Page 34 of Catching Sparkles

It was a terrifying feeling, actually having hope for… something real with him. In all the years I’d known him, and adored him, I’d never actually imagined being in a situation like this.

Was I really letting myself believe I could convince Rhys Kensington to actually fall for me, and want something long term? Something we didn’t have to sneak around to do, that he’d be proud for people to know about him?

Leaning my hip onto the side of the car, I peered up at him through my lashes, drinking up the way the sunlight poured over his dark hair to drip down over the perfect contours of his face and muscular body.

“You okay?” He asked, his dark brows furrowing together.

“Yeah,” I said, forcing a light grin to spread across my features.

Fuck, it was scary. This limbo. This uncertainty. At least before, when he’d never shown any interest with me, I’d just known there would never be anything. But now it was like this pearly, shimmering fantasy hanging over my head, just out of my reach.

“There’s a really cute place across the street that does, like, fancy fruit slushes and boba tea and stuff,” I said. “I get something every time I come over this way.”

“Do you want to go?” He asked, without a beat of hesitation. My stomach was a sticky web of trapped butterflies, but I forced myself to look calm and collected as I brushed a lock of my hair off my forehead.

“Well, I didn’t know if you need to get back home right away.”

He scoffed, and glanced up into the sky, his cheeks darkening.

“You think I have a life or something?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to just assume you’d want to keep hanging out,” I said, the smile on my lips genuine now. “That would be rude.”

“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat, his gaze still hovering somewhere off to my side. “It would be crazy to assume I’d want to hang out with you. I’ve made it so obviously clear that I don’t ever want to do that.”

I bit down into my lower lip to stifle my laugh, hoping not to embarrass him any further by making him admit anything else. I moved closer to him, so close I could smell the sharp citrus tang of his soap, and he finally flicked his gaze back to mine. I could tell by the way his eyes sharpened, and the way his body leaned into me that he wanted to kiss.

He’d moved instinctively to do it, before his senses kicked in and reminded him we were in public, in broad daylight. We weren’t in Cherryvale, and the chances of seeing anyone we knew were slim, but… Kissing me in public would be a huge step. I wasn’t anywhere near delusional enough to think he was ready for something like that yet.

To lighten the tension and make sure he didn’t think I was upset or disappointed by the obvious way he’d backed off, I tilted my head, popping up my eyebrows to make sure he knew that I knew how bad he wanted to lock lips with me.

He snorted, cheeks flushing again, before he reached out and gently shoved me a few inches away.

“Can you just get in the damn car?” He grumbled, and I feigned a look of surprise.

“I know you can be more polite than that, Rhys,” I said, dropping my voice down into the sweet, breathy tone I liked to use when I had his dick in my hand. “You’re usually so good at asking nicely for what you want.”

He let out a strangled sound, staring at me incredulously as he pushed up and off the door so he could wrench it open and slide into the passenger seat.

“Sadist.”

The chagrined look on his face had me nearly doubled over with laughter as I made my way around the car to the driver’s seat.

RHYS

FUCK, HE WAS so fucking pretty. Too pretty for words. So pretty it made my chest tight. I couldn’t stop staring at him, fixated on all the unbearably cute details of his divine little form.

We’d parked in the corner of the lot in front of the drink place, and he’d cranked his seat back away from the steering wheel so he could face me, sitting with his legs folded criss-cross.

His hair was pulled back into the ponytail I was used to, all the thick strands that were too short to be held in the tie just lingering around his face and neck like silky pink ribbons. I knew how sweet it would smell, like ripe strawberries, if I gave in to my fucked up urges and grabbed him to bury my nose in it.

He took a long sip of the brown sugar milk tea thing he’d gotten, his glittery nails shimmering in the sunlight as he maneuvered the straw to his full, pouty lips. There was no way I was jealous of a straw.

“Do you like yours?” He asked, tilting his chin towards my cup. I’d gotten a fruit tea, mango flavored with popping boba that burst in my mouth when I sucked them up.

“Yeah,” I said, quickly gulping some more down to prove my honesty. “It’s great. I’ve, uh… Never had anything like this before.”

“Really?” He asked, giving me a surprised look.