“Thank God you have only a few months before you go to college.”
He wanted to say the same back to her, but he refused to acknowledge that her following Doug to Georgia after they graduated was a good plan.
She sat up and he tried—not very successfully—to ignore how thin her tank top was. “So, now that we’ve established that parents suck, and I’ve completely embarrassed myself by dragging you out here for no reason, I should probably let you get back to whatever it was you were going to do tonight.”
Her tone was bright but he didn’t buy her bullshit. The fact that she kept glancing out the window told him everything he needed to know. “Well, I did have b-b-big plans to skateboard in the parking lot of the Ace Hardware tonight, but I could be persuaded to hang around a while if you agree to give me control over the r-r-remote.”
A smile crept onto her face. “Really?”
“And I expect popcorn.”
She laughed. “Done.”
“Then we have a deal.” He pushed up from the floor and she scooted off the bed.
Before he could take a step forward, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. The feel of her body against his was like an electric current plugging into his grid, lighting up all parts of him. He returned the embrace, wishing he could freeze the moment, bottle the scent of her.
“Thanks, Kaden,” she said against his chest. “I know this is probably the last way you wanted to spend a Friday night.”
He pulled back from the hug and looked down at her. God, how many times had he ached to be this close to her? Before he could let the nerves interfere, he pushed her hair behind her ears and let his hands linger on her shoulders. “Then you don’t know me very well because there’s no place I’d rather b-b-be.”
She stiffened briefly, like she always did when he crossed that invisible line. After their initial kiss that day in the cabin, he’d managed to keep things distant for a while. But as the months went on and they opened up about their lives to each other, the barriers had fallen down and more and more they were slipping up and touching each other with a familiarity that should be reserved for a couple. But he’d never taken it quite this far or admitted anything out loud.
“Kaden . . .” Her voice was barely audible in the quiet room.
“Why did you call me tonight instead of Doug? I know it’s not just because of the rule thing.”
Her gaze slid away. “You live closer, and he’s at a guys-only thing tonight.”
“Bullshit. That’s not why.”
She rolled her lips inward but still wouldn’t look at him. “Don’t make me say it.”
He sensed in that moment that it was now or never. He’d never get a better opportunity to make a stand and tell her exactly how he felt. “You called me because you knew you could trust me to t-t-take care of you. You called me because you’d rather spend time with m-me than him.”
She shook her head, but he could see she was blinking fast, fighting tears. “That’s not true.”
“Then look at me and tell me that. Look at me and tell me you don’t feel anything but friendship toward me. Tell me you l-l-love Doug, that it’s not about the money or his fancy family. That even if I had what he had, you’d choose him anyway.”
She lifted her gaze to him, a forlorn look in her eyes. “I love Doug and I’d choose him anyway.”
But he saw the truth there on her face as plain as it’d ever been. She was lying and it was killing her. He slid his hands up from her shoulders and cupped her face in the way he’d imagined so many times since that first kiss. “Then if that’s the case, t-t-tell me to stop.”
He gave her a beat of a moment then lowered his mouth to hers. She didn’t turn away, she didn’t stiffen, and she didn’t say stop. Instead, she whimpered into the connection and stepped closer to him, grabbing his waist. When he tried to deepen the kiss, her lips parted as if they’d been waiting for this moment as long as he had. His tongue touched hers and everything inside him went white hot and urgent. His fingers slid into her hair, and he kissed her like this would be the last girl he’d ever kiss in his life.
A soft moan slipped from her and it went straight to his groin. But he wasn’t going to worry about his body’s obvious reaction to her or be embarrassed. He wanted her to know what she did to him, how badly he wanted to touch her. He breathed her name into the kiss, and her hands slipped beneath the edge of his T-shirt, the soft touch of her fingers against his bare skin making his stomach clench in anticipation.
Without realizing it, they drifted the few steps toward the bed, hands and lips exploring each other with a kind of stunned wonder. Her touch grew more bold, her fingers tracking along his back beneath his shirt. She moved the fabric upward, as if trying to push it over his head. A brief moment of panic went through him. He didn’t go without his shirt even to swim. His pudgy years had scared him off of that. But when she made another breathy sound, he shoved the anxiety aside and pulled back from the kiss to tug his T-shirt up and off. If she wanted to touch him skin to skin, he’d be a fucking idiot not to let her.
She sat down on the bed and looked at him, really looked at him. And what he saw there soothed any remaining self-consciousness. If she cared that he didn’t have a six-pack, she sure didn’t show it. And, God, what a sight she was—wet lips and flushed cheeks. He was going to die if she told him to stop now. But even though he was afraid talking would break the moment, he also needed to be sure. “Tell me you want me to keep kissing you, Tess.”
He braced for her to run like last time, but she held out her hand to him, inviting him onto the bed. “I want you to keep kissing me.”
Thank you, God. He’d take that earlier threat of atheism back.
He climbed onto the bed and laid her against the pillows, then lowered in for another kiss. This time she wrapped her arms around his neck and they rolled to their sides. Everything inside Kade was flying. Nothing could be or ever would be better than this. Somehow he knew that. This was it for him. The way she smelled, the softness of her. And Lord, her taste—toothpaste and girl and lip gloss that had faded. He’d never forget it.
To his relief, she seemed just as eager for him. Each stroke of their tongues built his confidence and made him bolder. Following her lead from earlier, he let his fingers move beneath the bottom edge of her tank top, the smooth skin of her hip and belly like hallowed ground beneath his fingertips. He kept his touch easy, unsure of how far she wanted this to go. He wasn’t exactly experienced in determining the signs. He’d barely made it to second base with anyone before and none of his meager experience had been like this.