“Your turn.” Hope wags her head toward the bathroom.
Her hair is wet too, hanging over her shoulders, resting right above the V-neck of her pajama top. I try not to let my eyes drift to the spot as I squeeze past her, breathing in the floral scent of her shampoo.
But I can’t stop thinking about that V on her chest. And the lingering smell of her in the bathroom doesn’t help. This day has been too good for me to not want to end it curled up next to Hope in the same bed.
And thinking about being in the same bed with Hope leads to a whole bunch of other thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking, and a very long shower.
When I come out of the bathroom, I expect the lights to be off and Charly and Hope asleep in the bed.
Instead, Charly and Uncle Rad, who’s not in her crate, are asleep on the floor, in my bed. Hope is in the bed, propped up against pillows, watchingAt Home with Georgia Rose.
“Charly insisted on sleeping in the ‘cozy fwoor bed’ with Uncle Rad,” Hope says casually. Like this is a perfectly normal, predictable situation. But then her breath catches. “Is that okay?”
“Suuure.” I grab the frame around the open door to the bathroom and glance over my shoulder. “I guess I get the tub?”
Hope snorts a laugh, then pats the bed next to her. “We can trust ourselves, right?”
I stare at her, wanting to say yes, but I know it would be a lie.
“Hope, I want to kiss you so bad right now, there’s no way I can trust myself not to if I get anywhere close to you.” I grip the door frame tighter.
Hope’s chest rises and falls under the mistletoe quilt. “Then you should probably come closer, because I really want you to kiss me.”
She tucks her chin into her shoulder, and a slow smile spreads across her face.
And that’s all the invitation I need. I let my hand fall to my side, and with two quick strides I’m on the bed, kneeling next to her.
She shifts toward me, but the angle is awkward, and she can’t move far with me on top of the quilt. But there’s no way I’m removing that barrier between us.
Hope invited me to kiss her. Nothing else.
And she can trust me that I won’t push past that boundary. I didn’t this summer, and I won’t now.
But I will make the most of the kiss she wants.
I swing one leg over her, so her legs are between mine, and I sit up tall on my knees. She tips her face to mine, and her hair falls down her back. Her eyes widen, and her mouth opens just the slightest bit.
I cup her face in my hands, and she sits taller, wrapping her hands around my wrists. Together we close the distance between us.
Our lips touch—once, twice—as we step gently back onto ground that’s both familiar and new at the same time. She tugs at my bottom lip. I tug on hers. Our lips meet again, tentatively exploring places we’ve been before.
Then Hope slides her hands under my T-shirt, her fingernails digging into my skin. She pulls me closer, and we collide into an explosion of desire. Like a match to dry kindling, my whole body lights on fire, and I reach for the headboard behind her to steady myself.
Her lips move from my mouth to my jawline, down my neck, and I grip the headboard like I’m holding on for my life. I moan softly when she reaches the spot where my T-shirt meets my collarbone.
At this, Hope pushes me back with surprising strength for such a little person, and we trade positions, so she’s straddling me, the quilt tangled between us. She smiles over me, her hair curtaining both of us, and I wrap my hands around her waist.
With no hesitation, she kisses me again, long and hard.
“Hope…” I breath.
“Seb,” she breathes back with a smile that says she knows exactly how much she’s torturing me.
Then she sits back, takes a deep breath, and lies down next to me. She traces the part of my tattoo that’s visible under my sleeve. “Tell me about this. Why a tree?”
I push my sleeve up over my bicep so she can draw her finger over the whole thing. “These are your parents names. And Stella’s.” She leans closer, her t-shirt gapes wide, and I force my eyes to her face. “Are these your grandparents too?”
I nod, barely able to speak. “It’s a tree of life. All the most important people in mine.”