Page 54 of The Enemy Face Off

Then after eating, we both just read, and it was nice. I've heard people talk about sharing a 'comfortable silence' with someone, and I never really understood what they meant. I do now. Beth was engrossed in her world of romance, I was invested in my psychological thriller, two completely separate worlds, and yet, we were still together.

And of course, no time spent with her would be complete without me being on the receiving end of her taunts and jaunts, and I like serving them back to her, too. And since she's not one ofthose weak girls, I enjoy seeing how she handles a challenge once in a while.

That's why I claimed the bed.

For the record, if she really didn't want to share it with me,of courseI would have taken the sofa. I just wanted to see how far I could push it.

And when she emerged from the bathroom in that black Hello Kitty pajama set that complemented her hair and made her natural beauty shine through even more, I almost lost it. How is she able to look so stunning in pajamas I'll never know, but man, does she ever.

Everything was going great, and then I had to open my big, stupid mouth and ask to kiss her.

When we're in bed.

Together.

In the middle of a snowstorm.

Talk about a bad move.

Bad timing.

Bad everything.

I'm so screwed.

After the silence stretches way too long, I accept my fate, peel the comforter off me, and swing my legs out of bed. I can admit when I've lost, and I've definitely gone too far here.

I'msuchan idiot.

As I make a move to get up, a soft hand lands on my shoulder. "One."

I slowly turn my head back to her. "One?"

Our eyes meet.

She pins me with a heated stare, giving a subtle nod. "One kiss. That's it. That's all I'm giving you. And then we never speak of it again. Deal?"

"Deal," I reply without a second's hesitation.

"And not in bed," she says, pulling the comforter off her as well. "Because that would be…"

"Weird?" I offer.

"Yeah." She locks eyes with me. "And…"

"I'm weird enough for the both of us."

She climbs out of the bed. "Hey! Stop stealing all my lines."

"Sorry, sorry." I grin. "Okay. So where would you like to do this totallynon-weirdkiss? And for the record, I refrained from using air quotes for you."

"I'm honored."

She strides over to the kitchenette and flicks on the overhead light. It's one of those super-white, fluorescent lights, and we both blink a few times to adjust to the brightness.

"What are you doing?" I ask when she turns the tap on.

"I hate wasting water," she replies.

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