Page 13 of The Kissing Challenge

The answer flashed through my mind:Because I wanted to.

It was as simple and as complicated as that.

Luckily, my best friend stepped in, which saved me from having to say anything. Captain smiled my way and then shrugged.

"There was this challenge," he said. "I've never known Anne to back down from anything."

"Sounds like a brave girl," Jake said with a grin.

"And on top of that, she can kiss, too," Knight added. "Cap hasn't been able to shut up about it since it happened."

Captain shoved his shoulder. "Stop being an idiot."

"What? It's true."

My jaw went slack. Was it really? Had Captain been talking about our kiss so much that the guys felt the need to pelt us with all these questions? The possibility was unbelievable.

"Hey Anne, you almost finished?" Liam asked, breaking through my daze. "We go on soon, and we still need to do sound check. Make sure everything's ready."

I nodded. "Oh yeah, nearly done."

I put the finishing touches on Jake's eyes and then moved onto Brandon. He was the easiest because he talked the least. Though I was fairly certain, he could've done without the makeup and only resigned himself to my attentions because of Captain. Actually, that was why all of the guys allowed me to enhance their looks. Liam, however, never let me go near his face. He was the one exception. I'd already done Knight and intentionally saved my best friend for last.

"Hey," Captain said when I stepped in front of him. "You okay? I know the guys can be annoying, but they're alright."

"I'm fine," I assured. "Now, close your eyes, so I can do my thing."

"You got it."

I was just about to put the liner to his eyes when I felt someone watching us. Looking to the right, I noticed Knight standing there with this look on his face that spelled trouble. The others had already exited the room.

"Need something?" I asked.

"Oh no," he said. "I was waiting to see if there'd be a repeat performance. In case you forget to record this one, Anne, you little minx."

The joke made heat rise from my chest to my cheeks. I knew exactly what he meant.

"Dude," Captain said and threw his pick at him. "Get out of here!"

Knight dodged it with a laugh. "Okay, okay, I'm going," he said. "Sheesh. You used to be more fun."

"If you're not gone in two seconds," Captain warned, "I'll show you how much fun my fist can have with your face."

It was an empty threat. Knight and I both knew that, but with an eyeroll he left, and Captain looked back up at me.

"Sorry about him" he said and closed his eyes. "Please. Finish what you were doing."

I had the incredible urge to kiss him right then. Captain was sitting there, his face open, eyes shut, just like he'd been when I'd kissed him the first time. Seeing him like that again… It gave me a lot of thoughts—none of which I should've been having about my best friend.

But I was able to control myself.

Finishing his makeup in under a minute, I said, "Okay, you're all set."

"Thanks, Anne," he said, staring up at me.

"Don't you want to check and make sure I did a good job?"

Captain shook his head. "No. I trust you."

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