Always There

Chapter Twenty-Five

He pauses when we're a foot or so apart. He raises his hands to grip my waist, his hands nearly large enough to wrap all the way around. His thumbs brush against my ribs as he holds me tenderly, looking down at me as if I'm the most beautiful girl in the entire world.

"Hi, you pretty little thing," he murmurs, and I can't stop my cheeks from blushing as I stare up into his eyes.

"Hi, Bryce," I reply shyly, smiling up at him.

He leans down, briefly brushing his lips against mine for a quick kiss before he presses his lips to my temple as well. I feel as though I'm practically melting in his arms right now, entirely consumed by his sweet words and actions already.

Bryce's hands suddenly leave my waist, and I feel my smile fade in response. If he notices, he doesn't care, and he instead moves across the room to take a seat down on the edge of my bed.

I watch as he crosses his legs beneath himself, but he ends of looking sort of ridiculous as his legs are so freakishly long. He just stares at me innocently when he catches me watching, and I arch an eyebrow up at him in response.

"What?" I ask him bluntly, which he merely rolls his eyes at.

"I was hoping I was going to get a bit of a show, because of the scene I walked in on. No lap dance?" he asks with a wicked grin.

I scowl at him, grabbing my jeans from the floor and unfolding them. I begin to get dressed, pulling the jeans up my legs before zipping and buttoning them. Bryce watches me intently the entire time with hooded eyes, his gaze dark and filled with lust.

"You need to stop saying things like that, Bryce," I scold him, reaching down to grab my sweater from the floor as well. I pull it down over my head, slipping my arms through the sleeves before yanking my hair out from the collar.

Bryce is still grinning at me, a cocky smirk. "I think you quite like my dirty mouth, Miss Brooks."

I open my mouth to counter that, but immediately shut it when I realise that dammit, he's correct.

And so instead, I just shake my head at him before making my way towards my vanity. "Who let you inside?" I ask over my shoulder.

I hear Bryce stand up from his bed, and I listen to his footsteps as he heads towards me. "Your mom. She told me to be quiet just in case you were still asleep, but she said that I could come up here anyway."

I sigh, unable to stop myself from rolling my eyes at how my mom is suddenly in love with Bryce and I's relationship.

I'm certainly not complaining, though. Not one bit. It's better than my dad, who seems to hate Bryce now that we're together.

I pick up my cherry blossom necklace from my vanity, but Bryce takes it from me before I get a chance to put it on. Instead, he opens the clasp and then secures the necklace around my neck for me, kissing my shoulder as he watches me slip on my promise ring.

"I love that now everyone knows that you're mine," Bryce tells me with a cheeky grin, and so I hit him in the arm which just makes him chuckle.

🌸🌸🌸

"I hate that you still haven't told me what we're doing today," I say to Bryce with a sigh as he holds the front door to his dad's house open for me.

I step into the doorway, welcoming the warmth that the house provides. A few candles are lit near the foyer, giving the air the sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon, sort of like how Bryce smells himself. There's something extremely welcome about stepping into this house again, and for some strange reason, it feels like home.