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“I think I’m changing my mind. Am I allowed to change my mind? Say yes.”

“Yes,” she answered automatically. Laughter followed, the really good kind that allowed her to release some of that pent-up tension. This was actually happening. She leaned in and kissed Ally again, lingering, reveling in the familiar taste of her lip gloss. She was ready to burst with joy. “Are you sure?”

Allison nodded. “I am, and I’ve known it for a while. I’ve just fought against it with everything in me, and for what? To live in my own unhappiness because I can’t forgive you. That’s stupid. When I walked out of that coffee shop, I was trying to be someone I’m not. I’m yours.”

“You’re scared. I get that. You’re allowed to be. But if you’re willing, let me take that on. You can just coast. Eat breakfast in bed and plan the trips we’re gonna take on breaks from school. I love you and nothing is going to change that.”

Something unexpected happened. Allison started to cry.

“Oh no. Was that the wrong thing to say?”

Allison shook her head, wiping away the tears from her scrunched-up, adorable face. “It was the perfect thing to say. I love you, too, even when I’m so mad at you I can’t see straight.”

“Maybe that means we’re meant to be.” Megan pulled Allison to her and held on. They attracted an occasional stare from a passing car, but nothing that fazed her in the slightest. “What now?” she whispered. The options seemed endless. Her heart soared as she celebrated this gift of a second chance. “Can I see you later?”

Allison pulled back, looked up, and held her gaze. “Your place or mine?”

Chapter Twenty-three

Kissing Megan in the middle of the parking lot had been just the thing to break the spell. In that moment, so many of her worries floated away, and she remembered with startling clarity who they were, and how well they fit together. Who knew a kiss that was sexy and goddamn satisfying could also ground a person so effectively?

The release that hit after finally giving in to her feelings staggered Ally. She’d driven to Megan’s apartment that night on a high, almost as if her car didn’t touch the road. She’d floated her way there. When Megan had opened the door in crop jeans, bare feet, and an off the shoulder yellow T-shirt, Allison nearly melted. This had been the right decision.

They stood in that doorway grinning at each other, high on their reclaimed dynamic, almost like they couldn’t quite take their eyes away. “Come here,” Megan said, taking her by the hand, pulling her right the hell in so that their bodies pressed against each other.

“Hi,” Ally said. Megan’s greeting was a little more intimate. Her lips were on Allison’s in a searing hello. “Oh, my. Your greeting was better,” she said, her voice now a little lower.

Megan laughed. “I’m feeling a little greedy. Come in.”

“What should we do?” Allison asked, trailing a finger along the countertop she’d long missed. She nearly inhaled the place, taking in every familiar detail. The soft summer breeze tickling the window. Soothing jazz music playing from the speakers. The blanket on the back of the couch she’d curled up with more than a few times. The soft ticking of the silver clock on the wall. There was something about these details that were so uniquely tied to her understanding of who shewas that it felt like she’d arrived somewhere near and dear to her heart, which, in fact, she had.

“Are you hungry?”

Allison shook her head.

“Wine?”

“I’m good for now.”

Megan’s grin grew along with her understanding. “Backgammon.”

“Not a chance.”

She looked skyward, a smile tugging. “Well, as your hostess, it’s up to me to make sure you’re happy.”

“Happy? Well, that part is already taken care of.” She exhaled. “Did you see that? I feel like I can breathe again, and that’s worth celebrating.”

Megan nodded. “I want you to know something. I recognize that this is a big step, and believe me, I’m not taking a single moment for granted. And we can go incredibly slow if that helps.” Those beautiful brown eyes were soft when she said the words. Ally already found herself lost in them, and how wonderful that she could now allow herself to justbe. No more fighting what was right in front of her, warring with her thoughts. This was where she belonged. It felt right.

“Why don’t we take it one moment at a time?” she said, depositing her bag on the barstool closest to her. She made her way to Megan, who grinned as she watched her approach. “The thing is, I like slow. But fast is fun, too.” Megan’s eyes darkened, and her smile dimmed.

“Oh,” she said. “And how are we feeling today?”

“I thought we could improvise.”

“Sold.”

They were kissing in two seconds flat, Allison up on tiptoe for maximum access. Slow and sensual was up first, leaving her a little drunk. Megan’s hands were on the small of her back but moving upward. Her tongue was in Ally’s mouth, causing murmurs of pleasure she only distantly registered came from her own mouth. Before Allison knew it, she’d been slid onto the counter, giving her a newfound height advantage. Once deposited there, Megan took a moment to just look at her and take her in. She slid a strand of hair lovingly behind Ally’s ear as her eyes dropped lower. Wordlessly, she pulled Allison’s top over her head and feasted her gaze on the pink bra with more than a little cleavage revealed. “Seriously?” she whispered to no one. Allison leanedback on her hands and grinned, loving the foreplay, having missed this part desperately. She trembled in the best sense when Megan pulled the straps of her bra down to her elbows, kissed her neck tenderly, and made her way to the tops of her breasts, licking the space between them, following the path with her tongue. Ally’s head dropped back as she reveled in the combination of pleasure and desire that coursed through every inch of her. Her eyes were closed and her bra was off. That much she became aware of as Megan, with her hands on Ally’s waist, began to tease her mercilessly with her mouth. God. But she needed give and take. She straightened, pulled Megan’s mouth to hers, and kissed her with the passion she’d had building for weeks. She turned her around and kissed her neck from the side as she palmed her breasts through her shirt. Megan didn’t hesitate and took the damn thing off, tossing it to the floor as the music kicked into extra soulful, punctuating the moment. Perfect. She pressed Megan’s breasts back against her body as she caught her earlobe in her mouth. “I think we may need to move this party somewhere a little more comfortable.”