When Our Worlds Collide (Our Worlds #1)(75)
“And here I thought you were a fighter,” she whispers under her breath thinking that I won’t hear her, but of course I do. I choose to ignore her snide remark. I’m not in the mood for the come to Jesus talk that will surely follow that comment. As I hear Violet’s car horn blaring, I leave her standing on the front porch watching me as I walk down the walkway onto the driveway.
My eyes are down casted in shame for my admission. I turn the corner preparing for a snide remark from Violet, but there he stands leaning against his car. God, he’s too gorgeous for his own good. He’s wearing the jeans that are just tight enough to show off everything that makes a girl want to scream his name. His thin white button up is rolled up to his elbows. Best of all, his perfect smile is plastered on his face, the smile that makes you want to run into his arms and stay there. His aviator sunglasses are perched on his nose, making it impossible to see his eyes. I still know that in spite of his smile there’s a mixture of fear and reluctance behind the shiny surface.
Neither of us say anything. Neither of us took the steps to close the gap between us. I stay planted on the edge of the driveway watching him against the hood of his car. He runs his thumb along the gap between the hood and the front end. I watch him intently trying to come up with something to say. Something that can fix everything, but I come up empty handed. When I see him pull his sunglasses off his perfect face exposing his eyes watching me, I’m reminded of what my mom had said to me last night.
He looks at you as if his world starts and ends with you.
This is what she was referring too. He doesn’t just look at me. He actually sees me.
“Graham…” I look him up and down trying to memorize the way he appears in front of me. He tucks his sunglasses into the collar of his shirt. There’s a longing in his eyes when he allows his eyes to train in on mine. My breathing stills as I watch his chest rise and fall.
“About last night…” Graham’s voice is low as if he’s telling me a secret. I don’t care what he has to say. I drop my backpack at my feet. As best as I’m capable of with a bum leg and crutches I make my way towards him. He meets me halfway just as I drop the crutches to the side. Graham’s hands find the side of my face. He runs his finger along my cheek making my blood pump thickly through my veins.
That simple touch isn’t enough. I wrap my arms around his neck jumping to wrap my legs around his waist. He eagerly follows my intentions hoisting me up in his arms taking all of my weight on his strong capable forearms. I play with the back of his hair refusing to look anywhere else but into his honey shaded eyes. I want to make sure I still see the same person I had the night of the accident.
Graham’s smile grows brighter with every second that ticks by. I can breathe again.
He’s still in there.
Chapter ThirtySix
-Graham-
I stayed up most of the night trying to work this mess out in my head. I came to a few conclusions. This seems to happen a lot these days, overthinking and analyzing moments that should be insignificant, but end up being monumental. Staring at my ceiling has become a recreational sport for me. I’m losing my god damn mind, I’m sure of it.
The first thing that I know is that Kennedy and I are different. She’s all books and dance, and I’m all baseball and parties. Something against our control keeps pushing us apart and maybe we are both at fault for this happening. The most important and hardest epiphany is that I just don’t really give a damn. I don’t care about any of the meaningless bullshit because I love her. I know I said it to her just last night and I meant every word when I let them slide out of my mouth, but something clicked last night while I laid on my bed thinking about her. Nothing could keep me away from Kennedy at this point and I’m not afraid to admit it.
“Kennedy…” I try again to get the words out but nothing arrives at the tip of my tongue.
Kennedy didn’t find a reason enough good to stay away from me from last night until this morning. When she rounded the corner to see me standing there my confidence level was at an all-time low. It could have gone either way. I’d either be driving her to school or drowning my sorrows in a bottle of tequila that I stole from my father’s den later tonight. I’m thankful that it’s managed to go in my favor. Feeling her beneath my fingertips is the closest I’ve felt to carefree in my entire life.
“Graham, I don’t care what you have to say because none of it matters,” Kennedy fills in the silence when the words don’t come easily for me. She grins down at me as I hold her in my arms.
“But I had a speech.” I plead with her, amusement evident in my voice.
Kennedy jumps down from my arms being mindful of her hurt leg.
“I was thinking you might want to kiss me, but if you have a speech…” she peers up at me through her long thick eyelashes. The grin that’s on her lips nearly stops my heart.
“I think the speech can wait, don’t you?” I lift her up onto the hood of my car making her laugh uncontrollably. My lips quickly find hers. Subconsciously I’m drawn to her. That alone causes our kiss to deepen to the point where I would be willing to take her right here in her parent’s driveway. Something I doubt they would appreciate.
A moan escapes Kennedy’s lips and I can’t help myself. I kiss along her jawline until I hit the softest of skin behind her ear. I know what’s coming before I feel it below my own skin. She physically shudders as my lips release from her. She smacks me on the chest feeling embarrassed as she always does. I can see her eyes dilating in excitement. She can say what she wants, but she loves when I do that.