Finding You (By You #3) (11 page)

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," she said.

He gave her another soft smile. "You didn't."

Sarah bit her lip, but nodded.

"I won't call you that if you don't want me to."

He felt even guiltier when he saw the disparaged look in her eye, but it was just something he couldn't allow. It made him feel like a dick, but he wasn't Remy anymore, he wasn't
that
guy. And he couldn't let himself go back to it.

"Thanks," he said, softly.

They walked on a bit further in awkward silence. They were getting closer, and as they came to what he remembered was one of the final turns before they'd see where they were going, he stopped her. She turned to face him, giving him a curious look while a ball of nervousness bounced around his insides.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

Her brow pinched together and her head tilted to the side. She considered it for a moment before responding.

"I do."

"That's good, because I need you to do something for me that's a little...unusual." She frowned even more, looking more confused. "I promise that you'll be completely safe, I just don't want to ruin the surprise."

She considered him a bit more, then nodded. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to close your eyes. And I need you to promise that you'll keep them shut until I say you can open them. No matter what you hear or feel...you have to keep them shut until I say otherwise."

The look she gave him was priceless. It was confusion mixed with horror, and he had to bite back a laugh that would have made things even more awkward between them. Finally, after what felt like an hour of her thinking about it, she agreed.

"Okay, I'll do it. You're sure I'm going to be safe, though?"

He grinned, nodding. "I promise I'll never let anything bad happen to you."

She smiled at that, and blew out a resigned breath.

"Okay--here goes."

Sarah pinched her eyes shut, and held them like that. Jeremy waved his hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn't peeking, and she didn't flinch. Then he took her by the hand, and they continued walking toward the surprise, albeit at a much slower pace.

He didn't mind the slow pace, though. He pulled her even closer, wrapping his arm around her while she sank into him. He had half a mind to lead her in another circle around where they were going, just so he could keep her that close for a little while longer. But that might be taking things a bit too far.

"I bet you're wondering where we're going," he said.

Her hand flexed against his as she let out a cute, little laugh.

"The question crossed my mind once or twice."

"Well, I'm sorry about all the secrecy, but it's better this way. You'll see."

"I trust you," she said, softly.

Jeremy wasn't sure why he was even bringing her here. He'd never taken anyone there, before. Ever since his dad had brought him there, it had been his special place. He could still remember the look in his dad's eye when he had shown Jeremy the exact spot where he'd proposed to his mom. He'd told Jeremy that the spot had changed his life--that it was magical--and Jeremy had treated it that way ever since. So, he wasn't sure what had made him want to take Sarah there, he just felt like he was supposed to, like it was the right thing to do.

They followed the sidewalk path as it wrapped around one more building, and then Jeremy's breath caught as he saw it. It had been years since he'd been there, and it was still as beautiful as ever. He couldn't help but smile as he led Sarah closer.

"Is that water?" she asked.

Jeremy grinned. "You'll see."

"I hope you know I don't make a habit of letting guys lead me blindly around places I've never been. This better be pretty spectacular."

"It is."

When they got closer, the sound of the rushing water was unmistakable. Jeremy led her all the way up to the edge of it, where a fine mist sprayed on them. It was cool against the lingering heat of the late summer evening, refreshing.

"You're killing me here, can I open my eyes yet?"

Jeremy twisted her around, facing her straight at it. He admired her one final time, brushing some of her blonde hair out of her face. She was beautiful, perfect. He wanted to take a mental picture of that moment, with her face all lit up with anticipation and excitement. He took a deep breath, nodding to himself, then shuffled around behind her, keeping his hands on her shoulders and leaning in close to whisper in her ear.

"Okay," he said. "You can open them."

Sarah gasped when she opened her eyes. It took her a second for her brain to piece together what she was seeing. In front of her was a massive wall that curved almost completely around both of them. Lights on the ground faced upward, illuminating the whole thing, and water cascaded down the side of the wall to splatter into a tiny pool area right in front of them. That was where the misty spray had been coming from. It was massive. And it was breathtaking.

"Wow."

Jeremy wrapped his arms all the way around her, squeezing her tight. The water coming off the wall made the area a lot cooler than the muggy Houston night, and she snuggled into his body for warmth. And because it felt good.

"What is this place?" she asked, looking around.

They stood in the middle of a large cobblestone courtyard that extended down into a massive, green mall area. Huge oak trees were aligned in two rows through the mall, and on the other side sat a large, white gazebo. It looked big enough for a small party and might have even had a stage in the middle--it was hard to tell from that distance. It was like she'd opened her eyes and found herself in a fairytale land. She wasn't in Houston anymore--Jeremy had taken her someplace magical.

"It's called the Water Wall."

"It's absolutely..." She shook her head.

"Magical?"

Sarah turned and looked up at him, surprised.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," she said.

The light reflected off the splashing water, causing shadows to dance across his face. His crystal blue eyes shimmered as he looked at her. Warning bells were buzzing in the back of her head, but she didn't listen to them. She didn't want to hear them. The look on his face made her knees weak. It was almost more than she could handle.

"How did you find this place?" she asked.

He shook his head. "It's just my little Neverland." He smiled at her. "I've never actually brought anyone here, before. This is a first for me."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"No one?" He shook his head once. She searched his face, confused. "I don't understand--why me?"

He considered her for a moment, then that soft smile appeared on his lips.

"Because you're different, Sarah."

Her heart almost skipped a beat.

"Different how?"

"I don't know, you just are. I've known it since the moment we met."

"I think you're pretty special, too."

She bit her lip when she said it. She hadn't really meant for it to come out sounding like that, like she was professing her love for him. But her concern washed away when she noticed he was staring at her lips. They immediately went dry, and she licked them once. She found herself staring at his, too.

