Page 88 of The Sweet Spot

“You know, I saw you once. In Berkeley.”

“Really?” He draws back to look at me. “When was that?”

“It was during winter break, one or two years ago.” I brush my knuckles over his cheek. “I’d just come out from a party, and I looked up and you were right across the street. I hadn’t seen you since that night on the boardwalk, but I knew right away it was you. I wanted to talk to you…I’d thought about you a lot.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Some pretty girl kissed you before I could.” I chew my inner cheek, recalling the spear of disappointment that had pierced my heart that night.

“Downtown Berkeley or near campus?”

“Downtown, I think.”

“Was she blonde?”

I nod.

“I remember that night. Too bad you didn’t get to me first.” Luca’s dark eyes glint with a fire like the one I feel burning in me. “Who knows where we’d be now?” He brings me in for another kiss, and I open to him, sliding my tongue against his in a dance of barely controlled need.

My back hits the wall. Luca tightens his grip on my thighs, kissing me so deeply my head dips back. He drags his mouth to my neck, devouring the skin above my collar bone. Even with closed eyes and all senses taken over by Luca, I feel when the space around us goes dark. He goes still, pulling away to look around. Every light in the pool and backyard has been turned off. Everyone’s gone.

Luca looks back to me, smirking in the moonlight. “I don’t know if that’s a request to get us to leave or an attempt to give us more privacy.”

I laugh quietly, slicking back my hair. “I don’t know what they think we’re gonna do out here.”

“I have a couple of guesses.” Taking a step back, he eases me to my feet. “We can go in, if you want.”

“Yeah, it’s starting to get cold.” I follow him out of the pool and into the spring chill, grabbing the still-damp towel I’d used earlier.

Luca tucks his towel around his waist. “So, what do you feel like doing? We can hang out here for a while, or I can drop you home if you’re ready to go.”

Pausing, I squeeze water from my hair. As much as I’d like to keep hanging out with Luca, the thought of fooling around in one of the Morgans’ guest rooms isn’t too appealing…especially considering what’s probably going on right now in the other rooms.

“Or we can go to my place.” He tips my chin up and kisses me again, letting his teeth catch my bottom lip before pulling away.

I shiver, and not because of the night air. If I go over to Luca’s, we’re going to do a hell of a lot more than kiss. “Okay,” I whisper.

“Okay, what?”

“Let’s go to your place.”

Luca searches my eyes, and then, with a slow nod, presses a chaste kiss to my lips. We head back across the yard, up the stairs and into the kitchen. The lights are on, but other than the faint bass thumping rhythmically from somewhere, no one’s around.

My teeth are chattering. The air conditioning must be set to glacial.

Luca huffs quietly, smirking as he grabs a blue and gold UCSC duffel bag from the kitchen table. “Guess they decided to take the party upstairs.”

I send Saira a text, letting her know my plans. When she doesn’t respond right away, I glance over at Luca, who’s pulling a t-shirt on. “I feel bad leaving Saira. I don’t want her to think I abandoned her.”

“I don’t know; she and Kell looked pretty cozy earlier.” He leans against the counter. “You texted her, right?”

Nodding, I slide into my sandals. “Yeah, but…”

“But she’s busy.” He points up. “We can stay here, if you want.”

“I don’t.”

“…watch a movie or something…”

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