Breaking Free: A Living Again Novella (8 page)

He tried not to think about that too much. He was going to enjoy his night with her and not worry about the rest.

Greer heard a gasp from behind him and he turned, seeing his mom and dad standing in the hallway, their mouths agape. “What?” He looked down to make sure he hadn’t left his fly open or something.

His mom put her hands over her mouth, which he knew meant that she was trying not to cry. What was making her cry? His dad put his hands on her shoulders, smiling at Greer.

“You look so handsome,” she said finally. “Look at you, Greer.”

He didn’t get it. He was wearing shorts and a shirt that she had bought him, and he shaved and styled his hair every day.

“It’s nice to see you in something different,” his dad said. “Do you like those clothes? We can get you more if you do.”

He ran his hands down the front of his shorts, feeling the draft on his legs. He always wore jeans. “I like them okay. I’ll ask Alexis if she likes them.”

They looked at each other, a look he didn’t understand passing between them. “We’re going to head out. Text if you need us. We’ll be home in a few hours. Tell Alexis we said hi.”

He heard a car door behind him and he turned to confirm it was her. “You can say hi to her yourself. She’s here.” Greer walked quickly to the door, flinging it open.

She was wearing a black dress and her hair was curled around her face. It shone in the late day sun, and it made him want to touch it to see if it was as soft as it seemed.

“Have fun,” his mom whispered as she moved past him. His dad clapped him on the back, winking at him as they headed to the car.

“Hello Alexis,” he heard both his mom and dad say. She smiled at both of them, exchanging hellos.

“Hi Greer,” she said, stepping in front of him. “Am I late?”

Greer looked at his watch. “You texted me thirty minutes ago. You’re exactly on time. My parents are going to dinner. I picked out our movie and candy and popcorn.”

She walked past him, and he smelled a flowery scent coming from her hair. It made him feel funny inside. “That sounds good, Greer. You look very nice,” she commented. “I like that outfit.”

He grinned. “Really? I never wear things like this.”

“I know,” Alexis laughed. “But it’s very handsome.” She reached up and hovered her hand next to his face, preparing him for her touch. He sucked in a breath, wondering what she was going to do. She had never touched his face before.

“You shaved,” she remarked, running her fingers softly along his jaw. Her dimple appeared as she looked at him in the eyes. He fought with himself to keep her gaze.

“I shave in the morning. But today, I shaved at night.”

“You’re just breaking all the rules tonight, aren’t you?” Alexis dropped her hand from his face, and for once he missed the sensation of touch. She walked to the couch and sat down, tucking her long legs up under her. Greer knew she was a beautiful girl. Scratch that, she was gorgeous. He knew enough to see that all the guys at school watched her as she walked. He had never felt desire before, but he wondered if the feeling bubbling up inside him was just that.

“I’m so glad you’re going to meet my parents,” she said after he said down next to her. His leg was touching hers. And because he had shorts on, he could feel the small hairs of his leg rubbing against her soft skin. He liked it. A whole lot. “Do you want to meet them at the stadium? They’ve heard a lot about you and can’t wait to meet you.”

Greer thought about what he would be able to manage. He had never been inside the football stadium before. Ever since Alexis had asked him, he wanted nothing less than to do that for her. He had yet to see her on television, and he wanted to go. But being there posed many problems. One, he didn’t like big crowds. Two, he didn’t like loud noises. Three, he didn’t like weird smells. But with the help of Dr. Sharon, he was going to attempt it. She had given him many coping mechanisms to use while he was there. He was most worried about being in front of her whole family and embarrassing himself. It wouldn’t be the first time he had been an embarrassment. Or the last.

“Greer? Are you okay with this? You don’t have to go. I would completely understand.”

“I want to do this,” he answered. “I think I’m ready for it.”

She smiled. “Well just so you know, I won’t be hurt if you just can’t do it or if you have to leave. You even thinking of coming for me is amazing in itself.”

Greer nodded, feeling embarrassed. Why did he have to be such a freak? Any other man could go see his friend at a football game.

“Ready to watch the movie? I don’t want you to have to drive home too late.”

“Sure. You get it set up and I’ll get the snacks from the kitchen.”

Greer watched her as she stood up and walked away to the kitchen. She was so nice. No one, other than his family, had ever been that nice to him. He was so glad he had been able to break his routine tonight and see her.

The credits of the movie rolled. Greer had picked an action adventure movie, not really sure what Alexis liked to watch. Once it had started, she told him that she liked watching movies like these with her brothers, so he had felt good about his choice.

During the movie, he had barely been able to concentrate on the story line because he was hyper aware of every movement Alexis made. The way her leg rubbed against his, or her arm brushed his, or her pinky finding its way to his. And he wasn’t hyper aware of it because it was bothering him. He wanted more of it, but he had no idea how to go about that.

“That was a great movie,” Alexis announced, shifting even closer than she had been before. “I’ll have to tell Ben and Dalen about that if they haven’t already seen it.”

He looked over at her, realizing just how close he was to her. It was like he could look right through the blue of her eyes. He studied her long eyelashes that curved against her lower eye. Up close, he could see small freckles dotting her nose. They were cute.

