Page 226 of Small Town Firsts
“Uh huh.” I flicked out my tongue to find he’d actually been telling the truth.
“Don’t tease a man. I have other things I want to do with that tongue.”
My stomach jittered and my heart pounded. Before he could lean down again—and God, did I want him to—Laurie yelled from the dining room for the chocolate spread.
“Coming,” Seth said against my mouth.
“Not yet.”
His smile slid from sweet to calculating. “Oh, I’ll fix that soon enough.”
“Daddy!”
I laid my hand against his chest. “Go on. We’ll finish later.”
“Oh, you will. Again and again.”
I swallowed as he backed through the swinging door. I quickly washed my sticky hands and grabbed the bacon to follow him when I caught the telltale colors of our high school on an envelope stuffed in the napkin holder on the counter.
I set the bacon down and slid the card out. Seth’s bold checkmark was the first thing I saw. I scanned upward and my stomach pitched.
Reunion.
God, how could it be ten years already?
Ten years and I’d done absolutely nothing.
I dropped the invitation and had to curl my fingers into my palm. For God’s sake, they were shaking.
Seth pushed his way back into the kitchen. “What’s taking you so long? Your pancakes are going to be ice-cold.”
I looked up at him.
“Hey. Are you okay?” He rushed forward and slid his hand along my hip.
“Fine. Just gotta get the bacon.”
He frowned down at me. “I know that fake smile. That’s the one you give Patty Duncan when she’s gossiping.”
“It’s nothing.”
His gaze slid down to the counter. “I forgot, I was going to mention that to you. I wasn’t sure if they were forwarding mail to your new place. I gave Jill your new address, but I wasn’t sure if you got the invite.” He stroked his thumb over the raised type on the card. “I’m excited to see everyone.”
“Yeah, definitely.” My voice was flat, and I had to tamp down my astonished laugh. No way did I want to go back and see those people.
High school held a lot of crappy memories for me. My mom being sick on and off, along with generally just feeling as if I didn’t fit in. I’d never really come to terms with being the best friend of one of the most popular guys in school. Not that Seth tried to win over people. He just attracted them without effort.
Basically, he was the anti-me in so many ways.
He picked up the bacon. “Yeah, Brad and JT texted me. They’re coming in from California. The Three Musketeers ride again. Come on, let’s eat.”
“Right.” I followed him and tried to shake off the dread filling my chest.
Seth set the bacon down as he filched another piece. “Hey, Munchkin. Did I ever tell you that Ally and I went to school together?”
Laurie was nibbling around a misshapen pancake on her fork. A ring of chocolate stained her lips. “Mmm. Big kid’s school? Or like me.”
“Half-day pre-K is almost big kid’s school.” I smiled. “We went to high school together. You’ll go to high school in about forty years.”
