Brantley's POV:

As Delaney and I walked the halls of the building, me showing her all the changes that I'd made and telling her what each room would be, I had to fight the urge to pin her to the nearest wall and slam my mouth down over hers. There was no denying that the attraction from all those years ago was still there. Hell, if anything, it had only intensified; whether that was because it had been a long time since I had kissed another woman or even thought about being with someone again, I didn't know. All I knew was that when I'd watched her eyes water at the same time as mine had as I talked about making the school everything that I hoped it could be, and then seeing her sink her teeth into her bottom lip –a lip that I wanted to take a damn bite out of and see if it was a soft and plump as it looked– my cock had twitched with interest, telling me that I was still alive and that I had needs.

But she was just coming off a divorce and I was still dealing with the pain caused from losing Amber.

The conversation I had with myself –the one that had me talking to Amber as if she had been sitting with me just like old times– came back to me as Delaney and I walked into what would be the school's library. It was the only room in the entire building that was ready to be filled with books, tables, and computers; all of which were sitting in a storage unit just waiting for the day that they could be placed.

Delaney stepped away from me, my palm instantly missing the touch of her warm skin. As I watched her take in the room, my words of how I wouldn't argue with fate when I felt something with someone filled my mind, making me wonder if I had in fact found the person that Amber hand picked for me.

Delaney had a smile on her face and her eyes danced with glee as she slowly spun in the center of the room, taking it all in.

"Amber always believed that reading was an escape from reality, a way to take a trip –to experience things that you might never get the chance to. She believed that every child, no matter what reading level, deserved access to books in all genres.I wanted this place to represent that." I say, walking more into the room. I didn't realize I was drawn to Delaney until I was standing next to her again, my hand landing on the small of her back once more.

"I agree with her." she said, smiling up at me. "I have always encouraged a healthy reading habit to all my students, even if it meant that they were reading books that were below their reading level. The way I look at it, even if they are reading books that don't challenge them, they are still reading and broadening their horizons."

Delaney's words hit me like a semi-truck. Not because they were bad in any way but because they were pretty much word for word something that Amber had said once when talking about the importance of reading, when she was pleading her case to the community about installing Little Free Libraries that are now scattered all over town.

Whether it was the memory of how passionate Amber had been when she said those words, the woman standing in front of me, the fact that I simply wanted to fill something beside loss, or if I was tired of fighting the urge to kiss her, I don't know. All I know is that one minute I'm looking down into her green eyes and the next, my lips were pressed against her as my hands gripped her cheeks.

The jolt of electricity I'd felt from the simple touch of our fingers was stronger as my lips pressed against hers. A growl escaped me when she leaned more into the kiss, letting me take it at my own pace. Her hands fisted in my t-shirt as she pressed herself against the front of me. My cock turned to stone then, demanding to be freed from the confines of my jeans.

I felt drunk –but in the best fucking way possible– when I finally broke the kiss. But instead of stepping away from Delaney, I held her close to me and looked down into her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction. It didn't matter that my cock throbbed between us and that she could feel it. It didnt matter that her hard nippled poked though her shirt and into my chest. All that mattered was that for the first time, I felt my age again. I felt alive and I felt as if everything in my life was about to change.

When Delaney went to speak, I placed my index finger over her lips, silencing her.

"Nope, don't even think about apologizing for what just happened." I said. "If anyone should do that, it should be me. But you know what, that's not going to happen because apologizing means that I am sorry for what happened. And I'm not. Not in the least."

"Neither am I." she said once I dropped my finger from her lips. "I do have a confession to make though."

"Really?"

"Yeah." she said, a blush creeping over her skin. "I've wanted to do what we just did since I was a freshman in high school."

"Well, I have a confession too." I said, pulling her even tighter against me. I dipped my head and placed my lips close to her ear as I whispered "so have I."

My words had arching her back so that she was looking me in the eye. I saw the look of disbelief written all over her face before she even had the chance to say the words. "I– I didn't think you even knew who I was back then."

