Page 27 of The Last Time

I suddenly can’t remember why it would be a bad idea to kiss her. It’s all I can think about, and she’s making no attempt to step away from me.

My body leans in as my head moves closer to hers. She licks her lips in anticipation. My hand rests on her hip as I start to inch in closer and closer.

Her eyes begin to flutter. When my mouth is only a breath away from hers, a noise coming from the tree makes both of us jump.

“What was that?” she whispers with a hint of fear in her voice.

I step away from her, realizing I almost kissed her without considering the repercussions. She’s my little sister’s friend. I can’t play with her heart, knowing that I’m not capable of keeping it safe. Safe from the anger and pain that I hold in my own heart.

“I think it was a squirrel,” I say with a heavy voice as I take a step away from her.

“Oh.” Her body seems to relax. “Okay.”

Silence falls between us, neither of us knowing exactly what to do next. My hand grips the back of my neck and squeezes.

“I think we should get back to work if we want to get this finished this weekend,” I tell her, not knowing what to say or do next.

She looks away from me quickly, then nods her head.

“Yeah. Good idea.”

We both move toward our areas of the deck in silence and get back to work. My brain is still reeling from the fact that I almost kissed her.

My body feels wound up from the desire that was coursing through me. The adrenaline is making me want to turn around and finish what we almost started.

Dammit! I need a distraction.

I glance down at my watch. Thank God! It’s lunchtime. A perfect excuse to take a break and reset.

“Hey,” I say as I walk over to her. She powers down her sander and looks up at me. Shit, I still want those lips on mine. “I’m gonna go pick up some lunch for us. I’ll be right back.”

She gives me a hesitant smile. “Okay. Thanks.”

I practically run to my truck and then slam the door shut as soon as I hop in. My head falls back against the seat as I try to calm down my erratic breathing.

“It’s fine. You almost kissed her, but you didn’t. Nothing to worry about,” I whisper to myself.

When I return with the food, I’m feeling slightly better about what almost happened. So, we almost kissed. The important thing is that nothing happened. We just need to plow past this and forget about it. As long as I remember the reasons why it would be a terrible idea, I should be safe.

I walk around the house to the back deck to find her sitting down with a drink in her hand.

I hold the bags of food up as I approach. “Should we eat inside?”

We had to move the tables and chairs off the deck so there isn’t anywhere to sit. Plus, it’s a hot day. The air conditioning would feel good.

She nods her head and I follow her in. Once we take a seat at the table, I give her the sandwich and chips I got for us.

“Thanks,” she says as she unwraps the foil.

“No problem. You treated the last time.”

I’m glad I went to get some food. The tension feels like it’s already cut in half. I think we can push passed this.

She takes a bite and stares at me. “Yeah, but that’s because you’re doing all this work for me. Not only are you working for free today, but you’ve paid for my lunch.”

I smile. “Keep it in mind next time you call me an asshole.”

She chuckles. “You’re an anomaly. I can’t quite figure you out.”

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