I sat there staring forward out of Caspian’s Jeep, neither one of us saying a word. I thought when he asked me to dinner he was going to open up to me, but instead, it was quiet and awkward the entire time. I wasn’t really sure why he asked me out at all, but I did know I didn’t want to sit there any longer, wondering what was coming next. I took off my seat belt and opened the passenger door, swinging my legs over the side but stopping. This was my last chance to talk to him, to find out how he felt about me. I didn’t want any more questions about the two of us.

I turned and looked at him. “How do you feel about me?”

He sat there for several moments, frozen like a statue, staring out the window. He slowly turned his head toward me and then back to his hands in his lap. It was like he was fighting with himself, and I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just say something. The anxiety of the situation was already high, and now, he was clamming up again. Finally, he looked back at me and shrugged his shoulders, telling me everything I needed to know.

I swallowed hard and got out of the Jeep, standing there for a second. A shrug was nothing. It meant absolutely nothing. It was not the answer that I wanted, but it was an answer nonetheless. I could finally take a breath and not wonder anymore. I could feel the lump forming in my throat, but I pushed it down.

“I really enjoyed working with Bella, and I really hope that she enjoys school,” I said, fighting back tears. “Please tell her goodbye for me.”

He didn’t say a word. He just sat there gripping the steering wheel and nodding his head up and down. I couldn’t believe that it was all going to end like this, with a crappy date and no words to express how I felt about him. I could have told him I loved him, but that shrug let me know he didn’t feel the same way about me. I shut the car door and made my way into the house, shutting the door and leaning my back against it. Tears flowed from my eyes, and I couldn’t and wouldn’t stop them. I moved from the door and went into the living room, sitting down on the couch and pulling out my phone.

“Jessa,” I said into the phone.

“Hey,” she replied softly. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I said, sniffling. “I’m about to go upstairs and start packing.”

“Whoa, wait, packing? What happened?”

“I’m going to come back to New York City.” I sobbed. “There is nothing left for me in this town. I made a mistake coming back here, looking for a life that was obviously not meant to be. I don’t have any reason to be here.”

“What about your grandparents’ house?”

“I’ll just fix it up and put it on the market,” I said. “It’s been really well taken care of, and it’s on the ocean, so it should sell fast.”

“Wait, Lacey,” she said kindly. “I know you’re hurting right now, and I know it all looks bleak and hopeless, but you can’t give up. Take a deep breath, and start from the beginning. Tell me what happened.”

“Caspian asked me out to dinner, and I said yes, thinking he was finally going to sit down and talk to me,” I explained through my tears. “It ended up with him just being a coward and us not talking. It was awkward and awful. Then, before I got out of the car, I stopped and asked him how he felt about me.”

“And?”

“He shrugged.” I sobbed. “He fucking shrugged and stared out the window of his car. I don’t understand. Why did he even ask me out to dinner if he was going to clam up and not talk to me? I really thought we were going to work through this, but I was so wrong.”

I looked up at the sound of a loud knock on the door. I pulled myself from the couch as I listened to Jessa talk about what happened. I could tell she really didn’t know what to say, making me feel like I was even more correct about his shrugging. I walked over to the door and looked through the peephole, seeing Caspian standing on the other side.

“Jessa,” I said, interrupting her. “Let me call you back. Caspian is at the door. I guess he never actually left.”

I straightened myself out and wiped the makeup from under my eyes, and then I opened the door. I stood staring at Caspian who looked really nervous. He clenched his hands together and looked me in the eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to shrug. I panicked and that was what came out. I didn’t mean to hurt you or make you think I didn’t care about you. May I come in?”

“I guess,” I said, stepping to the side and watching as he walked past.

I watched him as he walked down the hall and stopped, unsure of where he was going. I shut the door and turned, walking toward him. I went from upset to angry really fast, but as I walked toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, he spoke, blurting out exactly what I wished and hoped he would have said long before that night.

“I love you,” he said quickly and loudly. “Lacey, I have loved you for a while, and what happened on Saturday had nothing to do with you and everything to do with the fear and guilt I haven’t been able to let go of. I don’t want to be without you.”

“I love you, too,” I said, smiling, relief running through me.

