Page 146 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

He pushes off the wall and gathers me in his arms, and together, we slowly scale down toward the floor. He sweeps his lips across my jaw and chin as we journey down, and my eyes flutter shut. But the ride is way too short, and soon my feet hit the floor.

Brock and I take a break and grab something to drink, and then we climb the wall again. Since we already did it together, we decide to have a small competition this time. We’re both pretty wiped out, so neither of us makes it to the top. But I’m the winner.

Brock laughs as he closes me in his arms. “All hail our beautiful queen, Majestic Dancer. There’s nothing she can’t do.”

Pressing my face into his chest, I inhale his Brock smell that I love so much. “I’m having so much fun with you. I wish I could pause time and soak in every second of it.”

“I know what you mean.” His hand rubs circles on my back. “I wish I could pause time so I could spend an eternity with you.”

We climb the wall one more time, then decide to quit before we overdo it. But neither of us wants to part for the day, even though it’s starting to get dark.

“I think I saw a park nearby,” he says. “Want to go for a stroll there? I think it’s romantic.”

“Yeah, it sounds totally romantic.”

We get on his bike and ride there. Since it’s getting late, only a handful of people are here. Brock and I once again hold hands as we walk around the park.

“It feels good just strolling around with the girl I love,” he says, bringing our hands to his lips and kissing the back of my palm. “With nature and everything. It feels even more romantic.”

I stop and push some bangs out of his eyes. “I feel even closer to you.”

He locks his arms around my waist and we just stand there in the middle of the park, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“I love you so much, Lexi,” he says softly as he caresses my cheek. “I’m so glad I decided to come back to Edenbury. To think what I would have missed out on…onwhoI would have missed out on.” He gently tucks his fingers under my chin and looks deeply into my eyes. “I can’t believe how lucky I am. We were always meant to be together. We just got lost on the way. Well, I got lost.”

“The important thing is that we found our way to each other. And we’ll never let each other go.”

Brock’s eyes search mine again, and then his gaze falls to my lips. Mine falls to his, too. Slowly, our heads move closer to each other, closer and closer, at an agonizingly slow pace. My heart beats in every part of me and my eyes flutter shut. The next second, his lips press against mine.

Something ignites inside me, deep and strong. I wrap my arms tightly around him and move my lips over his, urgently and passionately, trying to savor every minute but being impatient as well. Brock’s hand strokes my hair as our lips continue to move over each other’s with the same urgency. But after some time, we slow down. As though we want to take our time to soak in every part of this.

Through our kisses, I feel every single emotion coursing through his body. The good and the bad. But as we continue to share this wonderful moment, I feel all the negative emotions wash away. And then they’re replaced with positive ones.

I know he and I will experience some tough times throughout our lives, but as long as we have each other, I’m positive we can get through anything.

When we break apart, I rest my forehead on his. “My mom was right. Everything does work out in the end.”

“I think so, too,” he admits. “I mean, I’ll always wonder why tragedy happens—like why did Andy have to die?—but we don’t have the answers to this sort of stuff. I don’t know, maybe one day we will. But we can’t linger on the past. We need to learn to overcome tragedy and loss and build a better life for ourselves. With good people who will help us navigate it.”

I play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “And that’s all I want. To help you navigate through life, to be there every step of the way.”

He kisses me again. “And I want to do the same for you. Even when we’re apart—like when you’re off somewhere in the ocean saving sea life—I’ll always be there for you.”

“And when you’re off studying sharks?”

He chuckles softly. “Are we ever going to spend time together?”

“Oh, we will. We definitely will. We’ll make sure of it. We’ll be able to have careers and each other. We’ll make both of our dreams come true.”

We spend some more time making out, and then Brock says, “I have something for you.”

“You do?”

“I was trying to find the right moment all afternoon to give it to you. I think this is the perfect time.”

He leads me to a nearby bench, where we sit side by side.

“I saw this at the museum when we visited that day. I thought about buying it then, but it didn’t feel right. But it feels more than right now.”