Then his arms are moving, pulling me closer. One hand comes up and lifts my chin, angling my head up as his ducks down. He brushes his lips to mine, and he whispers, “I’m going to kiss you, Gracie. You’re going to have to tell me if you don’t want it.”
I’m so wrapped up in him—and his words—that I’m powerless to stop him. My hands shoot out and curl around his shirt as he slams his mouth against mine, stealing my breath. His fingers move up, threading into my hair as his mouth moves against mine, reminding me how good we are together. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. His fingers grip my hair tight, his kiss turning from soft to hard as he pushes me until my body hits the cool wall behind me. I shiver at the contact, the heat from his mouth and the coolness on my back creating the perfect combination to set me ablaze. Lifting on the tips of my toes, my hands move up to tangle with his dark locks and tug desperately, wanting more, more, more. Sol groans, pressing his hard body into mine and I feel him everywhere.
He pulls back abruptly, his frantic breathing mirroring mine and I want to beg him to put his mouth back on mine. Instead, I touch my lips with shaking fingers, still feeling the shape of Sol’s mouth on mine. Still feeling the raw heat and need pulsing there.
We both gulp for air simultaneously as we try to catch our breaths.
“Happy New Year, Gracie,” he mutters, smiling while pressing a kiss on the corner of my mouth, then my cheek and finally my forehead.
What about Levi? a voice whispers inside my head.
Shit. Oh, my god. “Sol, what have I—” My gaze cuts to the space above Sol’s shoulder. My eyes lock with gray ones, betrayal written all over his features.
“What the fuck, Grace?” he whispers, eyes on me and only me.
“Levi, wait!” I yell, pushing against Sol’s chest with such force that it propels my body backward. By the time I right myself, Levi is stalking out the door.
Sol recovers quickly and grasps my arm, but I shake him off and run after Levi. I don’t even know what I’ll say to him. “It’s not what you think” is such a lame excuse because it is what he thinks. I wanted Sol to kiss me.
By the time I jump down the porch steps, Levi is already past the little white gate and crossing the street. Behind me, Sol’s footfalls sound close, and I know he’s about to catch up with me. So I push my legs harder.
“Levi. We need to talk,” I shout after him.
He halts abruptly and whirls around, the anger in his gaze freezing me on the spot. “Talk about what, huh? The way you two were cozied up? The way his mouth was on your skin—wait—” His gaze darts between Sol and me—“Have you slept with him?” He shakes his head and barks out a harsh laugh. “Jessica was right. You’re not who I thought you were. You pretend to be this innocent person, but deep inside you’re just—”
“Watch it, Levi,” Sol cuts him off with a growl. He steps in front of me like he’s my personal shield, but I’m frozen in my tracks as Levi’s words cut through me.
“Step aside, Sol,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “I can handle this myself.”
His head swings around and his eyes find mine, jaw set in a stubborn line. “I’m not going anywhere, Gracie. He can’t talk to you like that—”
I push him aside—which is a huge feat considering he’s almost twice my size—and face Levi. Anger, embarrassment, disbelief all rolled into one wash over me I feel as if my whole body is on fire enough to burn down the whole neighborhood. “Jessica? You’ve talked to Jessica about me?”
Levi glares at me. “I didn’t want to believe her—”
Just then the rumbling of an oncoming vehicle fills the air. A truck is heading down the street and Levi stands in the middle, livid and unaware of the danger.
My heart picks up speed, fear replacing the disbelief and anger from a few seconds ago. “Levi!” I yell his name, breaking into a run. Then all of a sudden, my body is hurled to the side. Right before my backside connects with concrete, I catch a glimpse of Sol’s jean-covered legs flashing past me and heading toward the street.
I land with an ‘oomph’, but then, I jump back on my feet, my mind on two things: Sol and Levi.
“Sol!” I cry out, watching in horror as he sprints forward.
Levi finally seems to notice the impending danger. He looks left and right, and his eyes widen when he notices the large truck bearing down on him.
Then everything seems to happen so fast. I must have blinked or something; I don’t know. All I hear is a deafening screech of tires on asphalt as the truck halts to a stop, followed by a thud.
I bolt forward, scanning the street for Levi and Sol. Then I see them, their bodies lying on dirty lumps of snow and my feet stop moving; two sets of arms and legs tangled together. From this vantage point, I can’t tell who is who. All I know is that they’re not moving.
They’re not moving.
Somewhere in the background, I hear screaming and crying. The sound is raw. Primal. It takes me an eternity to realize those sounds are coming from me. I can physically feel my heart breaking in two. And then everything goes black.