Page 5 of First Kiss
Fifteen minutes earlier
Istared at my phone after Bradley went to refill my glass of champagne. I had never met anyone like him. He was so confident—so charismatic—and so incredibly hot. Stacy’s message said we shouldgo for itand a lot of my sorority sisters were replying that they intended to do precisely that in 2019.
Am I brave enoughto do the same thing? Bradley probably has no idea that I’ve never been kissed before…
I’ve had opportunities before, but none of those moments felt right—not like this.
I decided that I was going to take my sorority sister’s advice. One kiss wouldn’t hurt anything, even if it were my first. It would be one hell of a way to ring in 2019—that was for sure. I found my lips twisting into a smile as I thought about it. I was nervous, but my resolve was starting to gather. I looked over at the champagne table and saw that Bradley hadn’t even made it there yet—he was talking to another one of his guests.
Hopefully, he makes it back in time.
I nervously lookedat the clock on my cell phone as the final minute approached, and then the crowd started to gather around me so they would have a good view of the ball dropping in the distance. I lost sight of Bradley and realized that there was no way he was going to make it to me in time once the final seconds arrived.
Oh well, maybe it’s for the better. I won’t have a chance to regret it if he’s not even here.
I watched the ball drop, stared at the mesmerizing array of fireworks, and then the crowd started to head back inside. It was time for me to go home. The moment had passed. I pushed my cell phone into my purse and turned around—a second later I saw him wave at me.
“Brittany!” He started pushing against the flow of people that were going back into the building. “I’m so sorry! I tried to get to you, but…”
“It’s okay.” I shook my head back and forth. “I got to see the ball drop in person without standing in Times Square. That was fun, but I think it’s time for me to go home now.”
“Come on, don’t go.” He reached out and took my hand. “I don’t need fireworks to kiss you.”
“It’s okay, I promise.” I forced a smile. “Thank you for inviting me to your party. It was nice to meet you.”
“Give me another chance.” He squeezed his hand. “I can still kiss you at midnight.”
“When? Next year?” I raised an eyebrow.
“No, come with me.” He started walking, and I didn’t even have a chance to respond before we were back inside the building.
I was puzzled but intrigued—mainly when he ignored everyone at the party who tried to talk to him and walked straight to the elevator.
“Where are we going?” I stared at the elevator doors when they opened.
“Los Angeles.” He nodded. “It might be past midnight here, but not everywhere.”
“You’re crazy. That’s a six-hour flight—we’ll never make it in time.” I looked at him in confusion as he pulled me into the elevator. “Plus—the airport? It’ll take us two hours to even get through security!”
“We’re not flying commercial.” He chuckled and hit the button to take us to the bottom floor.
“There’s still no way, even if you had an airplane parked outside…” My words trailed off as the elevator started to move.
“Airplanes are boring.” He grabbed my hand again when the doors opened. “Ever ridden in a jet before?”
“No…” I tilted my head to the side as he started towards the door. “You have a jet?”
“I have a lot of them.” He held the door open as I approached. “But only one that can make it from New York to Los Angeles in two hours.”
“That’s—that’s impossible.” I shook my head back and forth.
“Everything is impossible until someone does it.” He led me towards his limousine as it pulled up to the curb. “And the impossible is exactly what the Department of Defense pays me to do."
The driver steppedout of the limousine and opened the door for me. I hesitated for a second, but then I climbed into the backseat. Bradley was undoubtedly going to a lot of trouble—especially if he had a jet that could get us to Los Angeles before the ball dropped in the west. He slid in beside me and held my hand as the limousine pulled away from the curb.
“You’re serious about this?”I looked over at him.
“I am.” He nodded quickly. “I might have missed my chance to kiss you at midnight in New York, but I won’t miss my next opportunity. Trust me.”