Slowly, Jeremy dipped his head even closer to hers. They were just a breath away. The warning bells in her head were louder than ever, and this time they weren't letting her ignore them. He was impossibly close, all she had to do was lean forward and she would feel him, taste him, just the way she'd been thinking about ever since he'd walked her home from the party.

But she couldn't do it. The warning bells were too much. They were there for a reason.

"Wait," she said, tilting her head back. "We shouldn't do this."

"Do what?"

He didn't move, and his hands were holding her firmly in place--not that she minded. She could feel her resolve slipping away as he tilted his head forward ever so slightly.

"I don't know if I'm ready for something like this. Not after everything that happened with Huck."

His voice came out in barely a whisper. A heated little whisper that sent tingles down to her toes.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked.

She licked her lips, again, unable to take her eyes off of his.

Gosh, but they look so soft
.

"I just don't want to get hurt."

His eyes burned, intensely.

"I'll never let you get hurt, again," he said.
 

The entire world around them melted away, taking all of Sarah's reservations with it. They sunk into each other, Jeremy's lips pressing into hers as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. Electricity surged between them, from her lips to her chest and down into her legs. Her heart pounded as though it had just been brought back to life, and Sarah knew she would never want to kiss anyone else for the rest of her life.

When Sarah parked her car in the parking lot closest to his dorm, Jeremy's chest clenched up more than it had when they'd first kissed. They turned and faced each other, their eyes locked for a long, silent second. There were a million things he wanted to tell her--a million things he
should
tell her--but the only thing he could think about was how her lips were the sweetest things he had ever tasted.

He cracked a smile. "You didn't have to drop me off here, I could have walked."

Sarah's lips curled up at the corner, but only barely.

"Sometimes you're an idiot."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Her eyes searched his face, as though she were debating whether or not she wanted to speak what she was thinking.

"Invite me up to your room," she said.

Jeremy's eyes went wide.

"You want to come up?" he said, surprised.

Sarah shook her head, holding back a tiny laugh.

"I guess that'll have to do."

Before he realized what was happening, she'd already opened her door and jumped out of the car. He was still sitting in the passenger's seat when she made it to the front of the car and gave him a curious look.

"Are you coming?" she said, holding her palms up.

Jeremy didn't need to be told twice.

He scrambled out of the car, barely remembering to shut the door behind him. They made the short walk back to his dorm with their fingers interlocked, and smiles plastered on both of their faces.

Was this really happening? Was Sarah really coming up to his room? Oh God--he hoped it wasn't a mess. When was the last time he cleaned?

Calm down, don't make an idiot of yourself and it's going to be fine.

He took a deep breath and gave her another warm smile. They'd had such a magical day together that he couldn't have imagined it getting any better. But it wasn't over yet, and anything was possible.

When they finally made it to his room, Sarah took one look around before she turned and gave him another curious look.

"You have a single?" she said.

He nodded. "I'm one of the lucky ones, I guess."

"I'll say. No that I mind my roommate too much, but I would definitely rather have my own room if I was given the choice."

"It has its perks."

He shut the door behind them. The automatic lock that clicked when the door closed had never sounded so loud...or so beautiful. He glanced around the room and was surprised to see that he hadn't left it such a bad shape--maybe he wasn't quite the slob he thought he was.

But Sarah wasn't looking around the room. She stood in the middle, between the brown desk and the high-framed bed sitting against he far wall. Her eyes were locked on him, and he couldn't stand the thought of another second passing without feeling her in his arms.

The two collided in the middle of the room, their arms and legs wrapping around each other while they tried to keep their balance. Their lips pressed so hard together their teeth made a clicking sound, causing them to both burst into an awkward laugh.

"Sorry, I guess it's been a while," Jeremy said.

Sarah didn't say anything, though. She just gave him a smile and shook her head.

Then they were kissing, again. Their tongues danced around each other, and Sarah's fingers slid through the back of his hair. She pulled him even closer against her than she had when they had first kissed at the Water Wall.

Without realizing it, they were falling against his bed. The only thing that stopped them from falling into it was the fact that it was too tall to allow it. But the height of the bed wasn't about to slow them down.

He wrapped his hands around Sarah's tiny waist and lifted her onto the mattress. She let out a little squeal of delight as he did, and her legs spread as she pulled him close to her again. His head was tilted far back as she leaned down to kiss him, her hair falling around both sides of his face.

When they finally broke apart, he stared up at her, speechless. Her brow knit together and she gave him a curious look.

"What is it?" she said.

"You have to be the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on."

Sarah's cheeks tinged red and she cupped a hand to her mouth.

"Stop it, you're making me blush."

"I'm serious," he said. "I know it sounds all gushy, and I know it's not the smoothest thing I could say--but it's the truth."

She beamed a smile at him. "You've already got me in your bed, you don't have to keep buttering me up."

He gave her a serious look. He needed her to understand that he wasn't just running some game on her. He needed to make sure she knew that he was actually interested in her.
Very
interested in her.
 

"I'm not some player with all the smooth lines," he said. "When it comes to you, the only thing I've ever been able to do is speak from my heart."

The crinkles at the edges of her eyes smoothed and her smile was replaced by a look of open honesty.

"I don't know how you can say all of these sweet things to me," she said.

"I know we've only known each other a few short weeks, but from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I felt like there was a connection that went beyond anything I have the ability to explain." The smile returned to her face, but Sarah didn't say anything. "I know I probably sound like babbling idiot, getting you up to my room and then telling you how crazy I am about you, but every time I think about you I want to scream how amazing you are."