Fusion (Explosive #5) (31 page)

I mean, we were Jeremy and Sierra. I loved all of those fictional characters, but the truth was no one had anything on us. And they never would.

WHEN I WAS EIGHT
years old, I met the girl I knew I was going to marry. You’ve heard this already a time or two, so I’ll save you the long-winded speech about how pretty I thought her freckles were or how excited I was to meet a girl who liked Michelangelo as much as I did.

What I hadn’t known was that, ten years later, I’d be making love to that girl in the very spot in which we’d met.

What I hadn’t known was how terrified I’d be when that moment finally came.

What I’d had no clue of was that, as soon as I sank into Sierra’s sweet depths, I would be a man renewed.

I’d had hopes of going all the way with Sierra on graduation night. Not because it was a momentous occasion, but because she’d been dropping me hints here and there. So I’d packed up a picnic basket filled with champagne, fruit, and my boom box, ready to spend the night with my girl listening to the smooth sounds of soulful ’90s R&B music that could put anyone in the mood. And in the mood, it put us.

As soon as Sierra’s tight walls clamped around my dick, I knew that this is what I’d been waiting for. I hadn’t wanted a quick, frantic fuck in my bedroom, hurrying to be done before our parents got home. I hadn’t wanted the cliché hotel room on prom night, with fumbling fingers. I hadn’t known what I wanted.

I knew now.

It was Sierra telling me that she was ready, that she wanted to give herself to me. All of herself. It was holding the tip of my erection just inside her, gazing down into the depths of her beautiful eyes as I tried to convey just how much I loved her. Words would never have been enough. I had to show her with my actions, and even still, I was so frantic with worry that I’d hurt her that I had a hard time moving forward.

At least, I did until my sweet Sierra slid her fingertips up my spine and asked me to make love to her.

So I did.

I went as slowly as possible even though I had the primal urge to slam into her over and over and over again. The time would come for that, but at that point in time, there was no way in hell I was doing anything to hurt her.

Eventually, her whimpers turned into soft moans, and it wasn’t long before I was releasing into the condom, my face in her neck as I muttered her name.

The fond memory was one I’d always remember. It had been three weeks since we’d lost our virginities to each other, and the following three weeks were equally as, if not more, incredible than that first night. Sierra had needed a few days before she was ready to go again, and I can proudly announce that, during our second time together, my name was on her lips when she came. Since then, she’d become ravenous, as if she were trying to make up for lost time whenever we could sneak down to the beach or found ourselves alone in one of our houses.

I didn’t mind one bit. In fact, I was on my way to get her so we could take an overnight camping trip to Defuniak Springs, where I was looking forward to making love to Sierra in the very tent we used to sleep in when we were kids.

What could I say? She’d unleashed a monster.

As I crossed the yard to Sierra's house, I was nearly plowed over by a tear-stained and grief-stricken Lexi. When I called out to her to try to stop her, the only response was a hiccupping sob. A frown formed on my lips as she took off in a full sprint towards the neighborhood gazebo.

With a shrug, I turned back to the house and gave a short knock before entering. The second I walked in, I knew something was wrong. At the time, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but the reaction from Lexi and the blanched, guilty looks on Sierra's parents’ faces caused my heart to skip a beat—and not in a good way.

Sierra was sitting on the edge of the couch, biting her lip. She wasn't looking at me. In fact, no one was. It was as if I'd interrupted some sort of family meeting.

"Who died?" I asked jovially, trying to make light of whatever I'd just walked into.

Only, this time, no one laughed. Hell, I didn't even get a smile. Not one crack. Instead, Sierra's lower lip trembled and a wave of unease washed over me.

Fuck. Had someone actually died?

My eyes raced from my girlfriend to her parents, hoping for some sort of tell. I got nothing. They still weren’t looking at me.

"Okay, Sullivans. You're freaking me out a little bit. What's going on?" I asked.

Sierra sighed deeply and swallowed hard before rising to her feet. Her eyes flicked to her parents and then back to me. She had the same tear stains on her face.

"We're moving."

Talk about ripping the Band-Aid off.

I blinked.

I swallowed.

I blinked again.

All the while my heart was racing and my blood pressure was rising.

Sierra bit her cheek as she watched me, waiting for my response.

Well. Hell.

This was certainly unexpected.

"We are?" I finally asked, not missing the way both of her parents’ heads snapped in my direction. They obviously hadn’t been expecting that response.

