Page 47 of A Very No Strings Halloween
“Oh yeah?”
I nod, a cocky smirk on my face. “Yeah. You’d be wearing mine.”
Donna looks like she’s considering this real hard. She removes her jersey and tosses it onto the chair next to her. I take off mine and hand it to her, and she puts it on. We’re both wearing T-shirts underneath. We’ve taken our clothes off in front of each other in private so many times, but this feels different. There are other people around, family, but this feels way more intimate somehow.
“How do I look?” she asks, getting up and twirling around so I can see. It’s a custom jersey that my dad got me a long time ago that saysO’Sullivanon the back. And it damn well just about takes my breath away to see Donna wearing my name.
“Stunning.”
She sits back down next to me and leans in. “That’s good. That’s real good, Billy. Girls like to hear things like that. So what else would you do?”
“Well, if you were mine, and since you’re wearing my jersey and my name, I’d lift up your chin here, like this.” I place my fingers under her chin.
“Mm-hmm.” Donna murmurs. “And then?” Her voice is breathy, her eyelids getting heavy.
“Then I’d kiss you. Like no one else was here. Likewe were the only people in the world, even though we’re surrounded by family.”
And I lean in and do just that. I kiss her. And I don’t care if my family sees. I don’t care if her family sees. I don’t know what kind of explaining I’ll have to do later to justify kissing someone like this who is just “my neighbor.”
Because I’m done justifying not kissing her like this to myself. I need my lips on hers more than anything. More than I need my team to win or air to breathe.
As I’m kissing her, a great cheer erupts around us. We smile into our kisses, both of us thinking the same thing. That they’re cheering for us. But it turns out the Tomcats have scored a touchdown. The old Billy, the Billy of even a month ago, would be sad he missed it, wanting to high-five with his friends down by the railing.
But I’m not missing anything.
I feel right in the middle of the action.
Right where I want to be.
TWELVE
Donna
BILLY BOSTON AND THE SCARLET SPITFIRE
“But why is Wilhelm not your boyfriend,Püppchen? Why do you not want happiness with a man? Wilhelm is not Trevor. Only Trevor is Trevor.”
It’s been a long day, and I don’t have it in me to argue with this woman. Also,I’mstarting to wonder what my problem is. “I know he’s not Trevor, and I am happy, and Billy is great, but?—”
“His teamschtinks,” Opa interjects. “But Wilhelm is great.”
“Exactly. But this is just a no-strings thing that we have, Oma.” I don’t know how to explain to her that I’m starting to think I want more of Billy and with Billy and from Billy, but I can’t bring that up withBillyor I might end up with no more Billy.
“What is this noschtrings? Why should you not haveall of hisschtrings?” Oma asks.
“We just hang out and fool around and have fun without the commitment. It’s really great!”
My oma snorts. “Mädchen.Püppchen. Between a man and a woman this is not a thing.”
“Ach!Schtoppestering her! Everything has its time, yah? You know the saying, Donna,Alles hat seine Zeit.Let our girl have noschtringsuntil she wantsschtrings, Helga.”
“Thank you, Opa.”
“But you need to nail that man down soon,Püppchen, before someone else will. He wantsschtringswith you, but he will not wait forever, I think.” Opa sounds like Sigmund Freud all of a sudden.
“Yah. ‘Everything has its time…’” I can literally hear my oma rolling her eyes at him.
“Okay, well, I’m almost at the house, so I need to hang up now. Love you guys. Glad you got home safe.”
