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"you are exactly, precisely, and perfectly what I've waited for"
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Warning: Mature content
The freezing air hits my skin as I follow Sterling outside, and goosebumps raise across my arms.
He stops in place, turning around to face me. "I've given you your time, but enough is enough. We need to talk, now."
My heart immediately drops to my stomach and I suck in a deep breath of air.
"Sterling, it's cold, and I don't have my jacket." I try to get out of this.
He shakes his head and takes his own suit jacket off, hanging it off my shoulders. "Now you do."
"Sterling," I protest in a murmur.
"No, no more waiting. I can't do this anymore. It's too hard." He looks exasperated as he runs a hand through his soft brown hair. "Laney, I was yours the moment I laid my eyes on you. You own me. You consume me. Every one of my thoughts is about you. Everything I do is for you. No other girl existed the moment I knew you did."
I'm speechless. His words leave me literally unable to talk.
"Tell me it didn't mean anything," he fills my silence.
"What?"
"The kiss, tell me it didn't mean anything."
"I– I can't," I admit in a stutter.
He looks pleased with my answer. "And why not?"
"Because it did. It did mean something. It meant a lot, okay? There, I said it." I raise my voice out of desperation and urgency.
He grabs my face with both his hands tilting my head up. "Delaney, look at me."
The use of my full name gets him what he wants, and I do as he says.
He scans my face thoroughly. "What are you so scared of?"
I break free from his hold, backing up a few steps.
"Losing you! Don't you get it? I want this, as much as you do, but it's scary! What if the risk isn't worth it? What if something happens and I lose not only you but everyone else I've met because of you? Daisy, Mason, Theo, Owen, Luke, Charlotte, " I yell.
"Laney." His voice is calm, somehow, clearly trying to get me to calm down with him.
"What?" My defeated eyes meet his piercing green ones.
"Do you want to know how I know this is worth it?"