Her eyebrows furrowed, but she didn't answer me.

"Where to?" I inquired.

Sierra's jaw fell open as if she were in shock. Why, I wasn't sure. I stared back, locking eyes with her. We were in some sort of weird, silent standoff, neither of us saying a word.

A throat cleared, and I broke my gaze from Sierra to see her father watching us, a stern, albeit apologetic look on his face.

"We'll let you two talk," he said before leading her mom out of the living room.

When my eyes fell back on Sierra, she had tears running down her cheeks. I crossed the room in two quick strides and stopped directly in front of her. Lifting my hands, I cupped her soft cheeks and used my thumbs to wipe the moisture away.

"Baby, why are you crying?"

She started blubbering and shaking her head, speaking rapidly. It was hard to make out, but I got the gist of it. Still, I wanted to be sure.

"Your dad's company is transferring him?"

She nodded.

"Your grandma's health has taken a turn for the worse?"

Another nod.

"And you don't want to leave me, but you don't want to leave your family, either?"

This time, a sigh accompanied her small nod. She tore her eyes away from me, seemingly ashamed. "This should be an easy decision, Jeremy. A no-freaking brainer. But the truth is I'm torn," she said, sounding defeated.

I didn’t really know why. It wasn’t like I was going to let her go alone. I could’ve been freaking out, running around, making plans and changes for my future, but the truth was, as long as she was in that future, I would take whatever came my way. I just needed to make that clear.

I lifted her chin and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. When I pulled back, her lashes fluttered until she was looking up at me.

"Hey," I whispered. "Who says you have to choose?"

Her eyes widened as she shook her head. "You have plans, Jeremy. You've already been accepted to Alabama. Long distance would've sucked, but it was different when we were only going to be a few hours apart. Now, if I decide to go with them, we’ll be twelve hours away and we’ll never see each other!” She sobbed into my shirt.

It dawned on me that I still hadn’t told her about my plans to switch to UWF. Sex had apparently fucked with my memory.

I shrugged. "I didn't have plans, Sierra. We did. And plans change. You adapt. Hell, look at McAllister. He was set to play baseball for the Tide, but then he decided he’d rather spend his life serving his country. It happens all the time. I’ll adapt.”

Her face fell. "God, don't even bring up Jace around Lexi. She had a freaking fit as soon as she heard the news."

I winced, knowing how big of a crush she had on the guy. "Yeah, I saw her take off down towards the gazebo looking pretty upset. From having to leave Jace?”

She nodded and let out a heavy sigh. "I should probably go see if she's okay." She rose up on her tiptoes, and her lips brushed mine. "We'll talk about this later, okay?"

"Okay."

As she started to walk away, I grabbed her hand and yanked her hard, causing her to crush into my chest.

"Sierra, you have me. You always have. You always will. I don't care if we're in Florida, Georgia, or freaking Norway. Where you go, I go, and that will never change."

"Jeremy—" she began, but I held a finger to her lips, silencing her.

"I love you, Sierra. We'll figure it out. Together."

She smiled softly and nodded. "I love, you, too. I don’t know what I’d do without you."

The grin on my face couldn’t have been wider if I’d stretched my skin. I was that sure about what I was doing.

“Then it’s a good thing you’ll never have to find out.” I gave her a reassuring smile as she slipped out the front door. Instead of following her, however, I didn't move from my spot in the living room. After a few minutes of going over my game plan, I knew what I had to do.

I had plans to make. And my first stop? Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. As I made my way towards the kitchen, I prayed like hell that they'd agree.

If they didn’t, I’d figure something else out.

When my parents sat Lexi and me down and told us that we were moving, I barely had time to react before she let out a sob and ran from the room. To say I was shell-shocked would've been an understatement. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was feeling until Jeremy walked in, and in true Jeremy fashion, he made a joke, trying to elicit even the faintest smile.

Only, this time, he couldn't. And, as soon as I saw his face, I knew how I felt.

Heartbroken.

It's not that I wasn't ready to be an independent eighteen-year-old college freshman. I was. At the same time, I understood why Dad had accepted the job transfer. Grandma Nancy had recently suffered a stroke, and he wanted to be near her, especially with not knowing how much longer she had. I was torn. I wanted to be with my family. I wasn't financially ready to strike out on my own, and I couldn't imagine paying living expenses while trying to pass my college classes. I also couldn’t expect my parents to pay for me to live in the dorms when I could easily live with them.