Page 90 of Fire and Icing

Adrenaline rushes through my veins.

The excitement of everyone’s reactions fuels my euphoria.

Or maybe it’s just him. The way his eyes sparkle. The way he’s here for me, giving up everything so I can pursue the prize.

Dustin smiles at me with one of my favorite smiles.

I don’t know what overcomes me, but my eyes flutter shut without any thought as to what I’m doing. I feel myself drawn to him. It’s heady, the thrum of the cheers rising up from the crew and the other couples, the idea that we still might win, and the feel of being held by Dustin.

The next thing I know, Dustin’s lips are on mine, warm, soft and full of intention. Did I kiss him first? Or did we just meet in the middle? I can’t even tell. And I don’t care.

This isn’t a subtle kiss. There’s no hesitation or caution. Dustin is kissing me like he means it.

I lose all sense of time or place.

This kiss is everything. Our mouths move in a dance of relief and longing.

Finally. I’ve been waiting for this.

I vaguely hear one of the producers say something and my mind snaps back into reality.

What am I doing?This was never part of the plan.

It’s too late. We’re already kissing. I’m in his arms, my legs wrapped around his torso, him supporting me, and more than that, he’s kissing me like he wants me as much as I want him. Like this was inevitable. We weren’t supposed to do this. But I can’t seem to stop. Like a tiger released from captivity, I’m no longer constrained. I’ve already kissed him now.

And it wasn’t for show.

Not for me, it wasn’t.

The noise around us subsides and my awareness of my surroundings floods back to me.

I pull back and burrow my head in Dustin’s shoulder.

What have I done?

I kissed him. He kissed me. And it was everything.

And I kissed him in front of the judges, the hosts, the camera crew, and the other contestants … in front of Vanessa.

He whispers into my neck, “Everything okay?”

I lean back, reluctantly making eye contact with him. I feel every eye in the room on us.

Dustin’s steady gaze holds me as he gently sets me back down on the ground.

“I … uh … think I just need a moment,” I say to him and then I glance around at everyone else. “Thank you. I’m … thank you.”

That’s the best I can come up with, considering my lips hum with the memory of our kiss. My whole body, and what’s worse, my heart, are crying out for more.

That kiss felt beyond real.

I’m in over my head.

And I’m going to have to face Dustin.

Chapter 19

Dustin

---