We lunged toward each other, landing in each other’s arms as we pressed our lips together. His hands flew up into my hair, and I pressed my palms gently against his chest. I could feel his heart racing, and I knew mine matched his exactly. We had finally told each other how we felt. I pulled away and grabbed him by the wrist, leading him back to my bedroom. I shut the door behind us and turned around, pulling my shirt over my head as I moved toward him. He reached up and grabbed my breasts, massaging them gently as I pulled at the belt on his pants. I unzipped them and let them fall to the floor, moving to his shirt and finishing up with his boxers. He stood in front of me completely naked and entirely erect.

He pulled my pants down and off of me, and I reached behind my back, unhooking my bra and throwing it to the side. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of my panties and pulled them off, running his lips up my stomach, over my tits, and to my mouth. I whimpered at the feeling of his tongue pushing into my mouth, swirling around and tasting me. I wanted him so badly, but it was more than lust this time. It was love. Our emotions were running high, and my breathing was intense. He ran his hands down my sides and cupped my ass, picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. He walked forward and pressed my back against the wall, kissing me wildly. He set my feet down on the floor and slowly lowered himself down, pushing my legs apart.

His fingers ran gently over my pulsing mound, pushing through my juices and sliding inside of me. I moaned out, feeling him begin to finger me softly and slowly, his eyes gazing up into mine with heat and passion. He leaned forward and slid his tongue through my folds, circling it around my clit as his fingers continued to push in and out. I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair, leaning my head back and feeling the warmth of his breath against my pulsating nub.

“More,” I whimpered, pushing his head forward and feeling the suction against my pussy.

He gripped my thigh with his free hand and fingered me harder, coaxing the heat in my stomach to a full flame. I gasped as his mouth wrapped around my clit and sucked, his teeth gently nibbling as electricity shot up my legs and through my stomach. I just wanted more and more. I wanted to feel the climax that I was teetering on the edge of. As if he could read my thoughts, his tongue moved faster through my juices, and his fingers twisted and turned as they entered and exited over and over again. I latched on to his hair and closed my eyes, my body bursting open, trembling wildly as my orgasm blew through me like a freight train.

He stood up and smiled, grabbing my ass and lifting me back up. This time, he reached down and slid his cock through the juices flowing out of me, wrapping my legs over his hips and pressing me hard against the wall. Still trembling from orgasm, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pressed his hands against the wall behind me. His hips then began to pump, fucking me hard with his big, erect cock. I dug my nails into his shoulders, breathing heavily and moaning with the vibrations of his body slamming hard into mine. The pictures on the walls around us rattled as my body slammed back into the wall with every thrust of his hips. My pussy was vibrating around his shaft, and I buried my mouth into his neck, screaming wildly at the feeling.

I looked up at the mirror behind him, watching as his ass flexed and released, my body like a ragdoll wrapped around his waist. The muscles in his thighs and back were at full attention, bulging at the exertion of holding me up and fucking me at the same time. He groaned loudly into my ear, turning me on even more. I bit down on his shoulder and whimpered, still watching his amazing body in the mirror. He slowed his thrusts down and reached back under my ass, pulling me into him and turning toward the bed.

He laid me down on my back and swiped his fingers over my lips. I opened my mouth and took his fingers in, sucking hard as he watched me. I put my hands down and scooted back until my head was resting on the pillow. He gazed down at me, his eyes filled with hunger. I opened my legs wide and invited him in.

He grinned and crawled toward me until he was hovering over me. I reached between us and grabbed his cock, pulling it in and guiding it through my juices. I gasped as he pushed his hips forward, filling me with his rock-solid shaft. His hands ran up my arms and linked into my fingers, pulling my arms up over my head.

Keeping his eyes locked on mine, Caspian began to move in waves over me. His hands pushed down hard on mine, keeping himself lifted up as he pushed his body forward and back with his big strong legs. He lowered his head down to mine and kissed my mouth, groaning into my throat. I pulled my legs up to each side of him and tilted my hips, pushing him deeper inside of me. He lifted up his head and looked back into my eyes, his jaw clenched as he moved in a steady pace. I bit my lip and smiled, lifting my head and sucking on his earlobe.

“I want to ride you,” I whispered, pulling my head back and looking mischievously at him.