Page 21 of Depths of Desire
“Truth. What’s your type?”
I snorted. “Seriously?”
“It’s a game.”
“It’s my turn, anyway,” I said.
Oliver shrugged. He wasn’t going to let me get out of it.
I considered it. “Okay. I like smart guys. Quiet confidence. Eyes that look like they’re always sizing you up. And swimmers, for some reason.”
“Oh,” he said.
“Yeah. Weird, right?”
He didn’t respond, but I could feel his eyes on me again. Felt it like a pull low in my stomach. Wasn’t this game supposed to be distracting me from the fact that I wanted nothing more than for the bed to shrink by the sheer force of my wish so that our bodies would be slammed together in a cosmic clash? Yeah.
He cleared his throat. “Truth. What was your first kiss like?”
I chuckled. “You mean my real first kiss or the one I pretend was my first?”
“Both.”
“Fake one was perfect. Party, music, fairy lights, warm night. The guy was sweet. I think he’s a lawyer now. Real one was in my sophomore year in high school, behind the library, with a kid who swore he wasn’t gay. He cried afterward. I think I did, too.”
“Damn,” Oliver said.
“Yeah. Romantic, huh?”
Another pause. The room felt heavier. The sound of the wind outside seemed far away now. I rolled onto my side, facing away, needing the shift in position to focus.
Then came his voice again, lower this time. “Truth. Have you ever wanted to kiss someone you weren’t supposed to?”
That one landed differently.
I felt it in my chest. Slow and heavy. “Yeah,” I said.
There was silence between us. And in that silence, more answers than I could give.
Then he asked it.
“Truth. If I hadn’t said no touching…?”
“Would I have dared you to touch each other?” I interrupted, forcing a laugh.
He didn’t laugh. “Would something have happened?”
I swallowed. “I’d have probably died of nerves and made weird jokes to hide it.”
“That’s not a real answer.”
“Fine.” I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck, stalling. “I probably would’ve tried to lie still and pretend I wasn’t thinking about kissing you.”
The air changed. It got warmer. Closer.
Oliver rolled onto his side to face me. I didn’t turn right away. I wasn’t sure I could without giving everything away.
Then, under the comforter, his toes gently nudged against mine. A small touch. Barely there. But it knocked every thought from my head.
