Page 56 of Just One Season
It’s soft and sweet, and I forget to breathe while our mouths are pressed together. The voices around us dim, and romantic music floats through the cafe. Someone throws rose petals.A dove flies elegantly by. A narrator says something like andthere it is, ladies and gentlemen, the infamous first kiss.
And then it’s over, and Kellen leans back, letting his hand linger on my neck for a second longer than is required, his eyes still locked with mine.
I unintentionally let out a deep, whimsical sigh, and force myself to sit back.Pull it together. It was just a fake kiss.
“You okay?” he asks, his voice with a slight rasp. “Was that too much?”
Too much? No way. It wasn’t enough… not by a long shot.
“It was—” I search for an appropriate word. “—nice.” I lean back in the chair, desperate to project nonchalance. I can’t take my eyes off Kellen, and he’s got a soft smile on his face.
He glances at the door, raising a hand. “They’re leaving, Savannah just waved. They must’ve called their drinks in ahead of time.”
Right, we did that for Paul and Savannah’s sake. I might have forgotten all about them.
“Oh, great.” I look over my shoulder and catch Savannah raising a hand back at Kellen. Once outside, she jogs to catch up to Paul and whispers something in his ear.
“They’re talking about us,” I note.
“Probably. Then again, we’re HR official now, so it’s basically public record.”
Any chance this man liked that kiss as much as I did?
“Well, nice working with you.”
“You too,” Kellen says. Then we both crack up.
We are the most awkward humans on the planet. Kellen runs his hands through his dark hair and pulls his phone out of his pocket.
“I gotta run to practice. You headed to the arena?”
I shake my head. “I’m heading home before dropping Bear at the Delightful Doggy Palace.”
“I’ll walk you back to Atticus’s apartment.” Kellen stands. Ifollow him out the door, and we walk in silence to my brother’s place.
“Next Saturday, right?” I ask, like I don’t have our next fake date engraved on my soul.
“Yup. The fall festival.”
I pause with my key in the lock and watch him walk away.
I liked that kiss way more than I thought I would.
I like Kellen more than I thought I would.
This is unexpectedly confusing.
CHAPTER 16
No Kiss Necessary
KELLEN
Saturday, October 12
Imissed Ava’s soccer game last weekend because we were en route back from our last preseason game, and we were at our first regular season away game during this past Wednesday’s soccer practice.
But I saw Coach Lucy at Ava’s game this morning, in all her glory coaching five- and six-year-old girls.
