“And you don’t want that?”
“Not at all. Hannah has been trying to get me to move here, but I was scared to make such a big change. I wanted to make it… In my heart I wanted to be closer to her and push my boundaries, but I couldn’t pull the trigger…until you.”
“Why me?”
“When you came up to me that night at the bar, I thought I was going to throw up all over your white shirt.” Drake laughs and I find myself laughing along with him. “I’m serious. I was so scared, and then…”
Smiling, I look down at my hands and then into Drake’s warm, brown eyes. They’re as kind today as when I met him, and even though they still smolder when they look at me, tonight they’re softer.
“And then…” he prompts.
“And then you made me laugh—over and over again. And I think I made you laugh too.”
“You did.”
“That hadn’t happened to me in a long time. I kept waiting for the doubt and insecurities to creep in, but though they were simmering below the surface, they never boiled over.”
“
God, Abigail, I feel like such an ass.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I kept flirting with you, and then I pushed you to dance when you didn’t want to—”
I shake my head. “No, I’m glad you did. You pushed me further than I thought I could go, and then you kissed me, and something inside of me exploded.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like my brain moves at warp speed. I’m constantly thinking about what I’m going to do next, and will it cause me anxiety, and how I’m going to relieve that anxiety—will I count or resort to checking? Will it be the thing that finally pushes me over the edge? Most of the time, my thoughts are a complete blur.”
Drake is sitting on the edge of the couch, watching me as though he sincerely cares about me and what I’m feeling. Scratch that, I know he cares about me, and that’s why it’s easy to tell him everything, because I know he won’t judge me or laugh.
“And then you kissed me, and the blur I’d gotten so used to living in was gone. It was just me and you. It was your lips against mine and the touch of your hand on my back. It was the steady beat of your heart and the way you held me. Nothing else mattered. I didn’t care about anything else in that moment except you.”
I barely get the last word out of my mouth before Drake has me on his lap. My knees are pressed to the couch on either side of his hips. I run my fingers up his chest and link them at the back of his neck.
“I felt the same way,” he whispers, his lips brushing mine. “You scared the shit out of me. When I saw you from across the room, it was like the floor had been ripped out from under me. I followed you to the bar, and next thing I knew you were laughing.”
“What happened when I laughed?”
Drake kisses me softly at first and then with more passion. His tongue pushes into my mouth, tangling with mine. He swallows my moans and when we finally part, I’m breathing hard and Drake looks like he could slay a dragon.
“When you laughed, I fell. And I’ve been falling ever since.”
“Drake.”
“I know it’s soon. I realize we haven’t been dating long, but I’m falling, Abigail. My dad always told me, ‘When you know, you just know.’ I was a little skeptical of that theory, until I met you.”
“I feel the same way.”
Drake’s lips part, his eyes round with wonder. “You do?”
Laughing, I nod and kiss him. “Yes.”
Next thing I know I’m cradled in Drake’s arms as he strides down the hallway with purpose.
“Where are we going?”