Wanting Reed (Break Me) BOOK 2 (61 page)

I lie breathless next to her, nuzzling her neck and placing kisses in the same spot as she runs her fingers lazily up and down my back. Several moments pass, and our bodies are still pulsing with the adrenaline from our lovemaking. She exhales a sated sigh, looking at me with heavy lids. She looks insanely sexy and finally mine. Our eyes hold for a second as we silently reflect on each other and the experience we just shared.

She laughs, and it’s adorable. She is and always will be my world. There is nothing that I won’t do for her. “I love you so much, doll,” I tell her as I kiss her face.

“I love you more.”

We received a foot of snow this week, and it continues to fall this afternoon. The temperature is currently twenty degrees, which is a heat wave considering the last few days have been in the negative digits. This has to be one of the coldest winters I’ve ever had to endure in Boston to date. Finishing my last exam of the semester, I’m dreading going out into the frigid weather. I reluctantly tug on my coat, wrap my scarf around my neck and slip on my gloves to meet Reed outside of Agganis Arena so we can head to the center to attend the annual Christmas party, which is always held the weekend before Christmas.

Laughter and music fill the air, and we eat and mingle with the rest of the counselors. I’m introduced to the new staff that has been hired in my absence
and who will eventually take over my position when I leave for medical school in eight months. The kids put on a play of the nativity, and the center held a food drive for the city. Craig, the director, is expecting another baby sometime this spring, which reminds me of Mindy, who is due the first of April. Evelyn approached me and apologized for not telling me about Mindy. I don’t have it in me to be upset about it anymore, but it has changed our friendship.

Tyler pulls me aside, and I immediately throw my arms around his neck. It feels wonderful to see him and to catch up without all the tension from before. Travis and Karlie are planning an August wedding, and I told him that I wouldn’t miss it for the world. He’s mentioned that he’s been seeing someone on and off for the past couple of months. I asked if it was Phoebe. Laughing, he reassures me that it’s not Phoebe, because she’s not the kind of girl you can or want to get serious with. Her name is Mia, and his eyes shine when he talks about her. I’m happy that he’s finally found someone, and I told him I want to meet her soon.

After the party, we scratched our plans to go ice skating at the frog pond in Boston Commons and headed over to my apartment to relax and watch a movie.

“What movie did you pick out?” Reed calls out from the kitchen.

“
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
,” I muse, throwing myself on the couch as he busies himself with making cocoa and some popcorn. Actually that’s a lie. I picked
Superman
with Henry Cavill per Piper’s recommendation. I’m not into superheroes. I have my own with Reed, but Piper piqued my interest when she told me that Henry really rocked the Superman suit. Based on that fact alone, I had to see it.

“Well, it’s better than watching a movie with Ben Affleck in it.” Reed laughs as he reaches into the cabinet to grab the tub of fluff.

“What do you have against Ben Affleck?”

“Come on, babe. Dude has no chops. Zero. He should sit behind the camera instead. Look at what he did with
Argo
. Sure he was in it, but damn, first time directing a movie and he got an Oscar. Stick to what you’re good at. Let his boy Matt Damon do the acting,” he says as I watch him scoop a large spoon of fluff onto my hot cocoa.
He’s so good to me.

“Just hurry up so we can watch this movie,” I whine, curling my legs underneath me.

“Spoiled brat.” He laughs from the kitchen.

“Whatever,” I reply haughtily, my eyes entranced by the lights flickering on the small Christmas tree nestled in the corner. It’s decorated just the way I like it. Red ornaments, white lights, a Dallas Cowboys ornament for Reed and a New York Yankees ornament for me. The holidays are definitely different this year. My life is moving now that I’m an adult. This was all going to happen sooner or later. I chose to make it all happen for me.

A minute later, Reed joins me on the couch, handing me my mug of cocoa and setting the bowl of popcorn onto the table.

“Thanks, babe.” I glance up at him through my lashes.

“Anything for you, doll.” He leans over and kisses me and settles back into the couch.

I smile and immediately take a sip of cocoa, savoring the combination of chocolate and marshmallow on my tongue. “So good,” I moan, closing my eyes.

“Don’t do that,” he rasps, clutching my thigh assertively.

Teasing him is so fun.

“Oww...sorry,” I say in a sultry voice, resting my hand over his. “You just make the best cocoa, and you put the perfect amount of fluff.”

“Yeah, I do.” He arches a brow, eyeing me intensely. The heat from his contact spreads all over me, kicking up my pulse. I suck in a breath. I better start the movie soon or will never get around to watching it by the way things are going.

I throw my legs across his strong, muscular thighs, and he immediately starts tracing his fingers up and down my legs. His piercing blue eyes are practically eating me as his fingers gradually slide up my thighs to the hem of my silk pajama shorts. The heat immediately centers between my legs, and the thought of Henry Cavill in his Superman suit is a distant, faint memory.

“Have you decided which school you’re going to attend next fall?” Reed asks as he pops some popcorn into his beautiful mouth.

Surprised by his unexpected line of questioning, I hesitate for a brief moment before setting down my mug of cocoa and casting my eyes toward the blank TV. “I thought we were supposed to be watching a movie.”

