Chapter 73

She squeezes her eyes closed as though my words cut her too.

“I hate you.” She sobs brokenly but it’s a weird little soar of my heart. Only my Sophs would throw those words my way when she doesn’t really mean it. Her age-old go-to slap back when she was mad at me but never hating genuinely on me. Sobbing heartily as though to drive home the fact that her words are empty, and she needs me to fix this. Like I always did. She’s as lost as I am.

“I know you do.” I whisper, watching her and melting at my girl’s ability to be both so cute and childlike, while also being sexy and gorgeous and combining it all in a hysterical mess that still makes me want to kiss her. I tilt her head slowly, making it obvious that I intend to, that I need to, and pause for the rejection that doesn’t come.

Feeling braver and knowing she’s caving, I lean in and softly, carefully graze my lips against hers. My heart somersaulting at the intimacy of what I need so badly. My nose nestling along