Page 28 of Matched (LSU #5)

T he soft thud of the front door closing behind Jonas was still echoing in my ears when I pulled out my phone and typed two words.

Come over .

My heart rate kicked up as I stood in the silent lounge, waiting for a reply from the boy who had become my obsession.

What had my life been like before Charlie Brooks had come along with his bright smiles and playful banter, batting his long eyelashes at me one minute, and accusing me of being a mugger the next?

My phone buzzed.

Charlie:

Now?

Me:

Yeah. Jonas has gone to Jada’s. Joe’s here but he won’t come out of his room

Charlie:

I’m on my way

It seemed to take forever for the next text to arrive, but when it did, I sucked in a breath, stepping over to the front door and twisting the lock to open it.

“Hi,” Charlie said.

I wanted to kiss him more than anything. It was almost impossible to resist, especially when he was looking at me like he could read my mind. I was aware that Joe was here, though, and there was a possibility he could come out of his room, even if it was a slim one. “Hi. Come in. Be quiet.”

Charlie flashed me a grin, doing an exaggerated tiptoe movement through the lounge, and I had to bite back my laughter. When we safely reached my room and I’d closed the door behind us, I wasted no time in pressing him up against the wall and kissing him until we both lost our breath.

“What a welcome.” Charlie’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were sparkling as he ran his hands down my back. “I need you to sneak me into your room more often.”

“As much fun as this is, I’m not sure I could handle the pressure of hiding you all the time. Jonas probably suspects something already. Maybe. I don’t know. It might be my paranoia.”

“Yeah.” Something that looked a bit like sadness flickered in Charlie’s gaze, but it was gone before I could make sense of it. His hand landed on my chest, pushing me backwards, and before I knew it, we were on my bed, kissing, and kissing, and kissing.

We took our time peeling off our clothes, moving against each other with slow, lazy rolls of our hips, our mouths never separating for long. Our bodies slid together, our cocks thrusting against each other until Charlie came, and I followed him over the edge soon after.

Later, when we’d cleaned up, I sprawled out on the bed, propped up against the pillows, just enjoying the sight of Charlie in my room.

It was one of the best sights I’d ever seen.

My window was propped open, letting the night air in, and he was seated on the windowsill with one leg drawn up and the other stretched out along the painted wood, wearing one of my hoodies with his shorts.

His hair was even messier than usual, and his face was still flushed, despite the cooler breeze.

As he dropped the hoodie strings he’d been playing with, he turned to smile at me. His brows lifted in response to whatever expression my face was making.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just like seeing you in my room.” I crawled across the bed to the window, rising to my knees so I could kiss him.

“I like being in your room.” He twisted around, lowering his legs so I could move in between them, and I pulled him down onto my thighs. His arms wound around my neck, and then we were kissing again.

When we eventually managed to tear ourselves apart, we lay on my bed, talking in soft whispers until our voices grew hoarse.

Charlie stayed with me until the darkness was beginning to give way to the dawn.

Then he left, as quietly as he’d come.