Page 34 of The Pact

The kiss ends as suddenly as it started, with Ashton taking a step back and smiling at me again. “That’s better.” He smiles. “Sorry but I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day. I couldn’t even sail, the others were laughing at me because I kept wiping out.”

I don’t know what to say. Normally I’d apologize for being the cause of poor training but to be honest, I like the thought that he couldn’t concentrate because of me.

Women should dress and act modestly. They’re our greatest support, the foundation of our families but they can also be our greatest hindrance. They can tempt us away from purity and enlightenment if they don’t use their bodies the way nature intended.

I dig my nails into my palms, trying to silence my dad’s voice that’s ringing in my ears. That was one of his last speeches, right before I moved out.

Ashton cups my jaw, his smile widening. “I want nothing more than to stay here and kiss you until they throw us out at closing time, but I’m hungry. How about I take you to lunch?”

“I’d love to have lunch with you,” I manage to whisper and I’d be lying if I said that I’m not hoping to have the opportunity for more kissing after we eat.

We walk out of the library hand in hand and I have to use all my self-control not to squirm under the gazes of my colleagues. Ashton is definitely the kind of man that stands out and I feel an odd mixture of awe and elation at being seen with him.

“Hey pretty girl!”

Bode, Kelley and Shep are all standing in the shade provided by a cluster of trees in the square picnic area right outside Shell Cove Public Library.

“Hey Smokey! Damn you guys took forever! How long does it take to ask a girl out to lunch, huh?” Shep chuckles, setting his knowing gaze on me.

I can feel my cheeks beginning to heat up and I’m thankful to Bode when he comes over to deposit a soft kiss on my cheek. “How about we drive through somewhere and go eat at my house? Is that ok with you, pretty girl? There’s something we want to talk to you about.”

I nod, suddenly worried as Kelley shoots me a serious look and takes my hand to guide me toward his Jeep that’s parked nearby.

His hand is rough and warm and while I’d love to get closer to him and hug him, I don’t make a move. Both because Lynda’s words from last night still echo in my ears and because there’s something rigid in Kelley’s posture.

All of a sudden, I’m worried that they know. That Lynda told Kelley and that I’m about to be called out on not telling them that we’ve met before the other night at the Stowaway.

But then I think about the way Ashton just kissed me and it doesn’t make any sense. If they were mad at me, he wouldn’t have done that and Bode wouldn’t look so relaxed. Right?

I keep torturing myself the whole way to Bode’s house and I don’t even know what we order for lunch. I just nod at them whenever they ask me a question, trying to draw comfort from Shep and Ashton who are sitting in the back seat on either side of me.

***

Kelley

––––––––

I’M A NERVOUS FUCKING wreck. I’ve never felt this worked up about a chick before.

I keep telling myself that it’s because we’re about to ask her to play our game with us and I really want her to say yes.

That it’s because Ausra is the first girl we’ve all agreed on since London. We’ve been trying to find someone we all like for over six months but we were never on the same page about anyone.

I’m nervous because there’s something in the way she kissed me, in the way she acts, that tells me that she isn’t very experienced. So I’m worried that our offer will make her run to the hills.

But it isn’t just that.

The night I kissed her, she was so abandoned in my arms, melting against my lips that I thought she was a sure thing. That she liked me as much as I liked her.

Then she came to the beach to bring me brownies to thank me for helping her with that scumbag who tried to force himself on her. So I was confident that despite getting too excited after kissing her and forgetting to ask her to the party, I still had the biggest chance with her, despite what the guys said or did. I wasn’t too worried when they argued with me about having dibs.

Truth be told, I wasn’t too bothered about asking her to play our games until after I had her.

Then Bode asked her to the party and ... I don’t know. Something changed on that fucking beach. She seemed different after Bode asked her out. She wasn’t looking me in the eye anymore. Even last night she seemed rigid and distant with me but she seemed to enjoy the guys’ attention.

We talked about asking her to play this morning and Ashton insisted that he was the only one of us who hadn’t gotten to kiss her. So he wanted to see her and ask her out to lunch. If she let him kiss her, that would mean that she liked all of us.

So here we are, pulling into Bode’s driveway and my fucking confidence is almost all gone.

---