Perhaps I was too hasty about blowing off Henry Cavill.

“We are in a minute,” he confirms. “I was just wondering if you’re any closer to knowing, is all.” He shifts underneath me, and I bite down on my lip as he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his warm body. Our faces are inches apart. Uncertainty sweeps through me as I struggle with an answer. I’m still weighing the pros and cons of both schools, and as of right now, they are pretty much tied. Both programs have everything I want. UCF is closer to my family, and UST is where Reed’s family lives.

“Are you listening to me?”

I blink and grab a strand of hair, twirling it around my finger. “Yes,” I force out.

“Doll, I don’t want you to think you have to come to Texas with me. Who knows, I may go to the Miami Dolphins. I mean, I hope not, but you never know.” He chuckles.

“I’ve been busy with final exams and haven’t thought about it.” I press my lips together in frustration.

“Why? Are you afraid that whatever you decide will upset me?”

“It’s just that a year ago the decision was so simple. I decided to go to medical school, and that was it, but now it’s real. The thought of leaving my family and my life here is much harder than I thought. Sometimes I just want to stay here.”

“And suffer through another one of these winters?” His brows shoot up, and he laughs.

“I’ve grown immune to them after twenty-two years.” I laugh. Reaching over, I trace my finger over the rays surrounding the sun on his right bicep and then glide my fingers down to the tattoo on his forearm, tracing each letter with my fingertip.

“Don’t you like this?” he whispers.

“Like what?” I raise my eyes to his. Emotion crawls up my throat as I suck in my lower lip between my teeth.

“Us like this, together?”

“Of course, I do. I love it. You know that, silly.”

So do I,” he replies. “We can make it work, you know. I’ll make it work.”

“Can we?” My mouth is dry, my thoughts scattered.

“Sure. I don’t play football all year long. Being an NFL player’s girlfriend is not the ideal life, but if it’s what I have to do so that you can go to medical school, I’ll do it. I’ll go wherever you are.”

A little bit of fear wiggles in my chest. I applied to the University of Southern Texas once Reed and I got together over the summer, but then my plans went to the wayside when he disappeared. Over the last few months, Reed has become an intricate part of my life, weaving himself into my every day routine. I can’t see my life without him. Everything is where it’s supposed to be. Everything is going according to plan now.

His eyes meet mine, and it’s hard to maintain his stare because I’m afraid that he’ll read me. Deep down my heart is winning, my mind needs to stop playing devil’s advocate and quit trying to throw me down the wrong path.

“Let’s drop the subject for now,” he says, tenderly playing with strands of my hair.

“Do you mind?” I mutter, cuddling closer to him, pressing my palm against his hard chest and making small circles over his beating heart.

“No, we can talk about it whenever you’re ready. No pressure from me anymore.”

That’s just another notch for him for being patient with me since I have a difficult time making hard, fast decisions. That pretty much has been the case for most of my life.

“Thanks, babe,” I whisper appreciatively.

He drops his forehead to mine, and he clasps my cheeks gently as his beautiful, considerate eyes search mine. “I’ve said it before. I’ll do anything for you.”

I smile as he leans forward, kissing the corner of my lips, but I barely feel the touch. He settles back on the couch, pulling me against his chest. I snuggle closer and feel his warmth envelope me. He can’t be more perfect.

It’s just after midnight when we leave my mom’s house on Christmas Eve. Sheets of fluffy white snow are falling from the midnight blue sky, and a blistering wind nips at my cheeks as I close the front door behind me. Reed’s Hummer is coated with at least six inches of snow, and the plows are out clearing the streets. I clutch Reed’s arm as we walk down the sidewalk to his truck. He stops halfway and wraps his arms around me as the snowflakes float around us and stick to our coats.

“I can’t wait,” he whispers into my hair before he pulls away. I see a flash of my future in his eyes when he leans down to kiss me.

“Okay,” I reply, looking up into the snow and back at him. “This would be a first one for me...in the snow.”

“No, doll.” He laughs as he runs his hands through his thick brown hair. “You look so beautiful, like an angel out here with the snow and the moon behind you. I can’t wait to give this to you.”

He opens his jacket and pulls out a white box with a red bow from his inner pocket. I glance up into his entrancing eyes and back down at the gift in his hand.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispers, handing me the box.

We lock eyes as I hesitantly take the gift from him and remove the red bow. When I carefully open the white velvet box, I find a ruby and diamond tennis bracelet. My eyes widen, and I’m completely speechless as I stare down at the incredible piece of jewelry gleaming so perfectly in my hand.

“I don’t know what to say,” I choke, tears burning behind my eyes.

“Say you love it.” He takes it out of the box. I see so much in his eyes at this moment, and it makes me feel safe and loved.

“I love it, and I love you,” I say. I lean up on my tiptoes, placing a kiss onto his lips under the falling snow. It’s the warmest and most intense kiss I’ve shared with him since we’ve been together. Nothing in this world comes close to how I feel with him. Clutching my wrist, he smiles shyly, placing the bracelet onto my wrist and holding it up to admire it.