Page 13 of The Hang Up (Lilac Harbor #3)

THIRTEEN

Lena

I wake up tangled in Holden’s sheets, his arms wrapped around me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish before sunrise.

His nose is pressed to my neck, his breath slow and steady and warm against my skin. I know I should move. I have to be at Clay & Cupcakes in an hour. But for now, I let myself stay.

For the first time in a long, long time, I feel weightless.

Holden’s fingers twitch against my hip like he’s dreaming. I smile as he shifts, pulling me closer.

His voice is gravelly, still heavy with sleep. “You’re awake.”

“I should go,” I whisper, but still make no effort to move.

His lips brush my shoulder. “Not yet.”

I shiver, anticipation sparking through me as his hand slides up my bare stomach, slow and reverent. Like I’m something to worship.

Like I’m his.

My breath hitches as he kisses the back of my neck, his palm curling under my breast.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, voice rough with sleep and need. “So perfect.”

“Holden…”

He rolls me onto my back, his eyes meeting mine in the dim morning light. His eyes contain desire, yes, but also something deeper. Something that looks like love and feels like forever.

He kisses me softly, like we have all the time in the world. Then he kisses me again, longer, harder, sliding his hand between my thighs as he murmurs my name like a prayer.

Everything else disappears.

All I know is him, his mouth on mine, his body pressing against me, the way he touches me like he remembers every inch, every soft gasp, every place I like best.

Maybe he does.

“My turn,” I murmur, pushing on his shoulder.

He rolls onto his back for me, and I grin as I kiss my way down his stomach. I nudge his legs wider and wiggle between them. His cock bobs in front of my face. I lick my lips as I wrap my hand around his length and slowly pump my fist up and down.

I’m teasing him, and I smirk as I watch him. He’s tense, the muscles in his stomach and thighs trembling as I lazily move my hand up and down his dick.

“Lena,” he pleads.

Licking my lips, I lean forward and take as much of him into my mouth as I can. I moan around his cock, my hand twisting and stroking the inches I can’t fit into my mouth.

“Fuck!” he grunts, his hips jerking. “Fuck, Lena. Fuck!”

I hum around his length, my head bobbing as I work him over. Saliva forms in the corners of my mouth and runs down his cock, pooling beneath us on the mattress.

“So hot,” he says gruffly.

My core clenches at his rough tone.

“Need you again,” he says, reaching for me.

“You can come in my mouth.”

He curses up a storm. “No. I need to get you off, too. You come first. Always.”

I’m about to argue, but he’s already dragging me up the bed and rolling me under him. His cock prods my opening, and our eyes lock as he thrusts into me.

We exhale roughly as he bottoms out inside me. He leans down and kisses me sweetly as he starts to move.

It’s slower this time. More intense. More raw.

I wrap my legs around him and pull him closer, needing to feel every inch of him. He moves inside me with a steady rhythm, his lips brushing mine with every breath. I lose myself in the sensation, in the way he looks at me, like he’s seeing me for the first time and falling all over again.

“So close,” I pant.

“Come with me,” he whispers against my lips.

I gasp as that overwhelming sensation spreads throughout my body. Heat encompasses me, and I close my eyes, absorbing the sensation as we come together.

I take a shaky breath as his forehead presses to mine, our bodies locked tight, hearts beating wild and fast and completely in sync.

I cling to Holden as he rolls to his side. He kisses me softly, caressing every inch of me he can reach. It’s like he can’t get enough of me. Not that I mind because I can’t get enough of him either.

Something settles deep in my chest.

Hope.

Maybe even love.

Emotions swirl inside me, and I know it’s time for me to go to work. I need time away from Holden to process everything and get my head on straight.

I press a kiss to his jaw. “I really have to go now.”

He groans dramatically and flops onto his back. “You sure I can’t convince you to call in sick?”

I laugh. “Nice try. The girls would murder me.”

He grins, eyes still closed. “Fine. But I’m driving you.”

“You don’t have to?—”

“I want to,” he says, already getting up and tugging on his jeans. “Besides, I’m not done kissing you yet.”

God help me.

We’re quiet as we get dressed, stealing small kisses between brushing teeth and grabbing keys. He makes me coffee in a to-go mug like he’s been doing it forever, and when we climb into his truck, he slips his hand into mine across the center console.

It feels easy. Familiar. Dangerous in a way that makes my heart ache and race all at once.

We pull up outside Clay & Cupcakes as the sun crests over the lake. The town is still quiet, just the way I like it.

