Page 30 of Spark
Plain, fat Sophie, the same unsexy, unappealing awkward shy girl that she’d always been.
All the traveling in the world couldn’t change the fact that she had fallen so far behind the curve of normal experiences that she worried that she might not be able to fake her way successfully through whatever came next in this wonderful, magical, terrifying make out session.
Panting, her body throbbing with arousal, she forced herself to break his sweetly seductive kiss and pull away.
He immediately stopped trying to unfasten her bra, and looked at her with concern in his eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes. No.” Sophie’s head was whirling, and she could barely hear herself over the pounding of her heart. “I-I can’t do this right now.”
“I’m sorry if I went too far,” Chris said immediately. “It’s just—well, we’ve got real chemistry, Sophie.”
She shook her head. “Nothing to apologize for. I, uh, needed that. And you’re a really good kisser.”
And I sound like a complete dork, she thought.
She continued, “It’s not you, it’s me. I’m—well, I’m kind of a mess.”
“But a beautiful one,” he said, giving her one of his panty-melting smiles. “Should I just call you a ‘hot mess?’”
At least he wasn’t upset. He actually thought she was beautiful! And hot, too! She laughed. “Good night, Chris.”
He took the hint and opened the passenger-side door, then slid out with his particular brand of feline grace. He turned to talk to her, and she noticed a flattering bulge at the front of his jeans.
Relief flooded through her. He’d enjoyed the kiss as much as she had!
“I’ll text you tomorrow if I find out anything at work,” he said. “See ya, Sophie.”
He straightened up and closed the car door.
She watched him saunter off towards the broad, roofed porch that wrapped around the house, then put her car in gear and continued around the circular drive to rejoin the main road.
Conflicting feelings waged war inside her head as she headed back around the hill and home: giddy infatuation, frustrated desire, relief, anxiety, confusion and guilt.
He kissed me! A real kiss! And called me beautiful and hot! But did it actually mean anything? Or are we still just friends?
And what will Matt think, if he ever finds out?
Chapter Ten
Grizzly Creek Ranch
A few minutes later
Matt was in bear form and on his way back to his house after dinner with his parents and sister Maggie, when he saw headlights approaching.
He stepped off the road, wondering who was driving this late.
Sophie’s new Toyota sped by with a loud crunching of gravel and a long plume of dust visible in the starlight.
As she passed, he caught a quick glimpse of her face, illuminated by her dashboard. She looked intense, maybe even upset about something.
Too caught up in her thoughts, apparently, to notice a full-grown grizzly bear standing by the side of the road. Or the reflective strips on the biking backpack that held his clothes and shoes.
Matt’s bear rose up in instant outrage. Something had happened! And probably had something to do with Sophie’s invitation to the Cougar Lake Pride's monthly dinner.
It had been difficult to bite his tongue earlier, when Chris was bustling around their kitchen, baking a special dessert for her. Had something gone wrong?
Driven by the need to find out what had happened, Matt picked up his pace and loped back to his house at a speed that his human half couldn’t match.
