The grace of a ballet dancer and the speed of a Ferrari wrapped up into a beautiful human, and I was kissing her.
And here she was, kissingme. Someone who hadn’t earned that honor at all. Not even close. But I was determined to fix that.
Grace abruptly pulled away, and her eyes shot wide. “Oh shit.”
Her legs loosened around me, and her arms slid from around my neck. “I…didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay,” I whispered. I wouldn’t mind another one, actually.
“No.” She leaned back and slid down the front of me. “It’s not okay. I—that was—I can’t believe I did that.” She covered her face with her hand and turned away from me.
Okay, that wasn’t the response I was hoping for, but I got it.
“Hey.” I hustled around to stand in front of her. “Forget about what just happened.”Take your own advice.I cleared my throat. “Focus on the fact that you did it. You got the hand off.”
She huffed, mumbling something under her breath I couldn’t make out. She was holding her necklace, more the charm on it, and running it back and forth along the chain. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes were closed.
“It took a billion tries and then I didthat.”
That as in the kiss?
I cleared my throat. “You’ll get better. This is literally your first time trying with your left hand.” I gave her shoulder a little squeeze, but she stepped out from my touch.
“I can’t believe I kissed you. That’s…that’s not like me. I—”
“I didn’t hate it, you know.” I smiled, ducking into her line of sight.
“That’s not the point, Preach.” She held up her injured wrist. “It’s not like things are on the up-and-up with us.”
Ouch.Man, this girl said what was on her mind. She was right, though. It surprised me how much I enjoyed her kiss. But why wouldn’t I? She was amazing. But I’d hurt her. Badly, too. And not just physically by crushing her wrist with my Jeep.
I’d been pretty mean to her.
To lots of people.
“Come on,” Grace said. “We should…we should keep practicing—”
“Kissing? Sure,” I teased. “You’re right. We should practice some more.”
She huffed, shifting her focus to the ground. “I meant the hand-offs.”
“Oh.” I sagged dramatically, hoping to get a smile out of her.
Was I that terrible of a kisser? I knew I didn’t have much practice. I’d only had, like, two girlfriends, and I’d never kissed either of them like I’d kissed Grace.
“I’m sorry, Grace.”
She grabbed the baton she’d thrown, then looked up at me. Her big, blue gaze latched onto me, and it knocked the wind out of me. I hated the confusion I saw in her eyes. The fear. That was not a good look on her. She’d just been so happy, and now…
“I’m sorry I hit you.” I gulped through the emotions choking me. “I know I said it earlier, but I want you to know I really mean it. And I’m sorry for how I treated you after.”
She nodded.
“You didn’t deserve that.”
She focused on the baton she held, not saying anything. Her jaw ticked like she was grinding her teeth and she shifted her weight from one foot to another.
This wasn’t looking good for me.