“Yes!” Then she put her hand over her mouth. “I’d like to be kissed,” she whispered through her fingers.
***
Tanner was in big trouble.
Not just because of the party, although right after heand Anita were finished here, he was going to kick everyone out of the house—something he should have done before the party started. His younger brother, Lonzo, had spilled the beans to Corey’s younger brother about Lonzo and their mother being out of town this weekend to visit family in Texas. Corey must have heard about it, because the next thing Tanner knew, fifteen people had been invited to come over. Tanner should have nipped it in the bud right then, but somehow everything had gotten out of control, enough that when Anita had asked him what he was doing over the weekend—something she asked every Thursday for some reason—he absently mentioned the party. He’d never thought in a million years she would come. Not Goody Two-shoes Anita Bedford. He wasn’t exactly a rebel—although getting gauges in his ears had made his mother think he was until he explained he only did it because he liked the look. But he was a year older than Anita, and he had definitely kissed, and been kissed by, a few girls in his time.
Well, now that he thought about it, only two. School and work had put a crimp in his dating life.
But those girls weren’t Anita. Why had he opened his big mouth about the kiss in the first place? He knew she was naïve; that’s why he had volunteered to be in the closet with her before any of the other guys had the chance. But he hadn’t expected her to be this innocent. He had to admit it was kind of nice to be around a girl who wasn’t trying to date him. They were friends. Not close friends, but during their tutoring sessions he’d gotten to know her a little better. Math was extremely difficult for her, but she always tried her hardest, and he tried his hardest to teach her. Headmired her persistence, and soon it hadn’t just been about the extra twenty bucks he made each week tutoring her. He wanted to see her succeed too.
“Tanner?”
He heard the hope in her voice, and he was surprised to find that he was nervous, something he’d never been around Anita. That had to be the reason his thoughts were all over the place. Surely there was nothing wrong with a little kiss between friends, right? And he was her tutor after all. He’d had a lot of practice teaching her math, so why not do her a solid and help her out?
“Okay,” he said, moving close to her again. He rested his hands lightly at her waist. “Put your hands on my shoulders.”
“Like this?”
He could barely feel her hands resting on him. “You can touch me, Anita. I won’t bite.”
“Oh.” Her giggle sounded strained. Awkward. And kind of cute. When she settled her hands on his shoulders, she said, “What do I do now?”
What should she do now? He’d had his first kiss when he was twelve, and that hadn’t been much of one—more of a peck from one of the girls who had been at the one and only summer camp session he’d ever attended. Looking back, he could see now that the counselors should have been fired for the stuff they let the campers get away with.
His other kisses had been with Kayla Smith, a girl he’d dated for four months when they were sophomores. She had moved last year, but they had broken up before that.
He took a step closer to Anita, breaking out of his rambling thoughts before she decided he’d changed his mind.Now he was close to her ear. “I’m going to kiss you now, Anita,” he murmured, then moved his head until he found her lips.
It took a second for her to respond, but once she did... Wow. Kissing her was nothing like he’d experienced before. Her lips were sweet, and that soft moan she made... His hands tightened at her waist, drawing her closer to him—
“Hey!” Corey yelled, banging on the door.
They jumped away from each other.
“Stop hogging the closet!”
“Shut up, Simpson!” Tanner gave his head a hard shake, trying to regain his senses.
“Did I do okay?” Anita asked, her voice small.
“Uh, yeah.” More than okay. He’d never had to catch his breath after a kiss before. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. She saw him as a friend. Her tutor, to be more accurate. “I think you’ve got it.”
“Open the door, or I’m going to break it down,” Corey shouted.
“That’s it.” Tanner was done with this guy and everyone else. He threw open the door, his eyes squinting as they adjusted to the bright light. “Party’s over.”
Corey stood back and held up his hands. “Hey, dude, why ya mad? You should have said something if you wanted to be alone with Anita all night.”
“Idon’twant to be alone with her.” His temper was getting the best of him, not to mention he was still reeling from the kiss. “Get out of my house.” He turned and went to the front room. “All of you, leave now!”
“This party’s lame anyway.” Corey came up behind him,then walked over to Madison Baker and put his arm around her shoulders. “No booze, no fun.”
Tanner rolled his eyes and pointed to the back door. “Out.”
Everyone grumbled and groaned but complied. He barely knew most of the kids here, and he was relieved when they left.
Then he remembered Anita.
