Play With Me (Playing for Keeps, #2)

by Becka Mack

Poor guy hasn’t figured out that I’m caviar; he can’t afford me no matter how hard he tries.

“I just wanna love you out loud. Why won’t you let me love you out loud?”

“Living without your soul mate is something no one should ever have to do,” Hank murmurs. He pats my hand. “I know there’s something extra special waiting for you, Jennie. A love above all the rest. That’s what a soul mate is. Someone with smooth edges to soften our sharp ones. Someone who fits us so perfectly, vibrates on the same frequency, makes all our best parts shine. And together? Together, everything is exactly the way it’s meant to be.”

I changed my mind. I want her, and I’m gonna have her.

“That’s you, sunshine. You’re my favorite dessert.” With my hand on her throat, I haul her into me. Breathless, she clings to me as I whisper my next words.

“C’mon, Jennie. Play with me.”

“C’mon, Jennie. Dance with me.” Her grin is a slow explosion, lighting her whole face as all that apprehension fades away. “You’ll dance for me?” “I’ll do anything for you.” Spinning her into me, I wind an arm around her

“I’m so fucking tired of pretending I’m not in love with you.”

I can stand on my own, but I don’t have to. I’m allowed to be one part of a whole. I’m allowed to choose love.

Real love isn’t conditional. It’s seeing somebody for everything they are and accepting all of them. It’s knowing you’re friends first and lovers second, understanding that arguments are opportunities to know each other deeper. It’s dinner waiting in the microwave, lights left on to welcome you home safely. It’s showering together so you can kiss a little longer. It’s two a.m. secrets spilled while you’re wrapped up in each other, dancing in the kitchen, Disney movies on the couch while crying your heart out. It’s supporting dreams, growing together, and growing separately.

Because when you can stand strong on your own, you can stand strong together.