Page 66 of Last First Kiss
Clara 9:00 a.m.:
I’ll meet you there in 5
“Clara’s on her way?” Isabella asks.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“The notification popped up on your tablet.” She shrugs as she closes the tablet and hands it to me. I grab it and throw it in my bag.
“Well, I should go. Good luck!” Isabella says with a wink.
I playfully roll my eyes at her.
I go into the coffee shop again to grab Clara herfavorite coffee—a brown sugar latte—and head back outside to wait for her to arrive.
I scroll through the pictures again, and a rush of pride floods through me because, yeah, they are amazing, and maybe my dream isn’t as far-fetched as I’ve convinced myself it is.
“Hey,” Clara says, interrupting my train of thought, and that pride turns into nervousness.
Clara looks so beautiful today. She’s not wearing anything she doesn’t usually wear; she’s in cargo pants and an oversized sweater that falls just below her hips, and over it, she has a long, warm coat. A style that fits her so well. Her blue hair sits above her shoulders, and she’s wearing sunglasses. But it’s not hard to imagine the honey-brown eyes hiding behind them. They are the most perfect shade of light brown.
“Hey,” I say back as Clara leans in to kiss my forehead. I’d be lying if I said I don’t absolutely love it when she does that. She only welcomes me and Lala like that, and knowing she doesn’t do it for anyone else is my favorite.
“You left these at home.” She hands me my favorite pair of sunglasses.
“Thank you,” I say, putting them over my eyes. I rarely leave the house without them because I always end up with a migraine on sunny days like today, and the fact that Clara knows that and brought them to me when she realized I’d left them makes my heart flutter.
“I got you coffee already,” I say as I push the coffee cup toward her.
“Thanks. How was your chat with Isabella?”
“It was good. She wants me to print out the three pictures I showed her.”
“Hey, good job.” Clara leans against me with her shoulder.The connection sends a warmth shooting through me, and I think back to last night.
“Thanks,” I say shyly.
Clara smiles and reaches for my hand, giving it a little squeeze.
“I was sad when you weren’t in bed this morning,” she says, brushing her lips against my knuckles, making my stomach flutter wildly.
“Yeah?” I ask with a hesitant smile playing on my lips. It’s far from the first time she’s said this, but after what happened between us last night, hearing her say something so ...usfeels unexpectedly good.
Clara meets my gaze and returns the smile before nodding.
“Isabella thinks we should date,” I say.
“Does she?” Clara asks, amused.
I nod, biting my lower lip.
“Did you tell her we are?” Clara’s eyes lock on mine as she takes a slow sip from her coffee.
I shake my head, my fingers tightening around my empty cup. “I wasn’t sure you’d want the girls to know yet.”
“Do you not?” Clara’s voice is gentle.
I shrug again, a slight heat rising to my cheeks. “I do want to tell them, but I didn’t know if you did.”
