Page 74 of Perfectly Accidental

All the things I didn’t want to be and didn’t know I could be.

She tasted like fruity lipgloss, and her lips were so soft against mine. My heart actually stuttered in my chest, and I knew I was a goner. One kiss was never going to be enough. If this was what a chaste kiss with her felt like, then what was more going to–?

She pulled away from me like she was angry, awkwardly threw the doonas off her, and jumped out of the tray. I was so confused, I didn’t have the brain power for a flashing joke.

“Barlow?” I asked.

She span to look at me and she looked pissed. Her mouth opened and closed, then she turned away again. I didn’t know what to say or do. I didn’t know what I’d done or said to piss her off. My head was scrambling for solutions, but none were coming.

I hopped out of the tray and went to her. She turned just as I put my hand on her arm, full of tiny fury.

“You!” she snapped, and my surprise was visceral.

I’d never seen her like this. She’d been annoyed at me, grumpy with me, we’d teased and joked, and she’d told me off, but she’d never yelled at me. It was the most self-confident and assertive as I’d ever seen her and it was a turn on, regardless of what else was happening.

“You of all people!” she huffed, pointing a finger at me. But that was all she said.

I held my hands up, as much because I was in danger of pulling her to me as I felt on the defensive. “Me what, Barlow?”

“You! You weren’t…” She breathed deeply and I didn’t know if she was that angry or just didn’t know what to say. “Out of everyone, I thought you’d at least do me the curtesy of not treating poor little fragile Piper Barlow with kid gloves!”

What was she talking about?

“What? I don’t even know what that means…”

She flailed her arms wildly. “Everyone thinks I’m so sweet and innocent. Like I’ll break if you apply the tiniest bit of pressure. Like I have no idea what I want!”

“Barlow, you’re acting crazy. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That kiss, Lombardi!” she yelled.

“What about it?”

“What the hell was that?”

I didn’t know what was going on here. Was she angry I kissed her? I would have thought she’d pull away quicker if that was the problem. Did she just not like it? Did I not kiss well enough for Little Miss Perfect?

“Not usually the response I get.”

“No, I doubt you kiss all the girls like you’re not into it!”

Thatwas the problem? She’d thought I wasn’t into it? She couldn’t be more wrong. It had been different, for sure, butshewas different.

“Not into it?” My laugh was anything but humoured. “Not into it? Barlow, I’ve wanted to kiss you all fucking week! To say nothing of the years before that or the fact I want to do more than just kiss you. What the fuck is up with you?”

“So, was it just me? It was no good? I was no good?”

Where the fuck was this coming from? How had one kiss made her so uncertain of herself? What the fuck had I done?

“What? Look, if you’ve got a problem with the way I kiss–”

“Of course, I have a problem with it! I’d thought, out of everyone, you’d have kissed me like you meant it. It would have been fireworks and ruined me for every other guy–”

Wow. Coming from her…that was unexpected. Unexpected and… I didn’t like it.

“Right, so you were just looking for the infamous Roman Lombardi experience? Well, if you’d just said so a week ago we could have skipped all this feelings and hand-holding bullshit, and got down to business.” I crossed my arms as I looked at her, feeling mighty pissed off myself.

I was in danger of feeling things here, and all this time she’d just wanted to see what all the supposed fuss was about?

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