His hands start to roam, exploring my body with just the tips of his fingers. They graze my breasts, my stomach and then my legs. When he slips his hands under my shirt I suck in my breath.

He pulls back and I open my eyes to see that he's smiling at me. It's not your average sweet and innocent smile. It's devious and sinful. I'm in trouble. I know that this is dangerous, but I don't care. The consequences will be well worth the last thirty seconds of my life.

"Still want to be left alone?" Smug bastard. I should have known he would use my own words against me.

I unwrap myself and slide down his body, pushing him back. "Now that I've gotten what I came for, yes." He doesn't flinch unless you count the fire in his eyes disappearing. He knows how to play this game better than anyone I've ever met. I shouldn't even be trying to compete with him.

"We both got what we wanted. See ya around, Gracie."

I don't give him the satisfaction of a response. Mainly because I'm too lost in thought while staring at his ass as he walks away from me. Doesn't matter. I got what I wanted. Now, the only problem I see is that I want more. I need more. I have a feeling that now that I know what it feels like to kiss Luke, nothing else will be able to compare.

I head home, flying high. I'm walking in the back door when Elliot texts me and asks where I went. I want to tell him that Luke just kissed me in the woods, that kissing his brother caused me to lose my breath and now I need to lie down. I even type the words before I chicken out. I lie and tell him that I wasn't feeling good, headed home and that I would see him at school the next morning.

I'm a horrible liar. He sees through my lie instantly and presses the issue. I finally tell him I'm going to lay down and I turn my phone off. I close my bedroom door behind me and squeal, jumping up and down before falling backwards on my bed. I stare at my ceiling and replay the kiss over and over again in my head. I want to kiss him again. I never want to stop kissing him.

I turn my phone back on before I head to bed. I have six missed texts from Elliot. First, he asks me to call him and then he demands that I call him and the last one says that he's coming over. Apparently not since he's not here.

Knock. Knock.

Wrong again.

"Come in." I plug my phone into charge and turn to find Luke standing in my doorway.

Wrong Evan’s boy.

He hasn't been in my room since we were kids. I look around to make sure that nothing embarrassing is on the floor. I keep my room clean but is it clean enough for company? Probably not. The floor is clear, no bra's hanging on the back of my chair, and it still smells like lavender from the candle I was burning this morning. "Hey."

"Hey." Somethings off. His voice is different. He's not happy, but not sad either. I go to take a step towards him, to comfort him, but stop myself. We may be acquainted on a different level than we were yesterday, but I'm not sure we're to that level yet.

"What's up? Everything okay?" I force myself to take a seat on my bed. I'm fidgeting with my hands, per usual, so I sit on them.

"Nothing. I just... Elliot is asking questions. I think he suspects something. I wasn't sure if you wanted him to know or if you wanted this to be a secret or-"

"I'm not ashamed of what happened if that's what you're asking." I've never heard Luke be anything less than sure of himself. He's nervous. Luke doesn't do nervous. He's confident and cocky and he has every right to be most of the time.

"I'm not either. It's just with me leaving, I wasn't sure if you wanted Elliot to know."

Leaving? Is he leaving? Where is he going? He graduates in a few weeks. He hasn't said anything about leaving for school, but school has never been his thing. He's smart and athletic, but he doesn't crave knowledge like I do, like Elliot does. He's more of a show-up, take the test, flirt with girls and leave kind of guy. He always has been. In fact, I'm pretty sure if he went to an all-boys school, he wouldn't show up at all. I guess I should have assumed that he would go somewhere.

"I know I should have told you sooner, before we kissed, and I'm sorry."

"When? Where?" It's the best I can do. Not only is Luke not acting like himself but now I can't seem to put a sentence together.

"South Carolina. I leave for boot camp the day after graduation."

"Boot camp?"

"I signed a four-year contract with the Marine Corps." He stands up a little taller as he says it. The thought of him defending our country makes me proud of him. The fact that I'll worry about him for four years makes me want to sock him square in the jaw.

"Oh!" Again with the one-word answers. I clear my throat and make an attempt at a real sentence. "That's great." Two words are better than one.

He takes a step forward and closes the door behind him. I'm still sitting on the edge of my bed, my hands tucked under my legs. I stand and he's in front of me in an instant. I look straight ahead at his chest. If I look him in the eyes, I'll break. I won't cry in front of him. I won't allow myself to.

"I'm sorry, Reagan."

"For what?"

"For everything. For not telling you sooner. For not kissing you sooner. For wasting the last few years of my life wanting you, knowing that you wanted me, and trying my best to ignore all of it. Most of all, I'm sorry that we don't have more time together to see where this could go. We could be great together."

"Four years isn't that long. What if I wai-"

"Don't. I don't want you to waste your life away waiting for me to come back. You’re smart and talented and beautiful and someone will come along that will sweep you off your feet. You don't need to waste the best years of your life waiting for me to come home." The first tear falls and I let it. I still can't look up at him. The emotion in his voice, the sincerity and the loss mixed together, have broken the dam.

"Will you call? Can we keep in touch and just see what happens?"

"Write me." Placing his hand under my chin, he lifts my eyes to his. Blinking away the tears, his face comes into focus. This is a side of Luke that I've never seen before. A side that I never knew existed.

"I will."

He pulls me into his body, mine fitting perfectly to his and kisses my hair. That's not how I want this to end. I want his lips on mine. I want more. More of everything. More time. More kisses. More of Luke. All of Luke.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" My voice is barely above a whisper, but I know he heard me. His body just went stiff as a board.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Reagan. This is already going to be hard enough. If I stay here tonight and things happen, it's going to be even harder to say goodbye."

I push against his chest and he lets me go. I step back and look him square in the eye, determined for him to hear every word I'm about to say. "If I'm going to lose you in a few weeks then I'm telling you right now," I say as I poke him in his deliciously hard chest. "We will spend the next few weeks as if they are our last and make the most of every moment. It starts right now."

I don't wait for him to respond. I've known Luke my entire life and if I give him a chance to say something, we might talk around things for the rest of the night. Instead, I reach up, capture his face and bring my lips to his. That's all the prompting he needs. I'm lifted off the ground. I wrap my legs around his waist and when my back hits the wall, I moan in satisfaction.

"I'm never going to be able to forget you, Reagan Brooks."