HIDDEN (Hide Or Die)

Chapter 15

ANDREW'S P.O.V.

Concern swam in his eyes, and that was all I could think of. My hands itched with the need to pull him against me, to see if his skin was as supple as I’d imagined it to be. If only I could—

“May I?” I blinked away my impulsive urges but failed to detect his intention. I nodded once, feeling aloof for losing myself in the skies trapped within his gleaming orbs.

He sat beside me, and I was confused for a moment, did he really ask for my permission to sit beside me…? It was a thought I couldn’t dwell on long, as my body erupted in tingles when his knee brushed against mine as he settled in, closing our bubble from the surroundings.

It was silent for a while, he had wrung his hands together at his lap, face drawn downwards while I took the moment to marvel at his beauty, the sun made his hair shine in different shades of blond, and his eyes a breathtaking crystalline blue.

“Do– Do you hate me?”

I almost flinched at his words, his declaration taking me aback. What had I done? I led him to believe that I harbored feelings of hatred towards him when what I felt for him ranked at the other end of the spectrum, I adore him.

But how will I convince him otherwise? When all I did since we first met was lash out and sneer in his face? I was a foolish idiot for thinking that could solve anything at all, or diminish my feelings for him. It only further complicated everything.

Yet, I stayed silent. Could I really tell him the truth? For it holds promises I couldn’t uphold to. If I told Kyle how I truly felt about him, what would happen then? That would demand things of me I wasn’t quite prepared to face, nor did I have a solution to anything. So I lied.

“Yes.”

The word felt heavy as it lodged its way out of my throat, my stomach immediately clinched in regret, and I wanted to take it back. More so when his expression fell and immense sorrow glazed over his eyes.

He stood abruptly, shock and embarrassment clear on his face as he fisted his trembling hands in humiliation. My blood went cold, and my mind went into overdrive when tears threatened to path down his rounded pale face.

His lips trembled, and he managed a few steps away before I latched onto his wrist, wrenching him back into me. His body molded into mine as the truth tumbled out of my mouth, the fear of forever losing him outweighing the fear of everything else.

“No! No, I lied. I lied, I don’t hate you,” my words were a heavy breath against his dewy lips.

And as I looked into his moist eyes, our close proximity settled in and sent waves of dizzying desire that impacted me greatly. His lips, so close, parted and inviting. So I did the only thing that made sense to do. I kissed him as though kissing him was the purpose behind my being. As though it was the only thing that made sense because it did.

I clenched my eyes tightly as I took in his sweet taste, a part of me waited for him to push me, slap me for kissing him maybe, but when his arms wrapped around my neck, and his lips parted against mine, accepting my eager kiss, I was undone.

The fire I was trying to diminish within me, roared to life as I cupped his beautiful face. Pulling him impossibly close all the while thinking how right it felt to do so. Taking more of his lips before I slowed down to savor the moment for as long as I can. Moving one hand to cup the back of his neck, tangling in his soft locks, the other to wrap around his surprisingly slim waist.

Birds chirped, and a car honked in the distance. But I paid it no attention, content to stay wrapped up in him. Apparently, he thought different, his hands pushed against my chest until I released him, reluctantly. But my reluctance was quickly replaced with concerned when he fell against the tree bark, tightly covering his ears. What?