Broken Beautiful Hearts(88)

“Mm-hmm.” Suddenly, I realize how much of me Owen is about to see. It’s dark in here, but not that dark.

He starts by peeling down the top of my bathing suit. When it reaches my waist, he pauses to look at me. I close my eyes as he works the suit down farther. Down my hips and thighs. Over my legs. The damp bathing suit hits the floor, and I feel his smooth skin as he slips off his shorts. He leans down and kisses my stomach, working his way up to more sensitive areas.

“Peyton. Look at me.”

I open my eyes and Owen’s face is directly above mine.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Positive.” I hold up the foil packet. “Wait. Do condoms expire?”

This one has been in my bag since I was fifteen. Mom gave it to me after she read an article full of statistics about teens and sex.

“Everything expires,” he says. “But they’re good for a long time.”

“Define a long time.”

“A few years maybe? They don’t have a ten-year shelf life like Twinkies, if that’s what you’re asking.” He takes the packet from me and points to a spot near the bottom. “You have to check the expiration date.”

Probably something I should’ve known about my “just-in-case” condom.

I squint and read the numbers. “It’s good for another six months. And the Twinkie thing is an urban legend.”

Owen rips the packet and I stop talking, my body humming with anticipation. His mouth hovers over mine, and I tug on his bottom lip. He makes a sexy rumbling sound in his throat and lowers himself between my legs. When he’s close enough for me to feel how much he wants me he stops. I wait to feel the pressure of his body against mine.

When he doesn’t move, I tug on his waist, urging him the rest of the way down. Tension pulses in my belly—and everywhere else.

I want him so bad.

He traces a line from the curve of my breast to my hip bone.

“Owen, please…” I squirm underneath him and he almost gives in.

“You don’t know many times I imagined this. How it would feel to be this close to you.” His voice is deeper now and thick with desire. “How it would feel to touch you.”

He slides his hand between my legs, and my whole body shudders. “I thought about it, too. All the time. I wanted you to touch me.”

“Is that what you want now?” His fingers continue to tease me and I can’t think.

I shake my head. “No … I want more.”

Owen can’t hold back any longer.

Our bodies collide, and I feel every part of him.

It feels too good, like he memorized a map of my body and he knows every inch of it by heart. The push and pull between us creates the perfect rhythm. The intensity builds and sensations I’ve never experienced ripple through me over and over.

I moan. “Owen…”

“I love it when you say my name.”

Another wave of bliss rolls over me, and I’m unraveling.

It’s happening to Owen, too. “Peyton.”

It’s the last thing I hear before we come undone.

*

“Peyton?” Owen whispers. “Are you awake?”

Of course I’m awake.

I can’t fall asleep naked on the sofa in the locker room at the YMCA. But if he thinks I’m sleeping why is he trying to wake me up?

What if he’s about to give me the just friends speech that I’ve given him so many times?

Oh god. What if he regrets …

I stop myself.

Owen isn’t that kind of guy.

My little voice is right about that much.

He brushes the damp hair away from my face and kisses the top of my head. He thinks I’m sleeping.

“If I had you … maybe I would do it,” he murmurs.

What’s it and why would I have anything to do with his choice? I focus on the other part— If I had you.





CHAPTER 36

A Tiny Crack

AFTER THE EPIC night at the Y, a little over a week ago, Owen and I settle into a routine. English class together with lots of flirting and lunch in the library if I can dodge the Twins. Those are my favorite times. We talk about everything and nothing. Sometimes we sit in the stacks and hold hands. Other times we do homework together like a regular couple.

Since we slept together, Owen hasn’t pushed about dating or giving him a shot. We both know that’s what we’re doing. Part of me wishes he would bring it up, because my answer would be different now. At the same time, things feel right—the kind of right that isn’t forced. The kind you ease into.

The only downside to sleeping with Owen is that I want to do it again. But that requires being alone—a lot more alone than you can get in the library. So when he texts me and asks if we can go to the movies and somewhere else, I can’t think straight for the rest of the day.

The Twins seem extra suspicious when they get home from practice. Cam knocks on my door three times to borrow three different supplies he needs for his homework, which makes no sense because he does most of it in class. He’s actually really smart—something I’m sure he doesn’t want his football buddies to know.

Christian, on the other hand, is less stealth. While I’m getting ready, I hear him pacing in the hallway.