“Okay, but then… what? How do you bridge the gap from friendship to more?”
Good question.Damngood question.
“That will depend on whether he’s into you or not.” I winced internally and said, “Kiss him and find out for sure.”
“Kiss the guy I’ve now made myfriend.” Brian shook his head. “That’s terrible advice.”
I folded my arms over my chest.
“Oh, come on! Youknowit is!” he insisted. “Couldyouimagine kissingme? It would make everything all awkward forever after.”
Not onlycouldI imagine it, Iwas… at that exact moment. “It definitely wouldn’tbotherme if you tried to kiss me,” I hedged, and for just a second, I let the smallest fraction of how much I wanted him show on my face.
Brian’s cheeks full-onglowed, he blushed so fiercely. “Wow. You do that way too easily,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “This is a skill that comes from hooking up with guys instead of dating. You could probably findanyoneattractive, couldn’t you?”
I shrugged expansively, allowing the lie to stand. The truth was, it had been a hot minute since I’d really foundanyoneelse attractive. Which was part of my problem.
“So couldyou. If you don’t believe me, try it.” I spread my arms wide, closed my eyes, and puckered up, knowing full well he’d never, but hopingsomehow,just this once, he would. “Lay one on me. What’s the worst that could—mmmph!”
Holy shit, he fuckingdid.
It was a bumbling, misdirected press of lips that involved way more teeth than necessary. I’d had more technically proficient kisses in junior high.
But the knowledge that it wasBrianmade my knees weak and my eyes pop open, because who the fuck cared if he bit my face off, so long as he stayed right where he was?
Without thinking, I lifted my hands to cup both sides of his jaw. Brian’s eyelashes fluttered out a crazy SOS. His hair was sweat-damp around his ears and his cheeks were neon pink. In an entire lifetime of wanting, there would never be anyone I wanted more than him, awkward and panicked and all. My gut cramped with it.
His lips parted, his questioning eyes met mine, and his hands came up to wrap around my wrists… but he didn’t pull me away. Instead, he sat perfectly,perfectlystill on that tabletop asIleaned forward and pressed our lips together for a second time.And then, before I had a chance to think about what I was doing, what I wasrisking, Brian’s lips opened further and he tentatively brushed his tongue across mine.
Jesus Christ. My mind liquified. It was hotter and more consuming than I’d ever imagined. Sweet, when I’d never had that before. Loving, when I’d never had that either.
In my life, I’d hit a bunch of milestones—that’s what Turners did. Degrees achieved, mountains climbed, whatever. Every time, the anticipation of happiness lasted right up to the actual moment of finally getting what I’d wanted… but the actual happiness never came. When I looked out from the peak of a mountain, all I could see were all the other peaks in the distance, and how much further I still had to go.
I realized, when Brian’s arms looped around the back of my neck, some tiny part of me had worried that being with Brian would be the same. That it couldn’t possibly be as special as I’d imagined it would be. That there were only so many incarnations of lips and teeth and tongue you could experience before they all ran together, right?
But no.
Nope.
Fuck me, no.
I licked at Brian’s mouth greedily, loving everything about this kiss—the taste, the texture, the scent of him, the little moaning noises he made and the way he clutched at my shirt like he was as into it as I was. I never, ever wanted it to end.
But, of course, the very instant that thought flashed across my brain, I heard laughing voices coming up the path toward us. I backed away from Brian, prying his hands off me as he blinked in confusion.
“Hey, Dare!” Everett Maior said, walking into the clearing with Angela Ross and a couple of other women I recognized from around O’Leary. They were all carrying sketch books, and Ev had a small cooler. “Hey, Brian. You guys enjoying the day?”
“Yup.” I busied myself drinking my water and angled myself behind the picnic table, waiting for my cock to deflate for the seventeenth time that morning. “Great hike.”
“Oh. Yeah. For sure.” Brian’s smile looked forced and his mouth was red, probably from my beard, which should have made me a lot less pleased than it did. “How are you guys doing?”
Ev grinned and ran a hand through his dark curls. “Good, yeah.” The women spread a tablecloth on another picnic table in the area, and one grabbed the cooler strap from Ev’s shoulder. “Today’s my day off, so I’m gonna teach Angela’s book club some basic sketching. We brought snacks and some Riesling in a non-breakable container if you wanna join us and promise not to report us to the park rangers?” He winked.
“Actually, Brian was just complaining about the heat,” I told Ev sadly. “He raced up the hill too fast and got ahead of himself. Probably best if I take him home.” I clapped a hand on his shoulder, and I’d swear Brian shivered a little at the contact.
I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“Really?” Ev’s lips quirked. “He looks okay to me, but you’re the safety expert.”
