Page 14 of One Little Kiss
“No, of course not. It’s harmless fun, that’s all.”
She doesn’t answer and I’m watching her expression to see what she’s feeling, but she’s not giving anything away. One thing I’ve always known about Noelle…the girl has a wicked poker face.
“It was Leah’s idea,” I add. Pathetic, perhaps, to throw my sweet cousin under the bus, but I don’t like the way Noelle’s been acting all weird around me. Like I hurt her feelings, or something.
I’d never intentionally hurt her. Which is what I’d tell her if she’d stop being all proud and impossible and just tell me what’s in that head of hers.
I stop walking when I reach my car, but Noelle doesn’t stop right away. She keeps coming toward me until the tips of her pointy-toed, knee-high boots brush against my sneakers.
Heat flares through me before I can stop it, before I can remind myself who this is.
My body doesn’t care. Muscles tighten and my blood turns hot as everything in me attunes to the familiar scent of her citrusy shampoo and the warmth of her skin.
“So…” She cocks her head to the side and her gaze drops to my lips.
Holy crap. Fire slices through me as her gaze settles there. Her eyes look darker than ever, and despite the cold November air, a sweat breaks out on my neck as my skin starts to crackle and hum with…
Oh crap.
There’s no electricity between me and Noelle, I remind myself.There are no freakin’ sparks!
But the thought feels desperate.
It feels like a lie. Because my blood is boiling and every nerve ending in my body is standing to attention as her dark gaze collides with mine.
She leans forward slightly and I forget where we are. I forgetwhatwe are.
Hell, I forget my own name when her hands settle on my chest.
“If I kiss you right here and now, does that mean I win?” she asks.
The girl might as well have taken a taser to me. One second I’m my normal, laidback self, and the next I’m a live freakin’ wire. My heart pounds like I just ran a marathon and then…
I can’t help it. My gaze dips down until I’m staring at her lips.
These are lips I’ve seen thousands of times, I try to remind myself.
But my throat is dry and my chest is too tight. The urge to reach out for her is so strong, it makes my biceps flex and my hands clench into fists.
She’s teasing. I know this, even though her expression is bland. She’s kidding.
She’s paying me back for the comment earlier about how this would be easy for her…
I know all of this, and yet…
I don’t know anything at all. My brain’s incapable of coherent thoughts. It feels like someone just dumped gatorade on a lightboard in my head.
Is she seriously considering kissing me?
My heart stutters.
If she’s just doing this to mess with me, to prove that I’m not immune to her…
No. She’s not cruel like that. Or…she never has been. We both love to play games. We tease and we flirt, but only to a point.
Neither of us has ever crossed that invisible line.
She arches a brow. “Well? Does it count if I kiss you?”
