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The biggest lie ever.

“Are you, Rocket? Are you okay with it? Because I’m starting to think I’m not.”

Butterflies swarm my chest, and dizziness invades my head as I struggle to remain standing. His admission washes over me in a frenzy of need. I can’t find words to explain how I feel. I simply stare up at his gorgeous, masculine face and chiseled jaw.

“Fuck it.” His lips crash down against mine as he kisses me with a level of passion I didn’t think was possible. Our height difference is soon countered as he hauls me up into his arms, and I immediately wrap my legs around his waist, feeling how hard he is beneath his sweatpants.

I’m pulsing, throbbing, desperate to feel and explore his body. There have been years of crushing on him from afar, and now he’s finally kissing me with everything he has. It’s overwhelming in the best way possible.

He pulls back slightly and then sets me on the counter, coming to stand between my parted legs. The collar of his training shirt is so big it hangs over one of my shoulders, and all I have on underneath is my pink spotted underwear. My peaked nipples are visible as they press against the cotton fabric.

“Fuck. You taste so fucking good, and you look like a dream dressed in my shirt.”

His thumb traces along my bottom lip before his mouth crashes against mine once more. His tongue sweeps across the seam, and I part for him until his large, calloused palms are cupping my face, dwarfing me in size.

He’s delicious.

Breaking from our kiss, he gently strokes my cheek. “What do you want from me, Luna? Because right now, I don’t know what I have to give. But I know whatever that is, I want it to be with you.”

I know his toxic relationship with Amie has left him broken, unable to trust and start anything serious with anyone else. But I also know keeping him at arm’s length hurts even more. It's unbearable when he looks at me like this.

“I want you,” I say without hesitation.

He smiles against my mouth as he places a soft kiss on my lips. “In what way do you want me? Be specific.”

Our chests are heaving as we pant and gasp for air. “I’ll take whatever pieces you can give me today, and I hope that one day, I’ll have enough to make you whole.”

I watch the column of his throat work as he swallows down my words. “You’re so fucking special, you know that? I don’t want to hurt you.” He drops his face to the crook of my neck. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole again. Or ready for someone else.”

“You will, and I know you won’t hurt me.” I think we both know there’s a chance he might, but after weeks of torture, that’s a risk my head and heart are willing to take.

ZACH

Every vow I’ve made to myself disintegrates with each pass of my lips against hers.

It’s hard to remember why I thought it was a good idea to stay away from Luna Johnson. The way my body reacts and molds to her tells me that there can never be anything wrong with this feeling.

Except I’ve been here before. Throwing myself into something headfirst before I’ve even had time to think things through, and this time, it's Luna’s heart on the line.

I want to haul her into my arms, march her to my bed, and keep her all to myself for days. I want to know all the ways her body can wrap around mine. I want to fuck her hard, slow, from behind, with her on top. I want to take her in every way she’ll let me.

But if I do, I might as well throw a hand grenade right into the center of our friendship and watch as the bonds we’ve built blast us apart, and all for what? To satisfy my need for her. I’m terrified I’ll never be able to give her what she deserves, and that’s the fucking world. Not a broken-up shell of the man I am now.

Life fucking sucks sometimes. Jon might be right when he says I have feelings for her—the way her lips light me up is a testament to that. But that doesn’t mean the stars have aligned. I know she wants more, and I know her gentle soul will take everything I can offer, and like hell if I wouldn’t hand it over gladly.

“You’re in that head of yours, aren’t you?” she whispers softly.

Still standing at the counter between her legs, I press my forehead against hers and nod. “There are so many potential complications. But also so much I want to say and do with you.”

She exhales slowly, and her breath feels like a warm blanket to my worries. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I know. At least, I know not deliberately and never like Amie. But how many broken hearts started out with the best intentions?

“You can trust me, Zach.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as I absorb words I’ve heard a thousand times before, the last being from the woman I was sure I was going to marry. Far more is riding on what I have with Luna. Amie was a stranger before she was my girlfriend, but Luna? She’s already a part of my world I could never live without. “If we do this... if I pick you up and lay you on my bed, our friendship will never be the same. I can’t lose you.”

“Then don’t lose me.”