Page 28 of The Best Friend and the Shortstop

My gaze dips to her mouth again as I inch my thumb along her lips. She exhales a soft breath, her dark lashes kissing the tops of her cheeks as her eyes close. There are plenty of times I’ve wanted to kiss my best friend, including the time we were coaxed into it our freshman year. I’ve always been able to stop myself when we’re alone, but I’m starting to wonder why?

Why stop?

Because what if . . .

“Was it weird?” she says, her lips moving softly against my thumb. She pulls them together and presses a soft kiss to the side of my hand.

I feel it.

I open my mouth but pause, drawing in a breath, unable to take my eyes off her inviting lips, her beautiful brown eyes, the way her lashes somehow act like dark angel wings.

“Well?”

A tinge of nervousness vibrates her voice, so I ease my lips into a soft smile and tilt my head, sliding down lower on the bed so we’re closer to the same level. She shifts to lay on her side so we’re facing, and her hands gather the strings of my hoodie into two fists.

I smirk.

“It was weird only because that’s not how I ever pictured it,” I say.

She draws in a sharp breath, then bites her bottom lip. I tug it free, mostly to have an excuse to leave my thumb on her mouth for longer. It’s soft. Plump. Intoxicating.

“You imagined kissing me?”

I chuckle softly and nod my forehead toward hers, nearly touching her.

“All. The damn. Time,” I admit.

Her cheeks flush, and being so close, and the fact she’s wearing her oversized Van Halen T-shirt that falls off her shoulder and slings low at the neck, I can see that much of her upper body is pink.

“You ever think about it?” I have my suspicions, but also, it’s Nikki. When you’re as close as the two of us, sometimes it’s hard to read signs. I’ve always thought she felt something more, but also—it’s Nikki.

She drops her gaze and tucks her chin, her forehead touching my collarbone as she laughs lightly.

“You have no idea, Alex Mendoza.”

I nudge her chin back with my fingertips and hold her gaze. She doesn’t blink. Neither do I. I don’t want to miss anything.

“Maybe it was weird because everyone was staring at us.”

“Mmm, yeah. That part”—she chuckles—“was definitely weird.”

“Like, I think I remember someone shouting chug, chug, chug in the background,” I say, and we both laugh. Nervously.

“You know, we could try again. For scientific purposes. Without the crowd. So we know for sure, I mean. You know . . . if kissing me is . . . weird.”

My smile softens and my tongue peeks out from between my teeth and bottom lip. My skin buzzes with the urge to drop all caution. To go for it.

“For science, hmm?” Nikki hums.

I nod.

“Yeah,” I say, my mouth now close enough to hers that it brushes against her bottom lip as I speak.

“For the record, Alex,” she says, taking a nip at my upper lip between words. My chest ignites, and my body shifts automatically, so I’m lying on top of her, caging her head between my forearms. I pull back enough to look her in her eyes, sweeping her hair back and cupping her face. She’s always been beautiful.

“I never thought it was weird,” she says, and my smile crawls across my mouth.

I close my eyes and shake my head, then waste no more precious time. I cover her mouth with mine, sucking her top lip in, fighting the urge to bite it. That lip. Damn, that lip! More than her curves in those tight jeans, I have spent years looking at the upturned lip next to me in the passenger seat.

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