Playing Evelyn

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I’d made it all of two steps before I stopped. “Screw London,” I muttered as I whirled around just in time to see Gabriel running back towards me, his leather jacket flapping as his long strides brought him in front of me quickly.

For a second we just stood there, staring at each other. His eyes were searching mine and I saw the uncertainty there but it was quickly replaced by determination as he bent his head towards me, capturing my lips with his own. I immediately surrendered to the kiss, winding my arms around his waist as his hands cupped my cheeks before tangling in my hair. My hands traveled up his back and he groaned before pulling away.

“Don’t go,” he said, staring down at me. “I know it’s a good opportunity and everything but don’t take it. You’re amazing, Evelyn, you’ll be able to make it even if you stay here. Just go to Clayton like you’d planned. Stay with Close All Doors. Stay with me,” he whispered, his blue eyes so dark that they were nearly black as they looked into mine.

“Okay,” I whispered, leaning in to kiss him again.

He pulled back and his gaze turned shocked. “What?”

“Okay,” I said, frustrated that he kept moving away from me.

He untangled his hands from my hair and planted them on my shoulders, holding me at arm’s length and looking me in the eye. “What do you mean, okay?”

I sighed. “Well, if you had taken just one second to actually listen to me, then I would’ve told you that I have no intention of going to London and I never did. Instead, you jumped to conclusions and you told me very rudely to leave the country before you booked it out of there. Then, when I ran after you all you could do was give me a cold look, yell at me, and run away without asking for a single explanation.”

He looked stunned as he stared down at me, his hands tightening on my shoulders. “So you’re not leaving the country.”

I shook my head, putting my hands on my hips in frustration. “Definitely not. I’ve been accepted to Clayton University where I’ll be studying music with the rest of my band mates.”

“Really,” he asked, a crooked smile breaking across his face and I felt my lips turn up at the corners before I caught the action and frowned.

“Yes.” His smile got a little more crooked as he leaned closer to me. I resisted a bit, wanting to make him pay for nearly breaking my heart.

“Good,” he whispered as he pulled me closer, my resistance waning.

“I’m still mad at you,” I said sternly.

“Really?” he whispered into my ear, planting kisses along my jaw and moving towards my mouth. “Still?” His lips brushed lightly against mine as he spoke, making me shiver.

“Huh?” I asked, straining towards his lips finally connecting fully. I made a sound in the back of my throat as I pressed my body against his, craving the contact. Our kisses became more frantic as our hands moved wildly over each other.

“Public street,” I gasped during a brief pause for air.

“What?” Gabriel mumbled as he kissed his way down my neck.

“We’re in public,” I said breathlessly and he pulled back, looking down at me as if through a fog.

He blinked a couple times and I couldn’t help but smile at his expression. His mouth stretched into an answering smile as his eyes became less focused once again. He reached a hand up and brushed a strand of hair off my cheek before leaning in to kiss me lightly on the lips.