Page 12 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
“Why did you guys stop coming?”
“There’s a spot.” She points at it. I wait for her to answer my question. When she doesn’t after a few seconds, I drop it—her message clear.
We climb out of the cramped rental car, and she leads me to the far side of the building, to the entrance with an “A” printed on the square light above the door.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandmother’s watching us.”
I thread my fingers with Sofia’s. Despite the warm ambient temperature, her hand is cold. “Are you nervous?”
Her eyes snap to mine. “Why would you say that?” Her shaky voice is a giveaway to what I suspect she’s about to deny.
“You just seem nervous.” One side of my mouth slides up. “Have you never kissed a guy before?”
“Sure I have. Remember? I used to have a boyfriend.” She looks away.
I want to push the topic but this isn’t the best time for that. Not if we’re about to put on a performance worthy of a standing ovation.
Sofia doesn’t remove her hand from mine, at least not until we’re at the main entrance and she has to unlock the door.
We walk up the stairs to the first level. Unlike the apartment buildings I’m used to back home, this one is open in design. The stairs aren’t hidden in a dark stairwell. Windows run from the floor to the ceiling, and I mean the ceiling of the building, not just the floor above us. Even the smell is different. It’s a mix of pine, burning wood, and some sort of cleaner. It actually smells good.
Sofia leads me the short distance to the first apartment, which is around the corner. I look over the white railing to the ground floor.
“You ready?” she asks, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “Once we’re in, we can start kissing.” She gulps in a long breath and lets it out slowly. This is a first. No one has been scared to kiss me before. I’m not sure what to make of her reaction. Should I be officially scared, too?
Before she can change her mind—or I can change mine—she opens the door and pulls me in. I don’t even have time to register the hallway before her mouth is on mine. Since we haven’t established any ground rules for the kiss, I had no idea what to expect, and I hadn’t thought to ask. So I’m almost surprised when she parts her lips and lets me in.
Damn if her soft lips, and the way her tongue plays with mine, doesn’t send me over the edge. I thread my fingers through her silky hair, preventing her from escaping. My other hand makes itself at home on her hip. I’m drowning in the kiss. Drowning and wanting so much more. Drowning and never wanting it to end.
And for the first time I notice her scent, the sweet smell of apples that wraps around me. It’s not overwhelming and I allow myself to drown some more.
My hand on her hip slides to her lower back. I press her toward me so that we’re touching from head to toe. She moans against my mouth, sending electrifying vibrations through me. I don’t remember the last time since Gabby’s death that it felt this way when I kissed someone.
A polite cough intrudes on the moment and I silently curse Sofia’s grandmother. I pull away from Sofia, instantly missing her closeness, her touch.
Except it’s not the person I was expecting who interrupted us. It’s a guy who scowls at me like there’s nothing he wants more than to kick my ass. Next to him is a woman who I guess is Sofia’s grandmother. She’s not eyeing me in the same way the guy is, but it’s clear from the way the corners of her lips curve down that she’s not happy with what she just witnessed.
“Hei,” Sofia says. “Kyle, this is my grandmother…and Joni.” She wraps her arm around my waist and snuggles close, her head on my shoulder. My arms automatically envelop her.
“Tämä on minun poikaystäväni,” she says and I have no clue what it means. It goes well beyond my basic Finnish skills. All I know is that she didn’t ask for a beer.
The old woman speaks and the guy replies, both in Finnish. Whatever they’re saying is lost on me, but Sofia stiffens in my arm. Neither of them is happy to see me, that’s for sure.
“What are they saying?” I ask her as Joni continues talking to the woman.
“I have no idea. Like I said, my Finnish sucks. It’s a miracle I could tell them you’re my boyfriend. Or I might have told them you’re a zombie. I’m not sure.”
Joni looks at us. “How come you never mentioned him before?” he asks.
She didn’t think this one through, and neither did I.
Sofia doesn’t respond so I jump in. “We broke up before we came here because…because of a misunderstanding. I’m coaching hockey in Helsinki this summer, and we bumped into each other in town.”
Joni narrows his eyes. Whatever I said was the wrong thing to say.
“So this is the reason you don’t believe in love?” he asks her.
Sofia tenses. Not enough to be noticed by anyone else, but enough for me to feel it with her body tucked against mine. “Um…no. That was due to my previous boyfriend. Kyle and I aren’t in love,” she rushes to add, squirming against me. Lying is something that clearly doesn’t come naturally to her.
