He licked his lips, watching her mouth. “You’re right. I do want you.”
She nibbled her bottom lip then crossed her legs, squeezing her thighs against the building warmth and wetness. “Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me.”
Heat flared in his eyes, and she burned all over when he closed the distance and pressed his lips against hers. His mouth was soft and yet held strength too. He wrapped his one arm around her, then his mouth opened ever so slightly until his tongue brushed against hers. He held her tight, showing her the way with his gentle mouth, and she didn’t want him to ever stop.
But then he did.
And when he broke away, she felt breathless and lightheaded. “Not bad for our first kiss,” she joked.
He wasn’t smiling. He stared at her with an intensity she’d never known. “Believe me, Penelope, stick with me, and I’ll make our first everything incredible.” Desire simmered between them before his mouth met hers again. He kissed her harder this time, more demanding. His tongue thrust into her mouth. His fingers tightened around her ponytail, and when he deepened the kiss, a needy sound escaped her mouth that she’d never heard before.
One she wanted to make again. And louder. She wiggled against all his hardness, never wanting him to stop.
But then he did. And when he drew away, his gaze burned hot and possessive. “Damn, girl, you make me want to kiss you every day for the rest of my life.”
When Darryl’s fingers gripped her chin, she returned to the now, and she stared into the eyes of a man not a boy. “This is where I kissed you, just like this. Do you remember?”
Something inside of her shifted, a pang in her heart flickered, when he brought his lips close to hers. “I remember everything,” she whispered.
Then his lips met hers, and the kiss was different, more emotion packed than when they were younger. She fell into the kiss, feeling like they’d somehow dropped into a time warp. They were the same people, but different. She was different, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about who she was now, if maybe somehow she’d lost her way these past few years.
Once she believed in love, and she knew that all those years ago when her mom dragged her from camp to announce their divorce, she stopped believing and became a person who ran from anything serious.
But now, in this moment, she felt good about his kiss.
So damn good.
She didn’t want him to stop kissing her, but he did. He leaned away and smiled softly. “Just as I remember it.”
She mirrored his smile to hide the emotions flaring in her chest.
He let out a long breath, creating a cloud of white between them when he stepped back to settle on the rock next to her, and glanced out to the lake. “It’s amazing how much things have changed in the ten years since we were here before.”
She brought up one knee, resting her chin on top. “So much has changed, hasn’t it?” Maybe that’s what bothered her most. She wasn’t sure she liked how she’d changed. Really, what had she done in those ten years? Nothing. “Any regrets?” she asked.
“No,” he answered without hesitation. “Things happened because they needed to.” His gaze fell to hers. “And we’re back here again, aren’t we?”
“We are,” she managed through her thick throat.
A long moment passed as she stared out at the cabins that had been the last place she’d ever felt at home until now. Everything had changed after she left camp. She changed. She could barely remember that innocent girl back then who didn’t know anything about pain. The one who believed in love.
“How about you?” he asked. “Any regrets?”
She drew in a long deep breath, finding the answer an easy one to give. “I regret that I’m not the same girl that sat on this rock ten years ago.”
He went unnaturally still. “What girl is that?”
“The girl that thought love was easy.” She hesitated then opened her heart. “The girl that believed a parent could love you above all else. The girl that believed that fate would always lead you to the right place, as long as you were a good person. The girl that believed in the damn fairytale.”
She thought Darryl might give her the same answer that everyone did—love was easy. Or some other platitude she didn’t believe, but he didn’t. He said, “Love is fucked up, and can fuck you up, but sometimes it’s all about finagling your way through it until you find something that makes you happy…whatever that may be.”
When her throat tightened with emotion, she looked away, and he added, “You don’t deserve the way your parents hurt you, Penelope.”
She forced a smile. “What’s the saying? Something can only hurt you if you let it.”
“That’s a hard lesson when it’s coming from your parents.” He nudged her shoulder with his. “And I should know since I have a bastard of a father that walked out on us and never came back.”
Silence fell between them.