All Chapters of Dying to Love You: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

SAMANTHA~The memory of our night on the roof had replayed in my mind all week, Rafael's hands exploring my body, his lips against my skin, the whispered promises. Each touch had ignited something inside me I couldn't extinguish, a hunger that grew with every kiss we shared.Today marked two weeks since our first kiss in the garage. Two weeks of stolen moments, of learning each other's bodies, of pushing boundaries but never quite crossing the final one. Not because we didn't want to, god knows we both did, but because something always stopped us. May coming home early, Rafael's father calling unexpectedly, or my own body betraying me with a coughing fit that killed the mood faster than a bucket of ice water.But tonight was different. May was visiting our aunt in Portland for the weekend. Rafael's father was at some business dinner. And my lungs, for once, seemed to be cooperating.I stared at item six on my bucket list; [ Lose my virginity] . The words seemed so clinical, so ina

What followed was a dance of awkward fumbling and breathless discovery. Jeans that stuck at ankles, nervous laughter that dissolved into gasps as we explored newly exposed skin. There was no script, no choreography, just two people figuring it out together with equal parts enthusiasm and uncertainty."Is this okay?" Rafael asked repeatedly, his hands tentative as they traced the curves of my body, as if afraid I might shatter beneath his touch."More than okay," I assured him each time, guiding him when necessary, learning what made him groan in response.When we were finally naked, facing each other with nothing left to hide behind, I felt a moment of panic. Not about the act itself, but about what it represented, this irrevocable step into a future that, for me, had a definite endpoint. Was it fair to give him this part of myself when I couldn't promise him tomorrow, let alone forever?"Hey," Rafael murmured, noticing my distraction. "Where'd you go just now?"I forced a smile. "Now

RAFAEL ~ Sex changed everything and nothing at all. Three days after our first time together, I still couldn't stop thinking about the way Sam had felt beneath me, the sounds she'd made, the way she'd whispered my name like a fucking prayer. It played on loop in my mind while I worked on engines, ate breakfast, tried to sleep. The memory of her skin against mine was a constant distraction, both torture and salvation. But in other ways, we were the same Sam and Raf we'd always been. Still bickering over what movies to watch, still finishing each other's sentences, still calling each other those stupid nicknames that somehow meant more now. "Earth to Moreno," Jen's voice cut through my daydream. "You planning to fix that carburetor or just stare at it all day?" I blinked, focusing on the disassembled parts in front of me. "Sorry. Got distracted." "No shit." She tossed a rag at my head. "You've been walking around with your head in the clouds all week. Either that girl finally put

"Sam, I'm — " The warning died in my throat as she doubled her efforts, determined to follow through. My back arched off the bed as release slammed into me, white-hot and all-consuming. She stayed with me through the aftershocks, gentling her movements until I trembled from oversensitivity.When she finally pulled away, lips glistening and hair in disarray, she looked up at me with a mix of pride and uncertainty. "Was that..?"I dragged her up my body before she could finish the question, kissing her deeply. She made a surprised sound but melted into it, the taste of myself on her tongue somehow erotic rather than strange."Fucking perfect," I murmured against her mouth. My hands shook as they roamed her body, eager to return the favor. "Now let me show you..."Afterward, we lay tangled together in her narrow bed, the afternoon sun casting golden light across her skin. I traced the freckles on her shoulder, connecting them into imaginary constellations."What are you thinking about?"

I felt sick, caught between rage at the violation and a desperate need to believe him. "So all those visits to the bakery, the books, the interest in me, that was just you scoping out a lab rat?""No," he insisted, looking genuinely offended. "My interest in the bakery and in you as a person is genuine. I approached your case differently because I..""Because what?" I prompted when he trailed off."Because I know what it's like to watch CF take someone you love." he admitted. "My cousin died two years ago. She was twenty-six."The shared detail from our earlier hospital conversation clicked into place. His cousin hadn't just had CF—she'd died from it."That doesn't excuse going behind my back," I said, though some of the heat had left my voice."You're right. It doesn't." He stepped back, giving me space. "But I'm not sorry for trying to help. This treatment could change everything for you, Sam."The door chime from the front of the bakery interrupted us. "Sam? You here?" May's voice