Page 17 of Mr. Broody

He chuckled, and his face lowered, his lips pressing to mine. Butterflies erupted in my belly. His free hand molded to my hip, and his tongue slid across the seam of my lips. I opened for him, giving myself over. A noise floated up his throat, but all I focused on was the way I stepped closer, and our bodies pressed together.

He was only the third boy I had kissed, and none of the others were anything like this. None of them made me hunger and want other things like Henry did. Suddenly, I couldn’t get close enough, losing myself in a flood of emotions and physical reactions I didn’t know how to handle.

His tongue stroked mine, and although I felt the kiss in every fiber of my body, it wasn’t anything like we perfected over the years that followed. It was hesitant and sloppy. There was a haze of insecurity that lingered around our movements. At the same time, it was the most perfect kiss. It was us discovering and exploring each other, which is what we’d done our entire friendship, just in a different way. The expectation of what would happen after made me giddy.

He ended the kiss and stared down at me. “I was so scared.”

I laughed, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. And I remember thinking it was the best place ever—in Henry’s arms.

I touch my lips, the memory of our kiss so real that I wish there was a way for me to experience it all over again. But most of all, I wonder what he kisses like now. How many other girls or women have gotten to experience what it feels like to have Henry love you.

“Mom’s out of surgery.” Reed’s voice draws my attention to where he stands near the waiting room doors opening to the hallway.

I blink out of my haze of memories and smile at him. “Great. Everything good?”

He holds the door open for me, and I walk through. “Guess we’ll find out. And hey, you’ve got an interview Wednesday.”

“You work fast,” I say, walking to where a nurse is waiting for us before another set of doors.

“Not in everything.” He chuckles.

“Ew, keep your kinky stuff to yourself.”

We follow the nurse to go see Mom, but I can’t stop recalling that night and how everything changed between Henry and me so fast after that.

Seven

Henry

“Daddy?” Bodhi walks into my bathroom completely dressed, with his backpack already on. “I’m ready.”

“Good morning.” I mumble around my toothbrush.

How does my six-year-old have a better morning routine than I do?

Maybe because ever since Saturday night, I’ve only had Jade on my mind, and I’ve been barely getting enough sleep because I’ve been trying to think of some funny text to send to her to open the conversation between us again. These are the days I wish I was more like Tweetie.

“I made you pancakes.” I’m trying to buy myself some time.

“Yep. Ate ’em already. I don’t want to be late again, Daddy.”

I have no idea when I became the “late parent.” I should probably delegate this job to Bodhi’s manny, Mack, but in season, it’s hard enough for me to find time with Bodhi. I want to be the one to take him to school when I can.

I run the toothbrush over my teeth, hoping that not brushing them for the prescribed two minutes won’t give me a cavity like my grandma preached to me all my life. Spitting out my mouth full of toothpaste, I cup some water and rinse, then finally wipe my mouth on the towel.

“Okay, I’m ready.” I leave the bathroom, grab a jacket, my wallet, and my keys.

Bodhi waits at the door, staring me down. Sure enough, the pancakes are eaten, and the empty dish is in the sink. He’s way too responsible for his age, and I can’t help but worry that it’s because I’m a single dad. He doesn’t have a mom to nurture and spend time with him. Does he feel like he has to pick up the slack because it’s just me?

“Go ahead,” I say.

He opens the door to our condo, and a whirl of cooler air whooshes inside. Pretty soon it’ll be bone-chilling outside. I follow him out the door, locking it behind us.

“Hold up, I’m joining the fun bus today.” Conor jogs down the stairs toward us.

“Conor!” As always, Bodhi’s excited to see one of the guys. Even though Conor was just traded at the start of the season, he’s sparked up a friendship with Bodhi just like Rowan and Tweetie.

“What’s up, big man?” Conor holds up his hand for a high five.

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