Ready or Not (The Love Game Book 4) by Elizabeth Hayley (pdf ebook reader .txt) 📕

it was the perfect choice of words.” She laughed quietly before turning the rest of her body toward me. Both of us were fully on our sides now, our faces only inches apart.

I wondered if she felt like I did—hyperaware of how close we were but still far away because I couldn’t bring myself to close the distance completely…even though I was desperate to.

She breathed so slowly, so carefully, it seemed like she was worried any disruption to the moment might ruin it completely.

But with her eyes locked on mine, I doubted anything could ruin this. Everything about this felt right, natural, like we were meant to share this space together, and I was sure Taylor could feel it too. Or maybe I just hoped she did.

I’d never been shy about taking a chance with girls I was into, but this thing with Taylor felt different, like there was a flashing neon sign above her beautiful face with warnings like Keep Out and Beware. But a small spark of hope flickered deep inside me that maybe the warnings were more of a Proceed with Caution than a No Trespassing.

Or maybe all this shit was just in my mind. Maybe for once being rejected by a girl scared the hell out of me because this girl wasn’t just any girl. I felt safe with her. I felt wanted, even if I wasn’t sure she wanted me the way I hoped she did. If I fuck this up now, I might fuck it up forever. Taylor felt like glass in a storm that could shatter with a strong wind sometimes.

But then other times—times like right now—it felt like every single thing from our breathing to our heartbeats was in sync, and if I didn’t take this opportunity, I might never get another one.

And choosing not to kiss Taylor would be worse than not kissing her any fucking day of the week. Even if she shoved me off the bed I’d just built, which was a distinct possibility.

So I made a promise to myself that I’d stop overthinking every little thing in my life, especially Taylor, and I’d just kiss the hell out of her.

Well, maybe not at first. I drifted my lips toward hers until they couldn’t get any closer without touching. And that was where I hovered for a moment. Not because I was scared to go any further, but because I wanted to savor this moment before both our eyes closed and our lips pressed together in a way I’d imagined so many times in the privacy of my own bed.

When our lips finally touched, all of it felt so much softer, tasted so much sweeter, than I’d fantasized about. Every sensation felt like it journeyed through my entire body before making its way to my core and finally settling in my pants.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this turned on from just kissing a girl, but fuck if this wasn’t better than what I’d been waiting for.

We went slow at first, but a gentle kiss slipped into something so much deeper, hungrier, and soon both of us had more than just our mouths on each other. Our hands entered into the action, sliding under shirts and down the back of pants.

I groaned when Taylor’s nails grabbed a hold of my ass, and I instinctually pressed my hips toward her in response. Even the slight friction over my shorts was dangerous.

“God,” I said in between nibbles on her neck, “this is…”

“I can’t do this,” she blurted out as if her brain and her hands belonged to two different people.

What the…

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I thought you were into it.”

I wasn’t even aware of when we’d gotten up, but both of us were on different sides of the bed now, staring at each other.

“I am. I mean, I was,” she corrected herself, like the semantics affected the meaning.

“Did I do something wrong?” God, I wished I wasn’t still hard while I was having this conversation. “We can take things slow. I just, I really like you, Taylor, and now I feel like I fucked everything up.” The fact that my initial fear might’ve come true wasn’t lost on me.

“It’s okay,” she told me, but we both knew it wasn’t. “I think it’s probably best if you just go.”

“Are you sure? We can talk about it if you—”

“Please,” she said, and her eyes held a sadness that almost looked regretful. Whether the regret came from asking me to leave or making out with me, I might never know.

And I knew then I’d been wrong. Choosing not to kiss Taylor would’ve been the better option.

Chapter Sixteen

T A Y L O R

“No, wait, I think a few of the girls missed the first part,” Aamee said. “Tell it again.”

“Please don’t,” Sophia pleaded, already plopping her chin into her hand. Her other hand held prosecco that she was drinking out of a gigantic glass with the words Look Like a Beauty, Drink Like a Beast written on it.

When I’d been invited to Sophia’s surprise bachelorette party being thrown by her sorority sisters, I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in. I knew the dinner would be fine, but the girls had rented a suite at a local hotel to continue the party, and I figured they’d all be having fun talking about the past few years at Lazarus while I had to make myself look busy on my phone so I didn’t feel awkward.

But the opposite was true. They’d practically surrounded me, begging to hear embarrassing childhood stories about her. I was like some sort of celebrity unicorn.

“It was our teacher’s son who she asked to dance. He was tall for a fourth grader.” I looked over at Sophia and tried not to laugh. “I’ll give you that. But there was no way Mrs. Kersey was gonna let her little boy put his arms around a thirteen-year-old girl who was