He heard her suck in a breath, and his eyes darted back to hers. Never in his life had he been this close to someone without going into a panic attack. His personal space was very important to him. Her eyes flicked over his face, settling on his lips. What did that mean? Sometimes, hell many times, he hated not being able to decipher things like this.

“What does that mean?” Greer heard himself asking. He wanted to run into his room and shut the door. Why was he such a moron?

“What does what mean?” Alexis whispered, blinking her eyes.

“When you looked at my lips, what does that mean?” He held his breath, waiting for the moment where she stood up and ran away.

Alexis took his hand and placed it over her heart. He felt the rapid thump, thump under his fingers. “Feel that?”

“Your heart is beating fast.” He was pretty sure his was, also.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“But what does that mean?”

He expected her to laugh, but he should’ve known better. Alexis didn’t laugh at him. “It means our bodies are reacting to being near each other,” she explained. “And me looking at your lips means the same thing as what you felt when you looked at mine. What did you feel right then?”

Greer swallowed, his mouth feeling like cotton had suddenly appeared inside it. “I-I felt like I wanted to see what your lips felt like.”

“Like this?” Alexis took his fingers and touched her lips with them. They felt like pillows, like his favorite one he had to sleep with every night. But they were much warmer.

He shook his head. “Well, I like feeling with my fingers, but I wanted to know what it would feel like for my lips to touch your lips.”

Alexis’ eyes fluttered closed, and he wondered if he said too much. She laced all of their fingers together, and he looked over at them. Seeing his big fingers wrapped in between hers gave him a new feeling, but not the one he thought it might. It was a good feeling. His heart pounded, and he felt sweat on his forehead.

He had no idea what to do right now. She reopened her eyes and looked at him. “Greer,” she whispered. “Do you want to kiss me?”

“I… yes. But I don’t know how or if you even want me to.”

He almost groaned as she moved even closer. He didn’t want to look away like he usually would. He was transfixed with watching her; the way her pupils dilated and her nostrils flared just slightly. She parted her lips and he watched as her tongue came out to wet them.

“I want you to.” Greer swore that his heart stopped. She wanted him to kiss her. Could he do this? What if his parents walked in? She put her hands on either side of his face and he didn’t grimace. “Don’t panic,” she whispered. He could feel her breath as it wafted over his skin. She smelled like cinnamon from their candy, and he liked it. It didn’t make him want to rub his face.

Alexis stared into his eyes, her hands still on his face. “When you’re ready. I’m not pushing you.”

Greer leaned closer until his forehead touched hers. He sat there, wondering if he was going to pass out before he kissed her. She dropped her hands from his face and instead put her arms around his neck. He had never been touched like that.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded, not able to speak. Gathering all of the courage he had ever had, Greer moved closer to her. It seemed like it took forever for him to reach her, but when his lips made contact with hers, he made a sound he had never made before. She was so… perfect.

He touched his lips to hers gently, feeling the pillowy softness against his own lips. He knew how this was supposed to go; he had watched enough movies. But no one tells you how to do this the correct way, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do now.

Greer pulled away slightly, his hands shaking as he brought them up to her face. “Alexis,” he whispered, using his thumbs to trace her cheeks. “Is this okay?”

She nodded, a blush spreading over her cheeks. “Again.”

She was asking him to kiss her again? Greer grinned, hope blooming in his chest. She liked it. He did a good job. He moved quicker this time, taking her lips in between his with a little more force. This time she made a noise he could only hope was satisfaction as their lips moved together. Her arms tightened around his neck, and he moved his hands from her face to around her waist.

They kissed for what could’ve been seconds or days. All he knew was that his head was in the clouds and it was like she had just unlocked something inside him that had been waiting for her his entire life.

She had never felt the way she was feeling right now, with Greer’s lips pressed gently against hers. His hands were on her lower back, and she could feel the warmth of them through her dress. She never, ever wanted this moment to end. She might have to check to see if her head was still attached, or if it was floating into outer space.

Alexis had no idea how long it had been since he had first put his lips against hers, but her pounding heart rattling against her rib cage told her it hadn’t been long enough. Greer Henderson had kissed her. Many times. It wasn’t lost on her how monumental this was for him, but it was just as much for her. She felt her body shaking with the overwhelming feelings that were taking over.

She whimpered when she felt his tongue against her lips. This man could
kiss
. While Alexis didn’t have much experience with this, she didn’t need much to know that he knew exactly what he was doing. She moved her hands slowly from behind his neck to run through the hair at the nape of his neck, opening her mouth to allow him to deepen the kiss. She was worried that something she did was going to push him over the edge, but so far he seemed just as much into it as she was.

When her tongue touched his, his eyes flew open. She froze, not sure what he was thinking, but Greer closed his eyes again, continuing to move his tongue gently against hers. She had died and gone to heaven. They had all been right. Hailey, Cate, her parents. She didn’t want to be his friend. She had been fighting what she thought couldn’t happen since she first met Greer. Now, there was no turning back for her.

A car door outside made Greer jump, and he pulled back, his chest heaving. His parents must be home. She smiled at him, reaching out and touching his lips with her fingers. They were slightly red from their kissing. Greer smiled back at her, and she swore that she melted even more. His smile was so gorgeous.