The Hardest Fall(114)

She nodded.

“Let me hear you say it.”

“He is my biological father.” She swallowed and I watched her throat move, still having a hard time believing she was telling the truth.

“All this time…you let me think…”

She tilted my head up and looked into my eyes. She still had tears in hers. “I was going to tell you, Dylan, I swear to you. That’s why he was there, why he picked me up from Jared’s place—to talk to me. I told him I was going to tell you about him right before I walked into the library that day, and then everything else happened and I just pushed it back. But, I was going to tell you. I swear to you, I was. I can show you my text to him. I can tell you everything.”

I looked down to her shivering lips and couldn’t help myself anymore.

You need water to live, can only survive without it for three to five days, and it’d been so much longer since I’d had my fill of her, since I’d tasted her. I’d barely survived.

Our lips crashed and she let out a quiet whimper the second my tongue touched hers. It was the messiest kiss of my life and yet maybe one of the best. Our teeth bumped, our tongues tangled, and still, I couldn’t get enough of her. I let go of her legs and pushed myself more firmly against her body, crushing her between the door and myself.

My hands free, I cradled her face and tilted her head to the side so I could get more, and she gave me everything—absolutely everything. Pushing her arms between mine, she wrapped her arms around my neck again and let me lead.

When we stopped, we were both breathing hard, as if we had just finished a marathon, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. This girl…she took my breath away.

Resting my forehead against hers, I licked my lips. We were standing so close, I tasted hers too.

“I missed you,” she whispered. “I missed you so much, you have no idea.”

“I think I do,” I said, just as quietly. The whole world had disappeared, and it was just us. “You’re just mine, then?” I asked, just to have another confirmation.

She pulled her head back a little to look into my eyes. “You’re my best buddy—who else’s would I be?”

I kissed her again, slower this time, sipping instead of chugging. Still, I didn’t think I’d ever get my fill of her.

“I’m so angry at you,” she whispered in between my kisses. “Still so angry.”

“Why?” I bumped my nose to hers and she ducked her head to kiss me, licking my lips when she was done. I dipped one of my hands down and put it on her butt, pulling her a little lower. When she felt how hard and ready I was for her, she closed her eyes, bit her lip, and groaned, trying to move her body against me. I stilled her and kissed her neck, licking and sucking as I rolled my hips.

“How could you just leave like that?” she asked in a gasp when she could find the words.

I stopped moving against her and my hold on her tightened again. My gaze took in her flushed face and met her glazed eyes.

“How could you not come after me?” I croaked.

“I’m an idiot. What’s your excuse?”

I smiled and let my forehead drop to her shoulder.

“You’ve called me an idiot a few times tonight, so I’m guessing I’m your other half, just as big of an idiot, if not bigger.”

“Then we’re perfect for each other, huh?”

“We are best buddies, aren’t we?”

Her grin took me by surprise, and I found myself lost in another kiss until the door behind us was pushed open and I had to carry her weight to protect her.

Lindy’s head poked out from the opening and she winced when she saw us.

“Sorry to interrupt, Dylan, but I could really use you out there. Brian isn’t really the biggest help at the moment, so if you…”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Just give me another minute, okay? I’ll be right there.”

She nodded and offered me a small grin. “Yeah, sure.”

When it was just us again, I slowly let Zoe’s feet touch the ground, and she tried to fix her clothing. When she looked up, I exhaled and grabbed her face to press a kiss to her swollen, dark pink lips. She smiled up at me, and my chest felt heavy.

“We still need to talk, Zoe. I need to know everything.”

She lost a little bit of her smile but nodded.

“Where are you living?”

A quick shrug. “I’ve been staying with Jared for now. I’ll need to find a place or a roommate after the semester starts.”

“I’m staying with Benji. He moved in with another guy and I’ve been sleeping on their couch. You’re not going back to your friend’s tonight,” I stated.

Still smiling big, she shook her head. “I won’t.”

“And you’re waiting until I close up. You’re sitting right in front of me until then.”

“I am. I won’t move—I won’t even look away.”





Chapter Twenty-Nine





Zoe





After every single customer had trickled out, then everyone in the kitchen, every waitress and bartender, it was just me and Dylan alone in the place. It looked so big with everyone gone, so quiet, every table empty with the chairs turned up. Dylan had already turned the lights off, all but the small decorative lights that hung above the mirror behind all the alcohol. I thought it was romantic. I was still sitting in the exact spot Dylan had planted me in, on the same stool, and I was wide awake. The only time I’d looked away from him for more than a few seconds was when I texted to Jared to let him know I wasn’t coming back and everything was okay again.