He smiles. “I guess so.”
I turn away, trying not to think about the million ways his career will pull us apart. It’s selfish of me, especially as it’s my fault we wasted so much time. If I’d only relaxed and gone with the flow from the first kiss, we could have spent the whole year together.
“Hey,” Sol says, stepping in front of me and lifting my chin. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m right here.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Please don’t tell me you’re freaking out. Are you having doubts?”
My heart twists at the pain in his eyes and I dip my head, pressing a kiss to his lips. “No. No doubts. Besides, you bought me for at least one night, right?”
He smacks my chest and I grin, although I’m sure it doesn’t quite reach my eyes.
“Wes,” he says, pulling me over to the bed and pushing me down. “This isn’t going to work if you don’t talk to me. You’re hard enough to figure out as it is.”
Releasing a groan, I drop back onto the bed, my feet resting on the floor, and cover my eyes. “I was thinking about after graduation. About the fact that you’re probably going to be heading miles away from here. It’s selfish as fuck, but I hate the idea of losing you when I’ve only just found you.”
The bed dips as Sol sits beside me, and for a moment he says nothing. I wonder whether I’ve actually manged to mess this up again in less than twenty-four hours. It’s got to be a record.
“I’ve got a few offers,” he says quietly. “I’ve had them for a while. But I was holding off accepting.”
There’s something about his tone that has my breath sticking in my throat and I slowly lower my arm from my eyes to find him staring at his hands. “Why?”
He glances at me, then looks away. “I was waiting to be sure.”
“Of?”
“Of you. Us. If things hadn’t gotten back on track by spring break, I would have made my decision.”
I sit up, my heart in my throat. “Sol? What are you saying?”
“I’m going to accept the offer in L.A.,” he says, still not meeting my eye.
My emotions bounce around inside me, completely all over the place. If I hadn’t texted him after bumping into him at Grinds, I might have lost him forever. The thought is like a punch in the gut.
“Is it too much?” Sol asks.
I look at him in confusion and find him watching me with a pained expression. “Is what too much?”
“Choosing my internship because it’s where you are.”
“Are you serious?” I lean forward and take hold of his face, pressing a kiss to his lips. “I’m thrilled that you’d do that for me. I don’t want to lose you.”
Sol exhales, and I feel the tension he was holding slip away. I kiss him again, pulling him down beside me and intertwining our limbs. His bed smells like him, the rich, peppery citrus scent that has me breathing deep.
Stroking my hands up and down his back, relishing in the firm warmth of his body beneath his shirt, our kiss is unhurried, and the realization that we have two weeks ahead of us, has me smiling against his lips.
“Hey,” I whisper as the gaps between our kisses lengthen. “Don’t you dare fall asleep on me.”
Sol snuggles against my chest, wrapping his leg tighter around me. “If I do, feel free to wake me up like you did this morning.”
I laugh, but after a few seconds, his grip around me loosens, his breathing turning slow and deep. Being careful not to jostle him, I take my glasses off and place them on his nightstand. I can’t reach to cover us with anything, and there’s no way I’m waking him up, so I settle back and resign myself to the fact that we’re sleeping fully dressed on top of the covers.
Pressing a kiss to the top of his head and holding him tighter, I smile and close my eyes, because this, like Sol, is absolutely perfect.
EPILOGUE
FIVE YEARS LATER