Page 111 of The Snowball Effect

Her excitement had dwindled when she’d gotten a good look at Regan. When she’d been able to see the look in Regan’s eyes. And she’d realized that she’d missed Regan’s usual verve, that glint of life that made Regan feel so full of vitality.

Then, Regan shared her vulnerabilities with Emma and told Emma the parts of her life that she didn’t share with many people. Regan hadn’t explicitly said as much, but Emma could tell.

She’d opened up to Emma, and Emma… she’d felt close to Regan. For the first time, she felt like she truly understood who Regan was, and why.

Yes, they’d become closer. Yes, she cared about Regan. But hearing Regan tell her about her past made something click into place inside of her.

She’d felt this need to be there for Regan. To support her. And not because Regan had supported her for the last month through all of Emma’s family issues, but – because shecared. More than she’d expected to, honestly. Because she’d hated seeing that sad, dejected look in Regan’s big, dark eyes, and it had twisted Emma up inside.

To the point that she’d been very seriously going to offer to sing karaoke! Emma didnotsing in front of other people. Not sober, anyway.

For some reason Emma couldn’t wrap her mind around, that was the moment had Regan had kissed her.

Like, what?!

Latching onto that confusion, using it to energize her and to help her push through post-kiss haziness, Emma turned sharply on her heel and marched back toward their apartment.

No, she wasn’t going to get caught up in the kiss or how it seemed to have left a lasting imprint on her mouth. No, she wasn’t going to ruminate on how her blood seemed to race hotter through her veins.

Becausethatwasn’t what was important here, Emma wouldn’t let it be.

She tossed the door closed behind her, storming down the short hallway until she stood right back in the living room. “What the hell was that?”

Emma was only slightly surprised by the fact that Regan was still sitting exactly where Emma had left her on the couch a few minutes ago. Regan was typically so full of life and movement, she didn’t sit still for long.

Regan snapped her gaze to Emma, her dark eyes wide and startled. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” Emma reminded her, hands falling to her hips as she stared Regan down. “I live here, which means that I can’t do what I would normally do when someone kisses me completely out of the blue.”

“What would you normally do?” Regan cocked her head, sounding entirely too interested in something totally irrelevant.

“I don’t know! Because it’s never happened before.” She’d probably need to take some time to figure out her thoughts. To read into her feelings. To feel whether the kiss felt warranted, whether she’d liked it or not. If she’d want to do it again. But – “And that doesn’t matter. Because thepoint, Regan, the pointis that no matter what, I can’t do that with you. BecauseI live here,” she gestured around their apartment.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to center herself. She tried very, very valiantly not to dip her gaze down to Regan’s mouth. The mouth that had been on hers only minutes ago causing all of these unexpected, overwhelming feelings coursing through her.

Clamping her hands down on her hips, she repeated her question again. This time, calmer. “Why did you kiss me?”

Sheneededto know; Emma needed to make sense of this so that she could dismiss it.

Regan blinked up at her. “I thought you didn’t want to know?”

Emma could hardly remember saying those words. She’d been too caught up in her thoughts, in the way she could barely catch her breath and how Regan had been looking at her.

“Well, I realized that I need to know. Okay? Just… I don’t get it,” she confessed, feeling on the edge of desperation.

“Uh… so what answer will make you freak out the least?” Regan asked, sounding like she was teasing, but there was a tone of seriousness underneath.

Emma’s lips uncontrollably tugged up into the briefest of grins before she smothered it. This wasnotthe time for laughter. “The truth.”

After all, she reasoned, this could be something… simple. Emma had no idea what kind of misunderstanding, but it could be a misunderstanding nonetheless.

“The truth,” Regan quietly echoed, biting her plush bottom lip. “Well, okay. The truth,” she murmured again, interlocking her long, nimble fingers and wrapping her arms around her legs.

Emma couldn’t help but be amused, staring at Regan as she waited for a response.

Finally, Regan seemed to come to some sort of peace with herself as she turned her attention – direct and intent – towardEmma. She couldn’t make sense of the look in them. Heated but hesitant?

“The truth is, Emma, that I kissed you because I find you really attractive.”

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