Before We Came (Lakes Hockey, #1)

by Sloane St. James

Giving control doesn’t mean losing autonomy. No one can control you unless you hand over the reins and let go.

“I remember!” He stabs his finger into his chest. “I remember enough for both of us. Do you want me to prove it? You triple-knotted your shoelaces for good luck. You wore overalls all the time and your right strap was always twisted. You were scared of ladybugs, but not spiders—which is really fucking strange, by the way. You dreamed of becoming a marine biologist when you grew up. When we played house, you made yourself the armadillo—yeah, armadillo—every goddamn time. You had the coolest rock collection. Oh, and your favorite ice cream flavor was cotton candy.”

“This changes things, Little Bird. It might not be tonight, but this thing between us isn’t going anywhere.”

As she comes, her stare bores into mine. In this moment, I would do anything for her. The connection between us sends me into my climax. I love her.

I decided to marry Bridget when I was eight. I don’t need to think anymore.

“Listen closely to me. If you think what we’re doing right now is just a hookup, you need to open those big gray eyes and look around. I’m all in with you. So I want all of you in return. You are the only woman who will ever own my heart, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you tear it apart either. I won’t accept anything less than forever from you. Do you understand?”