Oh God.
All I remember is his words—-
I need someone who won't bring shame to my family.
And that's why—-
Oh God.
I find myself fighting off the urge to cry as Slater suddenly takes a step towards me, and I end up tightening my grip around the handlebars of my bike as he comes closer and closer.
I love him, and I miss him, but I never realized it would hurt this much to see him.
It hurts so, so much that just when he's about to reach me, I can only shake my head, and I see his face whiten.
"Please," I hear myself whisper. "Please don't come any closer."
The words make him suck his breath audibly, and he looks at me like I've just destroyed him.
But that can't be, can it?
For a while, there's just silence between us, and I tell myself I'm only imagining the desperation in his gaze as he stares at me.
"I lied to you the last time."
Slater's voice is hollow, and the sound breaks my heart. I'm not used to hearing him like this, and I'm so tempted to tell him I'd rather have him yell at me instead.
"When I said you'd never fit in my life, and that you'd only bring shame to my family...they were all lies."
"Then why did you say them?" I ask brokenly.
"Because I was terrified."
The rawness in his voice brings tears to my eyes, but I realize at that moment I'm just as terrified as he is.
I don't want to let myself hope again.
I can't.
If I let myself believe there's a chance for us, and he ends up hurting me again—-
The thought is enough to make me spin around, but before I can run away, he already has me caged in his arms.
"Please let me go," I beg.
"Let you go? Let you go?" Slater lets out a strained laugh. "Can't you see that you have it all wrong?" he asks tautly. "Can't you see that I'm the one who's trapped? Can't you feel that you have me enslaved?"
I never thought I'd hear Slater say such words, but I'm still scared.
"I let Nic's words get to me because he was saying all the things that I've been subconsciously thinking of," Slater says hoarsely. "He was painting a picture that I already had in my head, and I figured, if he could think of the same fucking scenario...then didn't that mean it was likely to be true?"
He forces me to turn around, and my tears start falling the moment our gazes meet.
"He said I was too old for you," Slater says painfully, "and that it was only a matter of time before you leave me—-"
He loves me, I think dizzily. He loves me, and I know it's so because the way he's looking at me...is the way I've been looking at him all this time.
"I'm sorry, Scarlett. I'm so fucking sorry for being a coward."
I throw myself at him with a sob.
Zee was right.
Idiot that I was, I thought pushing Slater to his limits and making him do something was all about sex, but I was wrong.
So, so wrong.
Pushing Slater to his limits was about forcing him to confront his feelings, to the point that he had to hurt me and push me away just for him to realize—-
Slater cups my face with shaking hands. "I love you, Scarlett."
I never thought I'd hear him say that, and even as the words make me sob and shudder in his arms, I still manage to smile up at him as I whisper, "I love you, too...Uncle Slater."
Slater
Only Scarlett...
Only my Scarlett would think of saying something like that at this moment, and I'm amused and exasperated, but most of all I'm just too fucking grateful—-
"I love you, Scarlett."
Now that I know how I feel, it's as I can't stop myself from saying the words, and I find myself hoarsely repeating them again and again even as my mouth crashes down on hers in a desperately hungry kiss.
How the fuck did I survive the past weeks without this kiss?
Her arms wound around my neck, and I can only shudder as I feel Scarlett just as desperate for my taste, her body molding against mine until I feel her small breasts rubbing against my chest.
My tongue pushes deep inside of her, and I groan when she eagerly sucks on it without being asked.
She's so fucking sweet.
Too goddamn sweet for me to deserve her, and suddenly, I have this frantic need to let her know—-
I break the kiss reluctantly, and the sound of protest she makes has my chest tightening.
I missed hearing that, too, dammit, and I can't believe what a fucking idiot I've been, to have forced us to endure such misery the past few weeks.
Looking down at her, I say rawly, "I'll never hurt you again, baby. I know I might never be able to do enough to deserve you, but I swear, I give you my word, I'll do everything to keep you happy—-"