Page 9 of This Thing of Ours

Gabby stilled. She knew it was a joke, but wasn’t it a little young in their relationship for sexual innuendos?

He raised his brows, obviously reading her expression. “Too soon?”

She felt stupid and like the prudish virgin she was. Shaking off her stuffy attitude, she nudged him with her shoulder and tried her own hand at sexual innuendo. “The bigger, the better.” She followed that up with a playful eyebrow wiggle.

He was still for a moment, then he tipped his head back, laughing. His arm came around her, hugging her shoulders. “For you, fair maiden, I will prevail to win you thebiggestprize in all Carnival Land.”

Their banter was silly and stupid, but she loved it and told him so with a big smile and hug in return.

The sun waslong gone by the time they made their way through the parking lot, the sounds of the carnival fading the closer they got to Derek’s car. Gabby carried her giant teddy bear on her hip, its head towering over her own. Though she was tired, having been up since before dawn, strangely she was also invigorated, and she realized she was disappointed her date with Derek was coming to an end.

“I had a really good time. Thank you.” She glanced over at Derek to find him already looking at her. He had a weird twist to his lips, but she blamed it on the parking lot’s overhead lights, casting shadows on his face and distorting his features.

“I had a really good time, too. Thanks for agreeing to go out with me.”

Gabby laughed. “It was either that or have you pester me the rest of the semester.”

Derek laughed as he was meant to, but it sounded hollow. She took another peek at him as he opened the passenger’s side door of his car for her.

“Everything okay?” She stood inside the space of the open car door with Derek in front of her, but she didn’t feel trapped.

He smiled, genuinely that time. “Yeah, just think I’m still in shock I actually won you that bear.”

She laughed. “Yeah, you lucked out on that shot.”

He raised his brows in mock offense. “Luck? I’ll have you know, it was pure skill.”

“So, you intentionally threw the penny so it would hit the side wall and rebound back to land on the very edge of the plate?”

“You doubt my mad skills?” He took a step forward, crowding her between the car door and his body. The mirth vanished from his face as his eyes dipped, homing in on her mouth. He plucked the bear out of her arms, leaned into the car, and tossed it onto the back seat. When he emerged, he was even closer. “I want to kiss you.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. Was he asking permission? Wasn’t he supposed to just swoop in and take? She didn’t know. She’d never been kissed. At least, notreallykissed. The hard peck by Johnny Talbert in the sixth grade and the sloppy one from Tom Cressent in the tenth didn’t count.

His head bent closer, and she tipped hers back, keeping him in sight. She licked her lips, which was stupid because it brought his attention back to them. Or maybe it wasn’t so stupid. Shouldn’t she want him to kiss her?

“Say okay.”

Guess hewasseeking permission. Gabby licked her lips again then swallowed. “Um, yeah, okay.”

It took less than a second for his lips to find hers. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel, but there wasn’t the shock of awareness she’d read about in romance novels—not even a tingle. He added pressure, and she was forced to grab his waist or risk losing her balance.

His lips smashed hers against her teeth, and she parted them. He took that as an invitation, sweeping his tongue in. His head tilted to gain better access, and she helped, mimicking his action but in the opposite direction.

He seemed to be enjoying the kiss, one of his hands finding her shoulder, the other her waist, bringing their bodies closer.

Gabby had to admit, the kiss was pleasant. Not awe-inspiring, but were kisses supposed to be? She had nothing to compare it to. What if that was it and it didn’t get any better?

He ended the kiss before she could ponder it further, taking a step back, the hand on her shoulder coming up to cradle her neck. That was nice. So was the thumb he brushed softly along her jaw.

She couldn’t read his expression. Sadness or maybe even guilt? Whatever it was, it wasn’t an expression you’d expect to see from the person who’d just kissed you.

“You sure everything’s okay?”

Staring at her face but avoiding her eyes, he took a moment to answer, then finally said, “I’ve just been wanting to do that for a long time.”

“Well, I hope it lived up to your expectations.”

He finally looked her in the eyes and said, “Better.”

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