Page 42 of Last First Kiss
I freeze, my laugh catching in my throat.
“I—uh.” I sit up, my face somehow gettinghotter. “Yeah, Olivia,” is all I say as I look away, suddenly very interested in the carpet.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ALEJANDRA
“Clara!” I call from the kitchen, where my grandma and I have been waiting for the past half hour, ready for breakfast. But Clara’s too embarrassed to show her face.
I’ve knocked on our bedroom door twice already, trying to coax her out, but she won’t budge.
Honestly, I didn’t want to face my grandma, either, but we have to be at my sister’s for the second round of dance practice in two hours, and I couldn’t put it off any longer. Plus, the bacon she was frying smelled delicious, and my belly was rumbling.
Somehow, facing my grandma was easier than pretending Clara’s desperate need to masturbate to Olivia wasn’t making me want to crawl out of my skin.
“Should I go get her?” Lala asks.
I shake my head. “No, I’ll do it.”
I walk toward our room and swing the door open, ready to drag Clara out of bed if I have to, but the bed is empty. And the room smells faintly of Clara’s body wash. Bergamot and sandalwood.
The bathroom door swings open, and Clara walks out ofthe bathroom with a towel wrapped snugly around her. When her eyes land on me, she freezes.
My mouth goes dry, and a sharp breath catches in my throat. Heat coils low in my stomach, spreading like wildfire through my limbs. My legs twitch with the urge to move, to close the space between us, to pull her in and kiss her until we’re breathless, and my mouth aches with the intensity.
“Yes?” Clara says, tentatively stepping closer.
I step back, worried that having her so close will make my knees feel weaker than they already do. “We need to go soon,” I say through a thick swallow.
My gaze falls to her mouth. Soft, pink, and impossibly tempting. I immediately regret not kissing her yesterday, because right now, all I want is to feel her lips against mine.
“I’ll be ready in ten,” Clara smiles nervously as she stands so close to me I can feel the heat of her shower against my skin.
I nod, completely breathless.
“Anything else?” Clara asks as she watches me intensely.
But I can’t focus on a single word, because all it would take for us to kiss is one slight movement. If I leaned in, our lips would meet.
But I don’t. Olivia’s unfairly perfect face comes to mind. I’m not the one Clara wants to kiss. I’m not the one who has her sneaking out of bed, desperate to satisfy some overwhelming need.
I shake my head and clear my throat, trying to regain a semblance of composure.
Clara gives me a tight-lipped smile and turns, but without thinking, I reach out and catch her hand. The moment my skin meets hers, heat sparks beneath my fingers. I close my eyes, feeling her ignite undermy touch.
When I open my eyes, Clara is staring at my hand around her wrist. Her towel has fallen just a tad, showing more of her chest, which makes me feel like I could faint.
I force my eyes to her face, to peel themselves off of her cleavage, but it’s hard. All I can think about is the tattoo peeking from her sternum, the one burned into my memory. I know it so well, not just because I was there when she got it, but because part of it is mine. My hand trembled as I drew tiny hearts on her skin, guided by her tattoo artist. I remember Clara looking down at me, smiling, her eyes locked on mine while I tried not to mess up her tattoo. Now, all I want is for her towel to be on the floor so I can press my lips to that exact spot.
“Yes?” Clara asks with concern, and I silently kick myself.
“Are we okay?” I ask, unsure where the question came from.
“What? Yes, of course,” she says, immediately stepping closer. “Why wouldn’t we be?” For the first time in our entire friendship, she hesitates. Clara is never nervous. But right now, it’s written all over her face.
“I don’t know,” I admit, rubbing the back of my neck. “Just ... general anxiety, I guess. We didn’t get a chance to talk about what happened at Diana’s, and I was worried maybe things would be weird between us.”
Clara steps in closer, pulling me into a tight hug.
