Surviving the Merge by C P Harris

Author:C P Harris [Harris, C P]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Max waited with me on my front porch while I dug around in my pockets for the house keys. The cries of the cicadas and his truck engine as it ran idle at the curb filled the silence. Pluto stuck his head out the window and barked. Letting Max know it had been a long day for him too.

“I have most of what you need already, so it won’t take me long to get you up and running,” he said.

Striking gold when my hand grazed the keys, I raised my head. “Ok—” My words cut off at the feel of his lips meeting mine. My body went rigid from his unexpected boldness, and I didn’t respond—at first. But then I softened and gave in to the kiss. There was something I needed to know. That I needed to prove. Don’t I owe it to myself to see if there could be someone else for me? Or was that only an excuse to justify what I was doing? To myself, to Max, and to... them.

Max’s warm palm came to rest on my nape. He squeezed while deepening the kiss. His technique soft and teasing, with nips here and there, then full-on tongue, then lips only. Meant to leave me desperate for more. He remained purposely just out of reach. The kiss conveyed confidence, and was thorough.

But it didn’t set my soul on fire the way Damon’s masterful kisses did. Max’s kiss lacked a sharp edge of danger. No promise that in seconds I’d be taken to the brink of destruction.

His kiss didn’t make me drunk-on-love the way Blake’s kisses did. It didn’t inspire the feeling of falling and trusting that I’d be caught before I hit the ground. With Blake, I felt like the most treasured, priceless possession in the world. I could feel what Blake was willing to sacrifice when he touched me. Everything.

Max was a nice guy. The kind of guy I should have, but one I would never want.

I ended the kiss. It left neither of us breathless. We wordlessly understood that we could only ever be friends.

“At least we got that out of the way,” Max joked.

“Yeah,” I confirmed, rubbing at the spot behind my neck left cold once he removed his touch.

Jumping into his truck, he parted with, “I’ll be in touch. Oh, and you still owe me a ‘bit,’ or a ‘drink.’” He smiled before pulling off.

In other words, no hard feelings. Nothing had to change or be weird.

Message received.

I stood there long after he’d departed, with my hands on the banister and my head dropped between my shoulder blades. “What now, Justin?” I asked myself. Time to make a decision. I couldn’t keep us in limbo this way. I wanted to move forward, but I hadn’t worked out how to forgive.

“Is that your hoe?”

I spun around and nearly toppled down the steps. I caught the wood railing just in time. Damon stood hidden by the shadows on the far left side of the porch.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.