Page 2 of The Way Home (Pathfinders Lake Romance #5)

“ Really ?” The word was drawn out before he took a slow drink, and the sight of his Addam's apple bobbing had me swallowing hard. “What brought you to Minnesota, of all places?”

My lips pressed into a flat line as I thought of what to say.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to know, but trauma-dumping on him right after meeting wasn’t ideal.

To my great relief, Jeremy noticed my hesitation and waved his hand in the air.

“Never mind. Anyway, the church thing… it’s not so bad.

They’re pretty chill and not preachy, I swear.

Outside of school, there's really only the arcade but nowhere to just hang, so it’s something to do, and it beats being alone at home. ”

I had to admit, it was a nice break from the hotel room. It had been a couple of weeks since we made the move, but my mom's job started before she was able to find a place to rent. It was temporary, but rooming with my mother meant no privacy and certainly no cute boys. I nodded in response.

“ And … if I hadn't come, I wouldn't have met you.” Jeremy’s hand lightly rubbed over my arm, sending shivers through me.

“Me?”

“Sure, why not you?” Jeremy's hand was still on my arm, surpassing any casual, friendly touch. The look in his deep brown eyes made my skin heat and my brain short circuit.

“Because you're so…” I waved my hand at him as if that was answer enough.

Jeremy leaned closer until everything in the background went blurry, and he was all I could see. When he spoke again, he lowered his voice and brushed my too-long hair behind my ear. “Soo…what?”

“Hot.” The word barely choked out of me, but he must have heard it because his lips widened into a devious grin.

“Really? So you think I'm hot?”

I felt my cheeks burning, and I pushed my glasses up my nose for something to do as I tried to become part of the wall behind me. “I mean, yeah, of course you are, and I'm… well… not.”

Jeremy tsked and shook his head. “That's where you and I disagree.”

My mind was working overtime trying to stay online.

I seldom caught the attention of any of the guys I liked back home in the land of the very tan and gorgeous.

Jeremy would have fit right in. From what I saw in the brief glimpse around the room when I'd arrived, it wasn't like there was a shortage of attractive people. Why Jeremy focused in on me was hard to comprehend. I was tall and gangly, while he looked like his body had grown proportionately in all the right ways. And of course, I was gifted with acne and glasses, and his golden skin looked like he’d been painted by the gods.

“What?” It was the only word I could manage. In fact, I'd been staring at him for so long, I'd almost forgotten what he said.

Jeremy smirked and took the can of soda from me, setting it on the table. “Come with me, Riley.”

“Okay.” That was the only easy part about all of this. Following him meant not having to think and letting him guide me. The only thing that gave me pause was when I realized we were standing outside of the men's restroom.

“Wait. What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing. I just have to take a piss, and I figure you probably do, too.” He pushed the door open, revealing a single stall room.

“I'm… I’m okay,” I stammered, trying to keep my voice level as heat rushed through my body centering in my groin. I’d never had such an intense reaction to anyone, but even in such a short time, Jeremy made me feel safe. But still, I really didn't need to have a boner in the middle of a church.

“Yeah, but help a guy out, why don't ya?” He winked and grabbed my hand, tugging me into the bathroom before I had a chance to object. Though my body seemed to have more sense than my mind, because it didn't put up any kind of fight.

Once we were both inside, he closed the door behind us and locked the door.

Not even a second passed before he pushed me back against the door and closed the distance between us.

He was a few inches shorter than me, and his eyes lined up with my lips, which he couldn't stop staring at.

Torn between wanting to grab hold of him to steady myself or to push him away and clear my head, my hands hung uselessly at my sides.

Unable to do anything, I simply stared at the hot guy in front of me like he walked right out of a fantasy.

This wasn't real. This didn't happen. At least not to me.

Jeremy somehow stepped even closer, wedging his leg between mine, and there was no stopping my boner now, not with him invading my space and the heat of his body radiating into me.

His cheek brushed against mine as he leaned in to whisper, his warm breath fluttering by my ear. “Since you don't seem to think you are hot, I’ll just have to show you.”

I gulped loudly and simply answered. “Okay.”

Before I could think too much about what he meant, his hand was on my neck, pulling me down, and his lips pressed against mine.

The suddenness of it had me gasping instead of kissing back.

I was frozen stiff, but when I didn't pull away, his mouth landed on mine once more.

The warmth, the pressure, the testing of his tongue against my lips—my brain exploded.

Soon, I was completely lost in the sensation of him.

Jeremy was relentless and didn't seem to care that I didn’t know what I was doing as I eagerly tried to match move for move.

It was clunky, awkward, and hot as fuck!

Of all the times I imagined my first kiss, I never thought it would be something as heated as this.

It was… everything. Suddenly, the longing for being back in California fell away, and I felt peace and excitement settle into me. With Jeremy's body pressed into me and his mouth on mine, why would I want to be anywhere else?