Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
She knew Wells and Matty had gotten into a fight, so he shrugged. “He’s on his way here, so we’ll see.”
“He’ll come,” his mom said then, waving him off.
Matty’s brows pulled in. “How do you know?”
“He told me so.”
Matty could only blink. “Huh? You don’t even know him.”
“He left here maybe an hour ago.”
“He was there? And an hour ago? That means he should be here any second as long as he didn’t hit traffic.”
“Which we all know he will since it’s New York,” Avery supplied, but Matty was still convinced Wells’s arrival was imminent.
“Why was he there?”
“He came to talk to your dad and me.”
Matty was flabbergasted, his jaw dropping. “Wait, what? Why?”
“Because I wanted them to know my intentions toward you.”
At the sound of Wells’s voice, Matty whipped around, his jaw still hanging open, to find Wells in the doorway, a small smile on his gorgeous and rugged face. “You really should start locking this door. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”
“Mom, I gotta call you back.”
Hanging up the phone, he threw it down on the counter before looking back at Wells. He slowly pushed the door, his eyes on Matty as it closed. “You went to see my dad?” Matty asked incredulously.
“Yeah, my dad suggested that maybe it would help. Make things a little smoother for you. I also wanted him to know that I respect them, both of your parents, but I will be with you because I love you, and no one will ever keep me from being with you.”
“Not even me?” Matty asked, his voice breaking. “Because I’m a pain in the ass.”
Wells swallowed hard as he shook his head, his eyes never leaving Matty’s. “No, not even you.”
Unable to handle it, Matty headed right for Wells and then collapsed into his arms. Their lips met at almost the same exact moment as Matty squeezed his eyes shut, his arms going around Wells’s neck and pulling him closer. Leaning back, he kissed the side of Wells’s mouth, and their eyes met as Matty shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I wasn’t thinking, and I was freaking out. I’m really fucking sorry.”
But Wells shook his head, grasping at Matty’s biceps. “No, I was a dick. I expected too much from you when you’d just had it out with your dad. I’m an asshole.”
“No, Wells, really. You’re not. I had already burned you once, it was expected.”
“Yeah, but I promised that I would be understanding, that I would stand beside you no matter what, and I kind of fucked that all up.”
Closing his eyes, Matty pressed his nose into Wells’s. “From the very moment I met you, Wells, I’ve been hesitant and too worried about what everyone else would think, when all I really should have been worried about was what you thought and what I felt. Wells, when I’m with you, I feel complete.”
Kissing Matty’s top lip, Wells smiled. “Your mom says that’s ’cause you’re a bit immature.”
Matty grinned as he met Wells’s gaze. “She might be right, but that’s not the case anymore. Well, I still might be immature, but I don’t care about anything else but you, me, and hockey. My family…they’re insane, and my dad can hate me and you for the rest of our lives, and I wouldn’t care. You honestly resuscitate me, you give me a reason for being, and I can’t live without that.”
Wells fought back a grin. “Wow, you’re laying it on thick.”
Matty shot him a look, digging his fingers into Wells’s back, his eyes locked with his. “Because I want you to know I can’t be without you, I just can’t. Because in the middle of this crazy fucking world, there is only you, smiling back at me. And, Wells, I fucking need that.”
“Matty—”
“No, listen, for real. I need you because you make me feel needed, important, and for a long time, I longed for that. You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted to give everything up for, and I don’t even feel guilty about that. I just want to love you.”
“That’s all I want. We have the advantage—do you see that now? Together, we can win.” Matty’s eyes started to cloud as Wells reached up, holding his face, his eyes burning into his. “Matty, I knew the moment I met you that you were it. I didn’t care who you were, I didn’t care how old you were, or if you were in the closet. I just had to have you. We click, we complement each other—”
“You complement me, not me for you.”
But Wells shook his head. “No, it goes both ways. Don’t you get it? This is it. This, right here, us—we have what people wish they could have, and I refuse to give that up.”
“Me too,” Matty agreed, his breathing heavy as he got lost in Wells’s eyes. “And nothing can ever change that.”