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So do something about it.

Her words hung in the air between us until I scoffed and rose to my feet.

“You don’t know what you’re telling me to do, Goldy.” I got up and made quick work of spreading the ashes around the base of the dying fire. Then I picked up the watering can I kept nearby and slowly doused the remaining embers.

Goldyn’s voice called to me as I watched everything in the pit turn to ash.

“If you’re scared to make a move, you can just say that, Rome.”

“I’m not scared of anything.” The lie came so easily because I’d rehearsed it for weeks now. I picked up the shovel after a few minutes and pushed around the ashes, making sure everything was wet.

When I turned to face Goldyn, she was watching me with an incredulous look painted on her face. With the fire gone, the only light that remained was the glow from the fairy lights hanging from the few trees in our yard.

The lights were dim, but they were enough to see the challenge still lingering in her eyes.

I stepped away from the pit and back into her bubble, standing in front of her. A smirk tipped up the corners of her lips as she reclined in her chair, staring up at me with smug satisfaction.

Eyes never leaving hers, I reached in my pocket, fished out my lighter and lit the last of my jay. I had two good hits left and I knew exactly how to use them to wipe that smirk off her pretty ass face.

Squatting in front of her, I kept my legs wide enough to bracket her crossed ones as I moved deeper into her space. “Come here, Goldyn.”

The command was simple and she followed it without question, leaning forward to study me. Her languid perusal of my face had me mirroring her actions until I broke the spell and inhaled, filling my lungs.

My hand found her jaw, pulling her closer than we already were.

My thumb found her bottom lip, brushing over it until her mouth fell open in a sigh.

My lips found hers, covering them as I exhaled smoke into her mouth.

Goldyn’s gasp forced an inhale and when she exhaled again, releasing the smoke through slightly parted lips, I smirked at her.

“Look at you, inhaling and shit,” I praised.

Her cheeks rounded and she smiled at me like I’d just unlocked the secret to the universe.

“Again?” I asked before taking the final pull.

Eyes fixed on me, she nodded and tried to scoot closer to me, eliminating the last bit of distance between us.

I leaned into her again, my free hand still cupping her jaw and covered her mouth with mine. I was deliberately slower atpulling back this time, enjoying the feel of her lips on mine too much to rush it.

And when I pulled back, Goldyn’s eyes were hooded as she watched my retreat.

“Exhale.”

She followed my command and tried leaning into my touch just as I pulled away from her.

“I’ma head back.”

“You can’t just kiss me and flee the scene,” she snapped, irritation making her face fall into a cute scowl.

“I didn’t kiss you. I blew you a shot gun.”

Goldyn shot up to her feet, eyes narrowed on me. “Your lips touched mine. I’m calling it a kiss. And now you’re running from me.”

“Nobody’s running from you, Goldy.”

I wasn’t prepared for the sting of her next words. “Yes, you are. You’ve been running from me since I got here.”