Maybe that’s a crazy thing to think after one kiss from one guy. Or maybe the heart knows best, and my heart and my body wanted him. We had that kind of synch, that kind of connection, as if were meant to kiss each other.
Always.
We couldn’t stop. We kissed all through the final scene, and on through the credits, and during that awkward moment when everyone else shuffled past us. Finally, when the lights rose, he pulled apart.
“Wow,” he said, breathing hard.
“Wow indeed.”
He brushed a strand of hair from my cheek, then rested his forehead against mine. He gripped my hand tighter, as if he were making a very important point. “Kat, I’ve wanted to do that since I first met you in the driveway the other day.”
“You have?” I ask, and butterflies took flight inside me. Sure, he’d just kissed me like I was his air, but still you want to hear it. I wanted to hear everything from him. I’d fallen so far for him, and I needed him to be there to catch me.
“Yes. You were so pretty, and then you were everything else. I have loved spending time with you. I have loved going to the movies with you and working together in the store and talking about Paris, and everything else.”
My heart soared. “I thought you were pretty hot too when I met you. And I’ve loved all those things too.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “You thought I was hot?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sitting here in the movie theater making out with you. This is a surprise that I thought you were hot?”
“What can I say? I like hearing it from a beautiful woman,” he said.
I blushed, and he ran his thumb over my cheek. “That’s adorable that you blushed.”
“Stop,” I said playfully, and he silenced my protest with a quick kiss. This one didn’t last more than five seconds but it felt like the promise of so much more. More kisses, more moments, more than this one.
“But listen, Kat,” he started and I froze, my eyes going wide with fear because sentences that start with but listen don’t end well. “Hey, it’s okay. I was just going to say I don’t think we should mention this to Nate. He’s so focused on the job interview right now, and this would only worry him, and I don’t want to do that.”
“I can keep secrets,” I said, and this felt like exactly the kind of secret I’d like keeping. One that made me feel special, and beautiful, and wanted by this gorgeous man who’d strolled into my life unexpectedly. I never imagined I’d have fallen for my brother’s best friend, but there it was, happening and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
* * *
Bryan
The waves lapped the shore with that calming rhythm of the ocean’s nighttime low tide – a slow sort of whoosh, then the moon pulled the water back out to sea. It was the perfect soundtrack for midnight kissing, and I swear I couldn’t get enough of her.
Maybe it’s because I knew I wouldn’t go any further. Not now at least. Not yet. Kisses were all I’d allow at this point. Not that I didn’t want to do everything with her because I did. Every. Single. Thing.
But if anything more were to happen between us, things would need to be on the up and up. I didn’t want to be sneaking around I wanted her to be mine officially. For now though, I was more than thrilled to have her stretched out next to me on a blanket on the sand, and I was glad Nate was busy most evenings, from job prep to the occasional date with a woman who worked at the cafe next to the store. I pulled Kat closer, kissing her harder and deeper, and she responded by roping her arms around my neck and wriggling her sexy little body closer.
Dangerously close. She slid a leg between mine, and I want to yank her under me, pull her hard on top of me. Anything. Especially when she started exploring. She ran her hands over my chest, then down to my stomach, and I groaned, both happy and frustrated. I loved how she touched me, but I couldn’t risk going further.
“We have to be careful, Kat,” I said as she reached beneath my T-shirt, spreading her hand across my stomach, her fingers inching closer to the waistband of my jeans. “We can’t do more than kiss.”
“Why?” she asked, in a borderline pout.
“Because. Because I’m your brother’s friend. Because I’m older than you.”
“You’re only five years older.”
“I know. But still,” I said, reaching for her hands, hating stopping her, but knowing I had to.
“I’m old enough to know what I want.”
“I know, and I want it too. But we need to slow down.”
She ran her fingers through my hair, and she buried her face in the crook of my neck, kissing my jawline, then buzzing her lips up to my ear, trying to break down my control. “Do you really want to slow down?” she whispered sexily.
No. God no. I want to slide your body under mine and bring you the most intense pleasure.
“No, but we need to,” I said, and she silenced me again with another kiss, all while running her free hand over my back, making me shudder. She was so potent to me. One hit and all I wanted was more.
“What about in a few months when I’m in New York? Would we still have to slow down then?”
It didn’t take me long to consider her question. I’d been thinking about it for the last few days we’d been together. We had a chance, an opportunity to make a go of something. She’d be in school in New York, and I’d be working in New York. Maybe it was crazy to keep this up, but it seemed crazier to let her go.
“No,” I admitted.
If a grin could be both wicked and innocent, she mastered it right then with the look on her beautiful face from my answer.
“Will we see each other when I go to NYU?”
“Of course we’ll see each other, even though my job is going to take me out of town a lot,” I told her, and she looked crestfallen. I pulled her back to me, wanting to reassure her, to let her know how much she’d made a mark on me. “Don’t be sad, Kat. I’m totally falling for you, and I don’t want to take advantage of you. I like you that much. I like you so much it scares me.”
“Don’t be scared. I don’t bite,” she said, then nibbled on my collarbone, making me laugh, and making me want to find a way to make this work. I wanted to be sure she was ready for more though, especially since she hadn’t used the falling word yet. She hadn’t returned my “I’m falling for you.”
I tried not to let that bother me, wanting to give her space and time to say it, if she felt. God, I hoped she felt it.