Wildflower (Colors #4) by Jessica Prince Page B

shit-eating grin stretching across my lips.
    “She’s quite the looker, if I do say so myself,” Ms. Kathy offered up, telling me something I already knew, good and well. “Always was such a beauty, but she’s grown into a stunning woman.” Her left eyebrow cocked slyly. “She’s probably still here. If you hurry, you might just catch her.”
    Oh, I had every intention of catching her… and keeping her this time. But the old woman didn’t need to know that. “I might just do that, Ms. Kathy.” I knocked my knuckles against the scarred wood grain of the countertop and stepped back. “You have a good evening, now. And don’t get into too much trouble.”
    I knew exactly where I could find her. And as the sound of my boots hitting the tiled floor resonated against the lockers of the empty hallway, it took everything in me not to break into a sprint just to get to her faster.
    The door to the photography classroom stood wide open. Harlow’s back was to the doorway as she stood in the middle of the room, looking around as though she was trying to take everything in.
    Christ, Ms. Kathy wasn’t lying. Every time I laid eyes on Harlow I couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. Propping my shoulder against the door frame, I crossed my arms over my chest and just soaked up as much of her as I could. Even after all these years, just the sight of her was like a punch to the gut. My body reacted the same way every single time. My breathing escalated, my heart beat a frantic rhythm against my ribcage, my fingers itched to touch her. And my cock grew painfully hard behind the fly of my slacks.
    Jesus, it was like I was a teenager all over again and had no fucking control over my own body. It was in that very moment I questioned how I managed to go even a day, let alone nearly six years without her in my life. Getting her back wasn’t just something I wanted . It was necessary. I’d been stuck living half a life since the day she walked away from me. I was ready to be whole again.
    I just needed to find a way to convince her she felt the same.
    Not wanting her to catch me totally creeping on her, I cleared my throat loudly to announce my presence.
    Her body gave a startled jolt. “Oh, God,” she breathed as she spun around, hand to her chest. “You scared the shit out of me,” she laughed nervously.
    I uncrossed my arms and lifted my hands in surrender as I smiled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Just heard the news and wanted to come congratulate you.”
    I hated the fact that her smile was still hesitant when aimed in my direction. I had hoped we’d moved past that after having spent Thanksgiving together, but obviously there were still some misgivings on her part.
    “Thanks,” she offered as she scanned the room again. “God, it doesn’t look like it changed a bit since the last time I was here.”
    Taking her words to mean that she was open to conversation, I pushed off the doorframe and stepped into the room, mindful to keep my hands in my pockets as I approached. The temptation to reach out and run my fingers across her cheekbone just to see if her skin was as soft as I remembered was too strong. I didn’t fully trust myself.
    “Yeah, not much has changed in this place, really.”
    “Oh look!” Harlow declared as she pointed to the back wall that was covered in photographs that had been taped in place. “It’s still here. I remember taping this one up myself.”
    Following her to the wall, I leaned in to see what picture she was pointing at. I had no clue how she spotted it in the hodgepodge of pictures that covered every inch of the wall’s white surface, but sure enough, a picture of her and Chloe hung in the center of the collage. They were hugging tightly as they smiled excitedly into the camera, the crowd around them had their arms raised in celebration. I remembered the exact day that picture was taken. It was the Homecoming game our senior year. Chloe and Harlow had been in the stands for