures to ensure my well-being. His level of thoughtfulness is my undoing. I’m going to rip off his clothes and let him know just exactly how much I–
The sound of a clearing throat halts my thoughts. “Ara? Is that you?”
Mocking. A knife barely concealed by jabby humor.
Only Blake could be so self-absorbed to interrupt his ex from a clearly enjoyable make-out session. A normal person would have walked past and left me alone, but God forbid he misses out on an opportunity to make me miserable.
I begin to pull back, but Theo doesn’t give me an inch of space, his lips remaining hungry against mine. He takes his time, witnesses be damned, as if he’s not ready for this moment to be over. As if he isn’t ready for us to remember that this isn’t our norm, for us to go back to where I feel safe, back to being friends who don’t kiss. For now.
With this kiss, though gentle once again, Theo is trying to tell me something, something important. I want to take the time to understand, to find out what this kiss means, but Blake has other plans.
Not put off in the slightest, he clears his throat again and adds, “I haven’t seen you in forever!”
Bastard. He is a fucking bastard.
It’s time I confront him, and Theo’s kiss has given me the fire I need to do so. As if Theo feels my determination lock into place, he finally frees me.
