Never Let Go - Page 7

Simple. But not simple at all.

Turn around, Sienna.

I needed to. Wanted to.

He urged me too.

The racing of my heavy beating heart kept my eyes forward, with fear. But that pull… it grew. Quadrupled. Intensified. And before I knew it, I was twirling on the balls of my feet, being pulled by a force I was sure neither of us understood.

Finally.

For the first time since laying eyes on him, we were face to face. And everything around me slowed… yes, like before but absolutely nothing like before. I found myself trapped. My God was it enthralling. At this distance, it was as if I was staring into a dark ocean with me at the center of it. He was quiet. Stuck, as usual. I wondered if it was for him, as it was for me. Wondered if staring into my browns was like staring into a vast ocean with him in the center of it, too. Wondered if time slowed. If his breathing slowed. And if his heart had gone from racing to… steady in a matter of seconds… like mine.

His scent was invigorating. He was all I could smell. Gone was the intoxicating aroma of barbecue, chicken, ribs and hot dogs. He consumed my senses. I couldn’t put a finger on the notes. I could describe it as refreshing. New. But familiar too. I wanted to be closer. I wanted to lay my head on his chest and bask in the scent of him. I wanted to ball his white shirt up in my hands and bring it up to my nose. I wanted to bury my face into the crook of his neck and just… inhale. I wanted to consume him.

After what felt like minutes, but couldn’t be more than a couple of seconds, he grabbed me, pulling me into his chest. Right after, a football went zipping behind me, missing my head by just an inch.

“Ay, watch where the fuck you throwing that ball, nigga!” Jahad barked at one of the guys I graduated high school with.

Amiri threw his hands up. “My bad man, my bad! I didn’t see her!”

“Impossible,” Jahad mumbled, with his eyes back on mine.

I was in his arms.

He…

My God.

He felt so got damn good.

I—

I couldn’t put it into words. He… I… I had never felt anything like him before. I didn’t want to leave. In that moment, I didn’t care about anything I cared about before. Honestly. I was free. Completely. Nerves? Gone. Awkwardness? What they thought about us? Looking weird? None of it existed. Not even them.

“Hap—”

“Thank you,” I interrupted before he could wish me happy bloomday for a second time.

“You’re welcome,” he lowly replied, those brown eyes steady staring deep into mine. Penetrating me as if he could see through the depths of me. Soul deep, even. And with my browns, I stared through him the same. Searching for answers. Sifted through the mystery that was him. The boy that made me feel funny. The boy that pulled me without ever laying a finger on me.

Until today.

He didn’t just lay a finger on me… he laid ten. A hand. And I wanted him to. I wanted him to touch me… everywhere. I wanted to feel more of him. Before I knew it… before I could control it, I was melting into his arms. I didn’t know what it was, or how to explain it but I was immediately drawn closer to him.

I laid my head on his chest. And when I did, I exhaled.

He exhaled too, and tenderly enveloped me in his strong arms. He held me. gently, but with this… force. As if he didn’t want to let me go. I let him. I let him hold me. Because… shit, it felt right. It felt like I belonged there. It didn’t feel like we were meeting for the first time. It didn’t feel like I’d been running away from him. It felt like I knew him. It felt like we were in love. I was stuck. We were stuck. Like two magnets almost. Hard to pull a part. Like… when that positive finally connects with that negative. The force of it.

It was funny, right? How not even an hour ago, I was terrified of him. Talked about running away every time I saw him. Couldn’t bring myself to turn when I felt him behind me. But now… I didn’t want to pull myself away from him. It was the connection. It felt… amazing. It was bliss. It was… freedom. Like soaring in the sky. Weightless. Soaring, with the birds. One with nature. Free.

“You good?” He asked, his deep baritone voice vibrating against my chest, sending a warm sensation down my spine.

“Hm?” I flinched and pulled away. “Ye—yeah. Sorry. T—Thanks again.”

Wished I could stay like that forever. You know… stuck? Like magnets. With the beat of his heart against my body. His minty breath filling the air around me. Succumbing to that ‘pull’. But I couldn’t.

Reluctantly, I struggled to walk away but before I could, he grabbed my hand, stopping me.