Breaking Free: A Living Again Novella by L.L. Collins Page B

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.