Holden shifts in his seat and looks at me. “Are you okay?”

I nod, gripping the coffee cup tighter. “Yeah. I think I am.”

He leans in and kisses me, slow and sweet. My heart stutters. I’m pretty sure he knows exactly what he’s doing to me.

“I’ll see you later?” he asks.

“Definitely.”

I climb out of the truck, still dazed from his kiss, and watch as he pulls away, my fingers tingling where they touched his.

I’m not even inside when I hear Arlowe’s voice float through the window.

“Okay, who was the hottie in the truck?”

I groan and push open the door, the bell jingling overhead.

Auden’s already behind the counter, steaming milk.

Arlowe is perched on a stool, sipping her latte and looking far too pleased with herself. “You got dropped off like a teenager. Was that Holden?”

“Yes.” I try not to blush and fail miserably.

“He kissed her like a sinner.” Arlowe grins.

I shrug out of my coat and toss it on the hook, trying to play it cool. “It was just a ride.”

“Oh, honey.” Arlowe smirks. “That was not just a ride.”

I groan and hide my face in my hands. “Please stop talking.”

Auden smiles, and her voice softens as she asks, “Are you okay?”

I drop my hands and meet her eyes. “Yeah. I am.”

She nods like she’s been waiting to hear me say that for a long time.

We start our morning prep routine, preheating ovens, restocking the display case, and mixing batter. As we work, Arlowe and Auden throw questions my way.

“So, are you two back together now?” Arlowe asks, licking frosting off her thumb.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe. We’re figuring it out.”

Auden raises an eyebrow. “Do you want to be back together?”

I think about the way Holden looked at me in bed this morning. The way he kissed me like I was everything. The way he listened last night without trying to fix everything.

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I do.”

They both smile.

We keep working, the conversation shifting to cupcakes, class schedules, and an order someone forgot to pick up.

It feels good. Normal. Like a life I want to live in.

The hours fly by, and before I know it, we’re flipping the sign to closed and wiping down the counters. I hug them both goodbye and head home, my feet sore but my heart full.

That changes the second I open the front door.

“Where have you been?” Mom snaps from the couch, wrapped in the same blanket she wears every day.

“Work,” I reply as I shrug off my coat.

“You didn’t come home last night.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Her eyes narrow. “You were with him, weren’t you?”

I don’t answer. I wondered how our first conversation would go after everything came to light. I guess I hoped she’d say sorry, we’d have a heart-to-heart, and she’d have a rational excuse for why she told Holden he wasn’t good enough for me.

Guess not.

“I didn’t raise you to act like a little slut!” she shouts. “Don’t you dare throw your life away for some boy who abandoned you.”

My jaw tightens, but I don’t rise to the bait. Not this time.

“I’m moving out,” I say, cutting straight to the point.

She blinks. “What?”

“I’m moving out,” I repeat. “Not today. Not tomorrow. But in a few weeks. I’ll help you figure things out. I’ll get your prescriptions sorted and help find a nurse or a ride service or whatever you need, but I’m done living here. I’m done being your servant.”

Her face twists. “You can’t just abandon me.”

“I’m not abandoning you. I’ll still be in town, I’ll still help, but you need to start helping yourself, too.”

“After all I’ve done for you?—”

“I’ve more than made up for anything that you’ve done for me!” I snap. “I’ve been here for over a decade, doing everything. And you don’t appreciate any of it.”

“I never asked you to.”

“Exactly,” I say, my voice rising. “You never asked. You expected. You let me sacrifice everything, and you never once stopped me or said thank you. I had dreams, Mom! And you blocked me from every single one of them.”

She stands, her hands shaking. “What am I supposed to do? I’m sick. I need help.”

“Not this much help! Even your doctors say you’ll have good days and bad and should be doing stuff on your good ones. You don’t, though! You never do anything. You sit and watch TV and boss me around. Well, no more.”

“I have bad days! I need help!” she screams, her face turning bright red with anger.

“And you’ll get it. But not from me. Not full-time. Not like this. I deserve a life, too.”

“You ungrateful little?—”

I walk away before she can finish.

Her voice follows me down the hall, yelling how I’m selfish, how I’ll regret this, how I’m making the biggest mistake of my life.

I close my bedroom door and lean against it, heart racing. I’m wrung out from the conversation, but also somehow lighter. That confrontation and this decision were a long time coming.

I feel better now. I’m finally starting my life. For the first time in forever, I’m choosing me .

I sit on my bed and let the silence settle.

It’s not peaceful, not yet, but it’s mine.

And it’s a start.