Page 63 of Petals and Plot Twists
The cookie dough really is delicious, but I’m too focused on the heat simmering in Sophie’s eyes to notice.
Without breaking eye contact, she slides her hands up to my chest, her body fully tucked into the circle of my arms. “Peter, can I…” She closes her eyes for a moment, taking a shaky breath before she lifts her gaze back to meet mine. “Can I try something?”
I lick my lips. “Of course.”
She bites her lip. “Don’t freak out, okay?” she whispers. Then she lifts a hand to my cheek, pushes up on her toes and presses her lips to mine.
I feel the kiss—the softness of her lips, the featherlight touch of her hand sliding over my jawline. But shock keeps me from truly reacting, from kissing her back like I have dreamed of kissing her more times than I can count.
My feet are frozen, my hands gripping her back like she’s the only thing anchoring me to this earth, but my lips aren’t moving.
Why aren’t my lips moving?
Sophie breaks the kiss and leans back. “Was that…” She lifts a hand to her face and covers her eyes. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”
No. No!This isn’t how this moment was supposed to go.
“Why would you say that?” I say, my voice breathy but somehow still scratchy, cracking on the last word. I clear my throat, frustration with myself quickly growing.
“Because you didn’t—” Her words cut off as she takes a step back, my arms falling away from her waist. “Oh, gosh,” she says, hand still pressed to her eyes. “Did I ruin things? I was so afraid it would ruin our friendship. But I just thought—but if you didn’t—” She winces. “You know what? Maybe I’m just tired? Exhausted from all the dating?” She lifts her free hand so now, both are pressed against her face, her shoulders hunched like she wants to hide not just from me, but from herself, too.
I have to fix this.
For years I’ve wanted to tell her how I feel, toshow herhow good this could be. I had the opportunity once before, and I blew it. I won’t make the same mistake again.
Finally breaking out of my shock-fueled stupor, I step forward and gently wrap my hands around her wrists. “Sophie,” I say gently. “Look at me.”
She lets me tug her wrists down and slowly opens her eyes.
“It wasn’t a mistake,” I say.
She bites her lip. “Then why didn’t you kiss me back?”
I slip my hand around her waist and tug her against me, then spin us around so her back is pressed against the refrigerator.
She lets out a little gasp at the impact, her eyes darkening as I lift my free hand and lean it against the fridge just beside her head. “When you’ve dreamed of kissing someone for such a long time, when it finally happens, it takes a moment for the shock to wear off.”
Her eyes widen the slightest bit. “Wait. A long time? You’ve?—”
I cut off her words with a kiss. “Can we please talk about this later?” I ask, mouth hovering just above hers.
“Mm,” she says as her hands fist the fabric of my t-shirt. “Yes, please…”
I press my mouth to hers again, and this time, I kiss her with every ounce of feeling in my body. With every pent-up desire, every yearning I’ve kept dormant for years. I am a master at suppressing my feelings for Sophie, but I unleash all of them now, infusing every kiss, every touch, with just how much she matters, how much she means to me.
Her hands lift to my face, palms grazing over my unshaven jaw. I’m not sure why I didn’t shave this morning—maybe because my routine was off with racquetball and hiding from Sophie—and I start to feel self-conscious about it, but then Sophie smiles against my lips.
“I like you with a little bit of scruff,” she says, her voice low and sexy.
I let out a low groan as I deepen the kiss, pulling her closer,closer, until her air is my air, her body an extension of mine. We move together, touching, shifting this way and that, kissing again and again as we catalog each other in this new way.
I know so many things about Sophie. But I’ve never known this. The way her mouth tastes against mine. The way goosebumps erupt down her arms when I graze my fingers over the skin just behind her ear.
“Peter,” Sophie says, her voice breathless as I press a line of kisses across her jawline.
“Hmm?”
“We’re kissing.”
