Page 66 of Not Exactly a Small-Town Romance

I can’t break my train of thought. “I think first base is probably the wiping-flour-off-the-cheek moment. You know, the touch that’s forced by circumstance, then becomes a spark.”

“Like when you held his hand.” Zachery’s voice has a growl to it.

“No, that was on purpose. More like if I had brushed popcorn kernels off his shirt. Dang, I should have done that.”

“What’s second base?”

“The almost-kiss. Where you’re leaning in, but someone comes in or the phone rings or a horn blares.”

“Right.”

“And third base is when you actually kiss. But that’s nearly at the end. When you’ve already decided this person is the one.”

“So then straight to the home run?”

“No. You fade to black.”

“You were definitely in blackness.”

I sigh. I was. I used Hollywood bases. Meet. Hook up. Ghost. I resist the urge to get up and pace. We’re still facing each other on the bed. “So, we walked around the baseball field in the dark. We kissed. We got caught up in the moment.”

Zachery’s face is a mask, pure relaxed nothingness. I have no idea what he’s thinking of me.

“The panties came off, but then it happened.” I can’t say anything else. This is Zach. He’s a friend, but he’s also a man. And, gosh. I can’t do it.

But Zach’s eyes have narrowed. He’s tense again. He thinks something terrible went down. “Whathappened?”

When I don’t answer, his tone is tight. “Tell me before I find him and bash his face in properly.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” I say quickly. “It’s like my girl parts locked up or something. Batten the hatches! Bring down the gates! Vacuum seal!” I cringe at that last one. My mouth gets ahead of my brain sometimes.

Now Zach’s eyebrows have drawn together. “So, you didn’t end up doing anything?”

“No! It was like, I’m ready, let’s do this thing. But my body was like—heck no!” I gasp. “Wait. What if this is what the fortune teller knew! I was drying up! Losing my ... oh, whatever!” I collapse face down on the bed. This is too much.

Too embarrassing.

This whole idea was dumb.

His warm hand lies firmly on my back. “I don’t think any of that is true. You had a negative encounter last night in Pitchfork, and you were simply bracing yourself for another one.”

I have no answer for that.

He moves my hair to one side, off my neck. “You’ll be all right, Kelsey.”

I shift my face so I can talk again. “Do you think this trip was a dumb idea?”

His expressionless mask goes back on.

“You do. God!” I turn my face back to the bedspread so I don’t have to see him.

“Kelsey, hey.” His fingers find my chin and turn my face to him. “I don’t think anything you do is dumb. It’s part of the process for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been struggling with the men you’ve had access to. They weren’t right for you. You needed to get out there, try something else. This is a new scene. It’s probably still the wrong scene, but you’re trying.”

“But what if I’m not going to get any better? What if I meet a great guy, and my vagina is a steel trap?”

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