Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
The pebble drops to the pavement as I stare at Cassian’s silhouette beyond the glass, breathless and no longer sure I know English anymore.
By the time he opens the window, I’m frozen with fear. I’d be less cold if I was standing naked in the snow, but I have to bear it. For Cassian.
“Matt? What are you doing? I was looking for you!” he calls out, flinching when the middle-aged man growls at him.
“Your friend’s damaging property!”
My heart is racing, my stomach doing backflips, and I see him as I stare up into the window. I spread my arms wide. “I love you, Cassian Lastra, and I want to be gay with you!” I yell for everyone to hear.
The man groans, shaking his head. “Oh, of course, there we go!”
But the girl calls over a friend and then they both whistle. Another window opens and someone’s clapping. Just one person matters though, and he is staying quiet.
My chest tightens as I realize my risky gamble might have achieved nothing, but the whistling snaps Cassian out of his stupor, and he moves.
“I’m coming,” he utters, almost too quietly for me to hear, before shutting the window.
“He’s coming,” the two girls say in unison before laughing like it’s the best joke they’ve heard in ages. Maybe they’re drunker than I am, but as I drift toward the entrance to the building, my legs feel like they’re made of cotton.
“Just wait until you’re in your own apartment,” the man mutters before shutting his own window. Moments later, I spot him peeking from behind the curtain.
My hands are sweaty, and I can hardly believe what I’ve done, but my heart soars. Whatever happens, I’m high on truth. It feels so much better than the lies I’ve been feeding Cassian.
I reach the glass door first and place both my hands on it, suddenly worried Cass might have changed his mind. But as that painful thought passes through my head, he slides out of the staircase and rushes toward me barefoot, dressed only in his gray pajama bottoms.
I wish to pick him up so his feet aren’t cold, but also want to keep staring at his handsome face. Whether he slaps me or kisses me, I’m waiting with bated breath until we’re close enough.
When he finally opens the door, time stands still as we stare at one another while the world keeps spinning around us. I’m not sure who moves first, but his hand is on the front of my top, pulling me close, and as I stumble inside, our mouths clash together.
No kiss has ever felt this way, and as Cass’s back hits the wall, I put my arms around him and open his lips with my tongue. Being hit by thunder would be less electrifying than this, and I moan, already drunk on his touch.
“Oh damn,” he mutters, shivering against me while his hands roam, stroking my shoulders.
“I’m sorry. For everything,” I whisper, but I want to kiss him more than I want to talk, so I’m back to my new favorite pastime.
His lips are heaven against my tongue and I want to taste every bit of him. Cass is hardly hesitant when kissing me back. It reminds me of that life-changing encounter on Halloween, but this one is even better, because Cass knows it’s me he’s holding.
And still, he’s teasing me with his tongue and pulling me close as if he can’t bring himself to let go. “I was so angry with you. Who the hell just runs off like that?” he asks, gently hitting my arm.
“This idiot.” I point to myself, but I’m already hungry for another kiss. I groan with pleasure when I let my hand travel up his bare chest. Skin against skin. This is what I want. I want him to be all mine.
I don’t care that we’re in the corridor and should be moving up the stairs instead of feeling each other up in public, but he seems to have caught up on it and drags me toward the staircase with a chuckle on his lips. “You’re definitely an idiot. All that shit? All the lies? That fucking hurt, Matt.”
And yet he’s holding my hand in a grip that means business. “I know. I was… figuring things out,” I utter, but it’s so hard to focus when his back muscles shift so beautifully right in front of me. I can’t pinpoint the moment when he moved from being a friend to also occupying my wet dreams. It’s already too late to analyze it, so I go with the flow, following him out of the hallway.
He shoves me against the wall as soon as the door closes. The unpleasantly bright light comes on as soon as movement is detected by to the stairs, but I ignore it, too occupied by the clever tongue stroking mine as Cassian pushes his thigh between my legs, stirring up heat incomparable to anything I’ve felt before.