His eyes hold me frozen in place.
I can hear my heart beating wildly inside of my chest.
And that’s when it happens.
A kiss that catapults me back ten years ago and makes me feel things I thought were long dead.
Kaya
Two Weeks Before The Wedding
“You didn’t haveto do this,” I say as I reluctantly slide into the spotless tan leather seats of Brick’s rental, the fabric feeling like buttery suede under my touch. The buttons and knobs are shiny like new pennies. Everything gleams in the afternoon sun like its brand new.
“Is that your way of thanking me for being your Uber driver for the day?”
“Seriously, I could have gone to this appointment alone.”
“So that you wouldn’t have to ever look me in the eye again?” he asks mischievously.
I pivot my head around to look at him straight on. He thinks that kiss the other day has me rattled.
It doesn’t.
“What are you talking about? I’m looking at you right now.”
“I’m getting fitted for a specialty tuxedo just like you,” he chuckles. “That’s why it makes more sense for us to go together and kill two birds with one stone.”
“Have you taken a look at this wedding timeline?” I tap the printed wedding schedule sitting in my lap. “I don’t see how the tailor is going to pull off another custom tux in less than two weeks. Can’t they just pull something from the ready-to-wear section for you?”
“They have nothing in stock to fit a body like mine.” He smirks, and his heated gaze makes me feel unsteady.
That damn kiss.
I swear I’m not shaken by it, but… this is exactly why I didn’t want Brick to attend this fitting with me. In person, he likes to play too many games. The occasional phone call or email between us has been working just fine.
It’s been almost a week since Brick kissed me in his car. It was completely unexpected, and although I told him to never touch me like that again, it’s all I can think about.
“I’ll pretend that didn’t happen,” I told him.
“Don’t do that for my sake.”
“I’m not attracted to you, Brick.”
“That’s funny. I thought someone was kissing me back.”
“I just found out my boyfriend has been cheating on me. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
“And I just found out my girlfriend is trying to destroy me in the court of public opinion. But what does any of that have to do with what’s happening between us?”
“There is nothing happening between us,” I scoffed. “Just don’t take any liberties like that again.”
“I won’t have to,” he said confidently.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Next time I kiss you, you’ll beg for it.”
I haven’t seen or talked to this man in years, but not much has changed. He was the friend Kyle would do anything for, the indulged star of our school’s football team, and the arrogant player who could talk a girl into almost anything. The worse part about all of that was he knew his power. He reveled in it.
