Page 71 of Forever Flirting

“Oh man, Everly…” he hissed against her hair, inhaling.

“Are you two dawdling in there?” Nana hollered out. “I’m not getting any younger, you know.”

“C’mon,” Everly said softly, looking at him under her lashes, “Or she’ll come hunt you down.”

“I know,” Alex breathed, and saw Everly turn towards him, laying a hand on his waist. “I’ll be right there, Nana…” he called out absently, not looking away from Everly’s eyes – as they softened.

She was gazing at him like she cared, as if she wanted to be there, and he sensed something growing between them, pulling the two of them together.

“We are taking things slow,” she whispered as a reminder, but her other hand slid up to curl around his neck, causing his heart to stagger in his chest.

“Yup… slow,” he muttered distractedly and shivered with awareness, remembering that sweet taste of her, leaning closely.

As he leaned forward, he heard her breath catch, and he grasped the counter behind her to keep from pulling her close against him.

“We should probably go…” she breathed, angling her head upwards towards him, closing the space between them.

Did she want this as much as he did?

“Nana, gimme a second…” he called out numbly – and closed the space between them, immediately leaning forward.

“Just a second,” Everly parroted distractedly, and he felt her fingers dig into his side, pulling him forward to her.

… And he gave in.

Alex brushed his lips against hers, feeling his knees sag with desire as he kissed her and felt Everly respond. He was stunned to feel her open her mouth almost at the same time that he did, deepening the kiss between them immediately.

He aggressively pressed her against the counter, hearing the dishes behind them clatter, and not caring in the slightest as her hand slid from his side to his back, embracing him fully.

This is what heaven is like…he thought wildly.

Everything within Alex was focused on the woman before him – and he felt like it was the same for her. He was lost in the sensations that Everly was creating in him, and was insanely thrilled to feel that she was reacting the same… only to hear applause nearby.

He pulled his lips away, dragging in a shaky breath, to see his grandmother standing nearby, applauding.

“Nowthat’show you kiss a girl…” Nana said, fanning herself. “Mercy, people pay to see that on that dirty ‘Skinamax’ cable channel. It’s just a little weird when it’s my grandson, you know…”

“Nana… please?!” Alex muttered, chuckling and feeling a little mortified that she was comparing their kiss to something so illicit when it was intended to be innocent, but spinning out of control quickly.

Maybe the interruption was a good thing?

He felt Everly bury her face against his shoulder… and hesitated, thinking she might be upset, but instead heard her laugh softly.

His hand reached up and stroked her hair tenderly in relief, just needing to still hold her close, and felt her arms tighten slightly, hugging him. Leaning down, he quickly dropped a kiss on her temple, unable to resist.

“I’ve got your coffee, Nana… and your cake.”

“Oh you’ve got something sweet alright – but it ain’t my cake!”

“Nanaaaa…”

“It’s okay,” Everly said quietly, pulling away, and he saw her pink cheeks as she moved away from him. Alex quickly caught her hand, causing her to look back at him silently… and smiled tenderly at him.

“C’mon…” she urged, gathering up two of the plates as Alex dutifully took the two mugs belonging to Everly and his Nana into the other room.

* * *

An hour later,Everly was laughing in amusement and Alex was smiling as his grandmother was telling them both about how he’d gotten in trouble as a boy, losing his new sneakers in the creek about a mile away.

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