9 Chapter 9: Worth The Wait

My eyes darted up to Travis’s as I realized he caught me staring at his lips. I felt my face warm, especially because he smiled even bigger, and that sinful gleam in his eyes warmed my insides.

“You do that a lot.” He licked his lips again, and my eyes were instantly on them. Travis laughed. “I swear, if it wasn’t for what you’ve just been through, I wouldn’t be able to stop kissing you.”

Suddenly, despite the ordeal I’d just endured, his lips on mine again was all I could think of. It was all I could do to keep myself from begging him to kiss me again. So, I said something else instead because he was still staring at me in that way that always made my insides tremble. “I’ve never been kissed the way you kiss me.”

Travis licked his lips, and his eyes dropped down to mine as he leaned in to peck me softly. I closed my eyes, waiting for him to do more, but instead his hand slipped in mine, and he tugged me toward the hallway. Instantly, my heart was pounding. Was he going to do what he practically promised he’d be doing to me all the time now?

To my surprise, he pulled me into the bathroom, not his bedroom, let go of my hand when he crouched down, and opened the vanity doors. My head was racing now, and my heart nearly pounded through my chest. Was this where he kept the extra condoms? Was that what he was looking for?

Neither one of us had yet to say a word since my admission, and he still wasn’t saying anything. Then he finally looked up and pulled out a brand-new toothbrush still in the box. He ripped the box open and handed the toothbrush to me.

“Sorry, but, if I’m gonna kiss you, you’re gonna have to wash that fucker out of your mouth.”

I was overwhelmed with both mortification and relief. Mortification because this meant the thought of him kissing me unless I brushed my teeth disgusted him. And relief because truth be told I still had the nasty taste of Chaz in my mouth.

I took the toothbrush without saying a word, and he leaned over to grab the toothpaste and handed it to me. At first, I was pleasantly surprised to see him brush his teeth too. Then I remembered what he said just before he left. My tongue just got a craving, so I think I will be going.

Had he really gone out and done what he said he was going to even after he’d done it to me? After we both rinsed our mouths, I turned to him, still nervous but not quite as excited about what he was about to do as I was earlier. The second he finished drying his hands after rinsing them, he turned to me and cradled my face in his big hands, with that same sweet gaze that I found so mesmerizing now. As unlike him as it was, it was something I’d begun to grow accustomed to in the last several years. That gaze felt like he reserved it just for me.

He licked his lips and started leaning in slowly. Unbelievably, even as my heart pounded in unabashed anticipation, I held my hand at his chest. His brows furrowed in question, and he stopped, but before he could ask what was wrong, I had to know. “Were you with anyone else tonight?”

As understanding seemed to wash over him, he smiled and shook his head. “We stopped and got chili cheese dogs with lots of onions on the way home. That’s why I brushed my teeth. But no.” He shook his head with that wicked smirk I was so used to. Still, even that look thrilled me now too. He kissed me softly then frowned. “I could hardly wait to get back here—to you.” He pulled away as the smirk was replaced with a frown. “I actually anticipated things getting ugly between Chaz and me when I got here. I just wasn’t expecting what I walked into.”

I shook my head, not wanting to think about that anymore and wanting Travis’s lips on mine instead. “Kiss me,” I whispered and he did, again and again, so deep and so perfect, unlike any other boy ever had.

I was certain my panties were soaked because of every stroke of his tongue in my mouth and the way he cradled my face in his hands so gently, yet so firmly. As the kiss deepened, he pressed his firm body against mine, and I felt tiny against him. Nothing about him felt like a sixteen-year-old boy. Not the way one simple look from him completely weakened me. Not the way he carried himself all the time. Not the way he beat Chaz so mercilessly. Like a man.

Travis finally pulled his lips away from mine but only to kiss his way down my chin and then kiss my neck but not roughly or in a crazed way as I’d expect from a guy like him. He was gentle, slow, and then he groaned. “Jesus, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this to happen. But what we’ve done so far and what I can hardly wait to do to you again is as far as we’ll go for a while.”

Disappointed but slightly relieved again, I nodded. Only my curiosity got the best of me. “Why?”

“Because I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you.” He stared in my eyes. “I’ve been in love with you for years, Cherry. But I’ve seen the way your dad looks at me. The same way everyone else in this neighborhood does. The way that fucking dean at school looks at me. I’m no good for you and I know it. Not yet. But when, not if, I make you mine, because I know now that it’s gonna happen, no one, not even your dad, will be able to keep you from me. You’ll be mine, and anyone who tries to say otherwise will get what Chaz got tonight.” He shook his head at my startled reaction to that. “So, I have to be patient. But I have a plan. It’s just gonna take some time. And, baby, I’ve always known you’d be worth the wait.”