Lost in You (Lost in You 1)

“I feel the same way.”

“You do?”

I nod. “I do. I needed to see you. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but it’s been the longest weeks of my life. Everything has changed for me.”

“Me too.”

“So tell me, what do you want to do?”

Ryan leans forward. “All of it,” he whispers into my ear. He lingers there, buried in my hair. I lean into him, fighting the urge to kiss him.

“We need to talk.” I don’t know what possessed me to say those words. He pulls away, his face marred with sadness. I shake my head and smile, hoping to convey anything but sadness. I need to diffuse the situation. “About us and what we are to each other.”

“Okay,” he says. His response is hesitant. Maybe he’s not ready to define us. I could be jumping the gun, but I have to know. I can’t imagine him with anyone else and I don’t want to be with anyone but him.

“Can I say something first?”

“Of course,” I answer immediately, interested in what he has to say.

“I know this might seem stupid, but I’d like to call you my girlfriend.” I look at him questioningly. “I mean, not that I’m going to tell anyone, but I’d at least like to think of you as my girlfriend and you think of me as your boyfriend.”

I start laughing. I can’t help it. We think so much alike it’s scary. He tries to pull back, but I don’t let him. I move into his arms, whether he wanted me there or not. I sit on his lap, facing him. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer.

“I want to call you my boyfriend. Hell, I want to walk down the busiest street holding your hand and sharing a cookie, but we have to wait for that to happen. I’m telling you, Ryan, the day you turn eighteen, everyone is going to know you’ve got me.”

“My birthday is still months away. Who says we’re still going to be together?”

“I say.”

For the next hour or so we make-out. Clothes stay on and hands stay on the outside. We both had to stop a few times, especially when his hand brushed against my breast. I had to fight every urge I had to lean in and remove my shirt so he could touch me properly. Or when I pushed myself into his hard-on and he hissed, I knew I had gone too far.

Being held by him, though, that makes all of this worth it. We fit together.

“I have something to ask you.”

Ryan leans up on his elbow, hovering over me. “I think I’m supposed to ask you to prom, since it’s my school.”

I push him lightly. He falls back, taking me with him. He holds me tight to his chest. I rest my head there, listening to his heartbeat. “Prom would be fun. I didn’t go to mine.”

“Will you go to prom with me, Hadley Carter?”

I sit up enough to look at him. He’s smiling. “I’d be honored. And now I have something to ask.”

Ryan folds his arms behind his back and gives me the go ahead look.

“I’m thinking about buying a house in Jackson.”

Ryan sits up, moving me in the process. He rests on his elbows, me on my knees. I can’t tell if he’s upset or confused.

“You want to live in Jackson?”

I nod.

“Because of me?”

I nod.

“Will I be able to come over?”