Breathe Again Read Online Free Page A

Savannah huddled closely behind him. Her eyes flew around the room, trying to reacquaint herself with my apartment. I lifted the beer bottle to my lips and took a desperate gulp, but my eyes never left her. Her eyes hadn’t seen me yet.
    “Savannah motherfucking Rae!” Jack’s voice roared through the apartment as I watched him rush towards her, wrapping his arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. Fuck, I wanted his arms to be mine.
    “Jack motherfucking Hayes!” Sav retorted, and I couldn’t help but smile. I was watching her like a hawk and I didn’t give a shit who saw. Her eyes rose over Jack’s shoulder and finally her eyes met mine. I felt like the world stopped spinning, like the world went silent for us. My life had stopped the moment I’d left her in New York. Now, here she was. I wanted nothing more than to rush across the room, throw her over my shoulder, and lock her in my room for hours while I ravished and loved every part of her body, but I knew the ball was in her court. I would wait patiently. Fuck it—patience wasn’t one of my strongest qualities.
    Her eyes never faltered from mine, and I refused to break. I heard voices floating around me but nothing mattered except her. She had visited me so many times in my dreams, but having her here was the best fucking gift in the world. Nothing was ripping me away from this moment; I had waited too long to see her.
    Her eyes found Jack’s again as he leaned in and whispered something to her. My breath stilled. Without a moment’s hesitation, both sets of their eyes found mine across the room and Jack moved quickly back to where Tanzi was watching the scene unfold in front of her, her mouth agape and her eyes wide.
    Fuck this. I took off and walked across the room towards her. Her eyes widened quickly before dropping down to the floor.
    “Savannah?” My voice hitched. Without restraint, my hand rose and cupped her cheek before reality punched me in the guts. I couldn’t touch her—not without her permission. I ripped my hand away from her and took a step back. It killed me.
    “Hi, Tate,” she breathed out. Her eyes traveled over my face and she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. Awkwardness soon rushed around us, and I lost all ability to speak. What the hell was wrong with me? I had a thousand things I could say to her, a thousand words I was desperate for her to hear, but I was totally mute.
    “Tate, get your ass over here. We are having shots and there is a tequila shot with your name on it.” Jack’s voice sounded, breaking the trance I was currently in.
    “I miss tequila,” Sav whispered, and a smile rose on her lips. The tension between us dissipated for a brief second, and suddenly it felt like everything was normal.
    “Want me to have one for you?”
    “Have two.” Sav smiled before she broke away and rushed over to where Lucas was sitting on the edge of the couch, chatting with Tanzi. My eyes followed her and I finally took a breath.
    The afternoon continued in a blur of tequila shots and Long Island Iced Teas. It had been the consensus of all the guests that Jack and I would drink Savannah’s share, and considering that her drink of choice was tequila and Long Islands, there was no chance in hell I wasn’t getting plastered tonight.
    My eyes fixated on her for the whole afternoon, and all I wanted to do was escape into the confines of her heart and sort out the shitstorm that was surrounding us. As day soon turned into night and the party guests started moving over to Red Velvet, it ended up just being the five of us left in the apartment, waiting for Jack’s beloved pizza to arrive.
    Slipping into the tub chair in the corner of the living room, I narrowed my attention to where Sav was sitting close to Lucas on the couch. It almost looked like she was craving protection from him.
    I was desperate for her to look at me. I knew my eyes had the potential to lock her in, and I was willing to try anything and everything to get