Page 12 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“Only if you say yes.”

“I don’t know, Carter. My life’s pretty busy. I’ve been helping Marge with cookies and cupcakes, and my father’s bun requisitions are piling up. Dating means a commitment to go out and stuff. I don’t think I have time to date.”

“That’s not what dating should feel like, Jo. You date because you want to get to know that person better. Because you can’t stop thinking about them day and night.”

“Well, then it’s not for me, for sure. My mind and time are both filled with baking.”

“So, there’s no one you think about all the time?”

“I don’t know. I think about a lot of people. Doesn’t mean I’m dating them all.”

He laughed. “It’s because you’re already closer to Nick than you think. You two are dating without even knowing.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve known Nick my entire life, and we live next door to each other. That’s all there is to it.” I shrugged it off. Besides, if Nick were interested, he needed to be the one to make a move, not me. Wasn’t that how it was supposed to work? No, it wouldn’t work. I knew him too well and too intimately. For Pete’s sake, we used to swap our pacifiers and share a potty trainer.

“Okay, so how much time do you two spend together?”

“Well, we walk to school together, sit in the same class, walk back home, do our homework, bake, stock up the bakeries…”

His mouth was curving up higher the more I spoke. Was he trying to make a point? Good thing I didn’t tell him about our rooftop star gazing each evening the weather permitted. So what if we spent a lot of time together? Our houses were separated by only a foot, our parents had known each other forever, and Nick was a very good friend. How many times did I have to repeat it for people to stop asking whether we were an item?

“He’s your boyfriend.”

“I’d say more like a brother.”

“Hmm. If you say so.” He shook his head. “But there’s this theory I’d like to test.”

“What theory?”

He let go of the basket. My fingers gave out under the full weight, and the wood spilled to the forest floor. As I looked down at the mess of twigs, I felt Carter lift my chin with his fingers. The next thing I knew, I was in Carter’s arms as he pressed his lips to mine. Shocked, I froze and kept my eyes wide open and mouth tight as his lips tenderly kissed mine, and then I pulled away.

Okay, so I might have closed my eyes for a split second to enjoy the moment. Hey, YOLO, right? Besides, I’d never been kissed before, and practicing against my bedroom mirror was definitely not the same.

I took a step back and touched my fingers to my lips. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I wanted to check if you felt anything. Well?”

Oh, I definitely felt something, but the thief of my first kiss would not know his power.

“You shouldn’t have done that!” I punched him in his arm.

“Why?” He rubbed the limb as if he’d been hit by an MMA fighter.

“Because it’s wrong, and you’re a friend, and… I don’t want to date.”

“You don’t want to date, or you don’t want to date anyone other than Nick?”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Molly’s never gonna put out, and you’re involved with a guy who doesn’t even know it. And neither do you!”

“Carter, that’s mean!” I punched him in his arm again. He grasped my fist into his full hand, his fingers overlapping mine, and growled, causing my body to stiffen upright at the sound, ready for another one of his surprises.

What was happening to me?

“Why would you say that about Molly? She’s awesome.”

“And she’s wearing a chastity belt.”

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