"Laney, I've always seen you. It's just that... Well, I was with Amber and you seemed unattainable since we ran in different circles. You were the good girl who followed the rules and I was the guy who wanted to break every single rule ever made."

"And you're saying you're any different now?"

"Hell no." I laughed, lifting a hand and cupping her cheek. I let my thumb glide over her smooth skin, loving the face that she wasn't one of those women that felt the need to wear heavy makeup to hide their skin. Not that there's anything wrong with women who did, it was just that I preferred my woman to not feel the need to hide behind the things that they felt hid whatever flaws they thought they had.

My woman...

I pushed those words to the back of my mind to analyze later.

"So, umm, what happens now?" asked Delaney. I could hear the nervousness in her tone.

"What do you want to happen?"

"Brantley, I..." she said, pausing as if she was trying to process what she wanted to say.

"Laney, why don't we just play them by ear and see what happens. A very wise man told me not too long ago that we never know what could happen if we open ourselves up to the possibility of change." I said, sort of paraphrasing what her father had told me in the barn the day that he, Delaney, and her kids had come over to get puppies. My thumb glided over her buttery-soft skin once more as I locked eyes with her. "I don't know that I'm ready to start anything serious with anyone yet but I do know that I want to spend time with you and see what happens. If spending time together develops into something more than just friendship, then I will embrace it. But I won't rush into anything. Just like I know that you aren't ready to rush into anything either. You need time to get your head on straight, to find out who you are now that you are back in Jefferson, to help your kids adjust to the major changes going on in their lives."

"Okay." she whispered. It was a simple answer, but the fact that she agreed with me, that she wanted to see what could happen, meant everything to me.

Unable to help myself, I dipped my head back down and placed my lips over hers again, this time making the kiss soft, sweet, and sensual. Damn it felt good to hold her like this, to kiss her lips, to have her lean into it, to hear her moan softly as I kissed her.

My body wanted so much more but I'd promised to take this slow for her sake and for mine. So, when I couldn't stand the thought of kissing her a minute longer before I ripped her clothes off, I broke the kiss and stepped away from her –even if my body rioted against the movement. Shamelessly, I adjusted my cock through my jeans, trying to position the throbbing appendage in a way that didn't hurt to walk. As I did, I could feel her eyes on me, and it only made me want to say fuck what I just sad and have her naked in record time. But I was a gentleman, and my word was my everything. That didn't mean that when I got home that II wasn't going to stroke my cock to the image of her body pressed against mine, to the sounds of her moans as I'd dominated the kiss. And I wasn't sorry about it in the least.

"How about we finish that tour?" I said after a while.

This time, instead of gesturing for her to take the lead, I stepped towards her, placed a chaste kiss on her lips, and placed my hand on her back, guiding her out of the library.

Delaney's POV:

Holy SHIT!

Those were the only two words that replayed in my mind as Brantley and continued on with the tour of the school. I felt like I was floating, like I was on cloud nine. And all because my teenage dream of kissing Brantley-freaking-Gilbert had finally come true. And it was so much better than I had ever imagined it would be. I'm not kidding when I say that his lips were addicting. So addicting in fact that I couldn't wait for the next time that I got the chance to have his lips pressed against mine.

Part of me wished at that moment that I was more of the assertive type, that I could act on what I wanted and not wonder if I would be judged for it. But that wasn't me. I wasn't the type to take what I wanted from a man; never had been. Hell, I'd never wanted to be that girl. But with Brantley, I did. Especially when his hand would caress the small of my back when we would stop and he would talk about what this room or that would be when construction was complete.

And when the tour was over and I knew that our time had come to an end, I wanted even more to be the assertive girl that made a move.

I'd been trying to build the courage to act on what I wanted as I climbed into my SUV. But before I could, Brantley leaned into the cabin of the SUV and placed his lips against mine, his fingers tangling in my hair as he angled my head like he wanted. My hands fisted in the front of his shirt pulling him more towards me, my body reacting to his actions.

Before things could get too heated, Brantley broke the kiss and stood to his full height. "I'll see you around Laney. Drive safe."

And then he walked away, leaving me breathless.