His lips spread into a wide grin, the palm of his hand whispering down my arm and to my hand where he interlocks our fingers and pulls me toward him.
He flicks his gaze up to Ty, giving him one of those man nods before spinning around and pulling me through the crowd and toward his Dad and Pop.
“And he’s here!” Evan shouts when we get to the edge of the blue inflatable pool that is full of rubber ducks.
He lets go off my hand, interlocking his fingers together and stretching his arms out in front of him.
“Back up! Back up!” he shouts, waving kids away from the edge, his face a mask of seriousness. He takes the wooden pole with a hook on the end from Mal, looking down at the ducks that are bobbing in the water and studying them for what feels like hours before he turns toward me, his gaze meeting mine, something flashing in the depths of his eyes before he winks and turns back to face the pool. He hooks a random duck out and holds it up in the air toward me.
“What—”
“Check the color,” he interrupts, his brows raised high on his forehead.
I frown before bending down slightly and dipping my head, looking for a colored sticker on the bottom. “It’s blue,” I answer.
“Yes!” He waggles the pole at me, his brow raised when I don’t take the duck off straight away. I shake my head, a smirk lifting the corners of my mouth when I unhook the duck and turn to face Mal before handing it over to him.
“Collect your prize, missy.”
I point at my chest, before turning toward Evan. He nods, waving his hand at me to signal to choose a prize. My gaze lands on a panda, a lion with a fluffy mane, and a penguin. But it’s not any of those things that catch my eye: it’s the lone, colorful, stuffed butterfly that has my hands doing grabby motions.
Mal hands it to me, the size only as big as the palm of my hand, but I’m fascinated with the blue wings and black accents.
“Ah, man,” Evan groans. “I thought you’d go for the panda.”
My gaze snaps up to his, my stomach tumbling when he watches me, his eyes full of questions when he sees my face. I bring my prize to my chest, holding it close as I look down briefly and then back up at him.
“Butterflies are my spirit animal,” I say, my voice small.
A kid comes running past us to take a turn on the game so I step to the side and out of the way. Evan throws his arm over my shoulders before handing his dad the stick back and walking through the crowd.
“It is, huh?”
I nod my head, feeling stupid about getting so excited over a stuffed butterfly. “It’s stupid,” I say, not wanting him to hear my reason as to why I love them so much.
He comes to a stop at the edge of the grass only a few feet away from a cotton candy cart. Bending at the knees so that his eyes are level with mine, his mouth flattens into a straight line, his gaze flitting between my eyes. “Nothing you ever say is stupid,” he says, his tone gruff. “Tell me why you love them so much.”
I look down but he immediately places the pad of his thumb under my chin, bringing my face back up to his.
“It’s… they…” I roll my eyes at myself, hating that I’m stumbling on my words yet again. I take a deep breath, determined to tell him why. “It’s the whole process: they start out their lives as caterpillars, then one day they hang upside down from a tree, wrapping themselves in a silky cocoon and then eventually they emerge as this beautiful butterfly. They start over, giving themselves a whole new life.” I shrug. “I guess it’s what I always dreamed of while I was inside. And now…” I stare into his eyes, the powerful honey orbs pulling me in. “Now I feel like that’s what I’m doing: giving myself a brand-new, beautiful life.”
I swallow, feeling even more self-conscious now that he still hasn’t answered and is staring at me in a way that he’s never looked at me before. My heart thrums in my chest so loud that I’m sure he can hear it.
“Baby,” he murmurs, cupping each of my cheeks in his hands as he steps forward. “You are that beautiful butterfly.” He steps closer. “You shed that cocoon as soon as you stepped out of that prison.” His eyes flit from mine to my lips and back again. “You’ve spread your wings, and I’ve been lucky enough to watch you do it.”
I swallow, my stomach bottoming out as his gaze flits down to my lips again and he presses his against mine in a gentle kiss as he snakes his arms around my waist, pulling me even closer and deepening the kiss, his tongue seeking entrance.
Nothing else matters in this moment, not the people all around us, not the fact that his ex-girlfriend is here: nothing at all. Only me and him. Only this matters: what’s happening between us.
It’s dark by the time we leave the community center and head toward the compound. I can feel something stirring in the car on the way there, the atmosphere crackling as Evan’s hand sits on my thigh, his thumb rubbing back and forth, driving me crazy.
My nerves crash through me as I turn toward him, watching his side profile as the streetlights illuminate his face as we pass them by. His eyes shine bright, and when he looks at me, my breath stutters.
His eyes are the windows to his soul, and right now, I see everything. I see the pain, I see the apprehension, but most of all, I see the love reflected back at me.
His hand tightens on my thigh and starts to crawl its way farther up my leg when he turns to put his attention back on the road.
“Evan,” I moan, both in pleasure and torment. He’s been doing these touches all day and it’s driving me insane.