I was so nervous as I waited for Taylor to get back from the school. His revelation had shocked me but what surprised me the most was how calmly he had taken the news. I knew he wanted to be angry. That was what the old Taylor would’ve done—get angry, lash out, sink a few beers and fuck some random girl. But the Taylor I’d met a week ago was different. He was strong and fearless; he could take on anything the world threw at him. Including this. He had gone through the worst and he had come out fighting. Whatever happened at the school tonight wouldn’t change that.

I glanced at my watch again, noting it was just after eight when Taylor came through the door. He had that determined look in his eyes that I knew all too well.

“Come here,” he said, crooking a finger at me. His eyes were dark and smouldering.

He was okay. Taylor was fine, which meant that things had gone well with Jake. My heart melted for him and relief washed over me.

Feeling playful, I hooked my thumbs into my shirt and slipped it over my head before tossing it at his feet. “You’ll have to come get me.” I winked and darted for the stairs.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” he sang and made no effort to pick up his speed as he climbed after me like he had all the time in the world.

I wasn’t sure I did. I needed him. Right now, I needed Taylor more than ever.

I dashed to the bedroom and started to back up, my eyes on his as he stalked towards me. His tee was off in seconds as he closed the distance between us. I backed up farther, the backs of my knees hitting the edge of the bed causing me to stumble.

Nervous anticipation swept through me as he unlooped his belt from his jeans and tore it away, the whooshing sound echoing and bouncing off the four walls. I swallowed as his jeans came off next. He kicked them to the floor like they were nothing.

“Don’t run from me again,” he said, his voice dropping low. I nodded, unable to form a single word that would make any sense right now.

Taylor lowered himself on top of me, his arms planted either side of my head, and I gasped at the feel of him. He cupped my chin, his thumb brushing my cheek in silent reassurance. He wanted me to know that everything was going to be okay. That what was about to happen wouldn’t change us. If anything, it would strengthen what we already had.

He knelt back and my eyes rolled into the back of my head as his fingers travelled down my neck to my breasts, then to my stomach, his touch never wavering, and the feeling never weakening. This was all him. And me. Us.

Our breaths mingling, our hands exploring, and our bodies connecting as one. Our relationship was sealed and there was no going back now.

My body hummed with the delicious assault that Taylor put on me, my brain hazy from the endless torture that had plagued my mind these past few months. I wasn’t sure where my life was headed, but one thing I was certain of was that I wouldn’t be in this alone. Taylor was with me, and he was telling me so with his silence.

Butterflies flitted through my tummy, dancing their own special dance. I couldn’t help but feel excited anticipating our future together.

I had dreamed of a future with Austin once. Our whole life had been planned out in our naïve minds. At sixteen, I had already known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I had really, truly believed that I wanted that. And while our futures seemed like a whirlwind of love and laughter, it was never going to be our reality. Our lives had already been mapped out for us. His life had been taken from him too soon, and no amount of guilt and anguish I felt over my part in his death would ever change that. He was gone, and although I would always carry his loss with me, I knew without any uncertainty, that he would want me to be happy. I know he would want me to follow my heart and take risks that scared the hell out of me.

Mostly, he would want me continue living for the both of us.

I might not have had Austin around to build a future with, but I had a man who cared for me just as much… Maybe even more. A man who had loved me through everything and would continue to do so until our time was over. They couldn’t have been any more different, except for the one thing that made them completely the same.

Their love for me.

Taylor had come into my world when I needed him the most—when I’d felt like my whole life was crashing down around me. Now I couldn’t imagine living a single second without him.

Taylor might not have been my first love, but he would sure as hell be my last, and I couldn’t wait to start the beginning of our new journey together.

We were in this game together.

The right game.

As one…