Read Online Happenstance by Jamie McGuire - Free Book Online Page B

“Do you like the frame?”
    “I love the frame. I love the picture. I still don’t understand
why you decided to make me your final project.” My last words hung in the air. “Is
that what I am? A project?”
    He seemed disappointed by my question. “I didn’t know what I was
going to do. I just started drawing. After a week I realized that she,” he
said, pointing to the drawing, “was you. As I put more time into making her
perfect, I understood why it happened.” He took a few steps toward me, until he
was so close I had to look up to see his eyes. “When you think about something
enough, you start dreaming about it. And when you dream about something enough,
you just have to hope that it becomes a reality.” He sighed. “I think about you
all the time, Erin. I’ve wanted to talk to you for years, but I was just so
damn nervous. I didn’t know what to say or how you’d react if I did. I was
afraid you would think I was just trying to help Alder pick on you. I know that
I have shitty timing, because we’re both getting ready to move in different
directions, but I’ve gotten really good at loving you from a distance.”
    I’d worked so hard not to let anyone see me cry that I felt a
moment of panic when my eyes watered and the first tear fell. I quickly wiped
it away.
    Weston put his thumbs on each side of my face and leaned down,
pausing just before he whispered, “Can I kiss you?”
    I nodded slowly, feeling every nerve in my body perk up and wait
to experience what was about to happen.
    Weston leaned in, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips to mine. They
were so soft and warm. His lips parted, so I did the same. I’d seen kissing on
television enough to know how this worked, so I just tried to keep my lips soft
and moved with him. His tongue slipped into my mouth and danced with mine. He
tasted like Cherry Dip Cone and toothpaste, which was oddly fantastic. His
hands slid down from my jaw to my neck, and then to my shoulders. His fingers
pressed into my skin as he pulled me gently closer.
    Just when I thought I was going to pass out from holding my
breath, I heard Weston breathe slightly through his nose, and I did the same. I
was completely clueless, so I just kept taking cues from him.
    He pulled away, and I nearly fell forward because I wasn’t ready
to stop yet.
    “Whoa,” he said, staring at me.
    “What? Was it awful?”
    He shook his head. “No. Not at all. But we’d better stop.” He sat
on the bed and took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his head. He stared at
the floor. “Just . . . give me a minute.”
    I walked over to him and crashed against his chest. His back
slammed against the bed, and I put my mouth on his. He wrapped his arms around
me and hugged me to him, making a low humming noise as our tongues found their
way to each other again. We grabbed at each other, barely coming up for air,
and at one point or another over the next hour, we occupied every inch of his
queen-sized bed.
    Finally, Weston let his head fall back to his pillow, keeping his
arms wrapped tightly around me. I was halfway on top of him, lying on my side,
my leg draped over one of his. “I’m going to be hurting in the morning already.
We have to stop.”
    “Why will you be hurting?”
    He paused, clearly trying to search for gentle words to explain. “I
feel like an ass explaining. It’ll make it sound like I’m trying to guilt trip
you into . . . you know. And it was never my intention for you to experience
your first kiss and lose your virginity in the same night.”
    “Are we talking about blue balls?”
    He choked then busted out into loud laughter. Once he caught his
breath, he pulled my fingers up to his mouth and kissed them. “Yes.”
    “I’m not completely clueless. I am aware of most things, even if
I haven’t experienced them for myself.”
    “Something you might not be aware of is that I’m not cheating on Alder.
I broke up with her today.”
    “I know.”
    He readjusted his