Page 95 of Betting on You

Charlie had been still the entire time I’d been toying, but just like that, he moved in closer, pressing my back against the tree as his mouth took over. It was like when summer sprinkles give themselves over to the crack of thunder, abruptly switching from a light tease of rain to a lightning-fueled downpour.

His hands clenched on my face—not painful, but more of a flex—and his body moved even closer as his lips and teeth and tongue went wild over mine. The game was forgotten and technique left behind as he kissed me like I was moving to Moldova and this was the last time we’d ever be together.

He kissed me like he’d been holding back for years and was finally giving in.

No kiss, in the history of civilization, had ever been that good, and I grabbed his shirt in both of my hands and did my best to give back as perfectly—and thoroughly—as I was getting.

A noise broke through the storm, and I could hear people walking in our general direction.

Charlie pulled back and watched me, his eyes traveling all over my face. He didn’t grin or make a joke, and his voice was gravelly when he said, “They’re watching us.”

“What?” I asked, touching my lips with my index finger. “They are?”

His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed and nodded. “They stopped skating and they’re talking.Dramatically.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah,” he said, looking toward the rink. “Trouble in paradise, I think.”

“Um, that’s really great,” I mumbled, still stuck in a post-kiss stupor. I tucked my hair behind my ears and rambled, “Yes. Great.”

That brought his eyes back to my face, and his mouth slid into a slow half grin. “You are fucking gorgeous when you’re kiss drunk, Mitchell, did you know that?”

I grinned back at him, feeling hot in spite of the chilly fall evening. Drunk was exactly how I felt; blissfully, tipsily, giddily under the influence of Charlie—both his kiss and the unexpected compliment. His smirkyfucking gorgeousfelt, to me, like he’d called me the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“I didnotknow that,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek to hold in the giggle. “Thank you.”

He reached out and ran his finger over my cheek, muttering “My favorite thing” before turning away from me and yelling, “It’s cold, Emily—can we go home and have cocoa, or are you skating all night?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURBailey

“Glasses?”

I lay there on the pullout sofa, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah?”

“You know there’s nothing wrong with liking him, right?”

“Who?”

“Scott.” Charlie’s voice was thick with sleepiness as he said, “It doesn’t change anything with your dad if you like him.”

“What?Charlie.” I sat up and looked in his direction, even though I couldn’t see more than his form in the dark. I didn’t want him to say that, because I was already struggling to keep my resolve in the whole get-rid-of-Scott plan. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be helping me sabotage his relationship?”

“Settle your ass down,” he said, amusement in his voice. “I am here to ruin his weekend—no worries. But, honestly, he’s a nice guy, and if you change your mind, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Well, I’m not.” I shook my head and tried to forget how much of a “nice guy” Scott was, because it didn’t matter—it wasn’t about that. My concern was about preserving the normalcy of my life, the comforting sameness of my family unit of two. “Changing my mind. I don’t care how nice he is. I don’t want him moving in and changing everything.”

“And that’s fine,” he said. “Now lie back down like a good girl.”

“Screw you,” I said as I did exactly what he said. I rolled onto my side. “So what’s the story with your parents, Charlie?”

I suddenly wanted to know more about my partner in crime. “I know the basics, that your mom’s boyfriend sucks and now they’re pregnant, but you never talk about it more than a generalization, whereas I complain all the time.”

“It’s boring shit,” he said, but his tone made me think he was trying hard to sound bored. “After the divorce, my parents absolutely focused on their futures, never looking back. My dad is remarried and expecting a baby with his wife, and my mom has been desperately trying to make that happen with Clark. And now they’re having a baby.”

I didn’t want to push, because the last thing I wanted to do was remind him of unhappiness, but suddenly I found myself thirsty for Charlie backstory. “Do you like your dad’s wife?”

“She seems nice enough, although I really only visit twice a year, so how the hell would I even know?”

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