I dipped my face, pressing my lips to her temple. Her hair smelled lovely. I remembered that scent. It had lingered in my car when we were kids. She’d stayed with me even when she wasn’t.
I didn’t move, my lips on her skin and her body snug against mine. Gennie was talking about frozen lemonade, and how the watermelon-flavored lemonade was superior to cherry, and her face was sticky and streaked with pink. I nodded, still holding Shay like my existence depended upon it.
The truth was, it did.
I could resist all I wanted. Fight like a motherfucker. Push her and push her and push her away.
And still, there was nothing I wanted more than this.
“What’s the story?” she asked, low enough to keep it between us. “With yourfriendChristiane.”
“She’s not my friend,” I replied. “She’s just very persistent.”
Shay laughed, rocking her curves against me in the most delicious way. This wasn’t the time or place to be aroused, but goddamn, I was far past my limits here.
“I’m aware of that,” she said. “We had a little standoff in the restroom. I didn’t think I was getting out of there without scheduling a pelvic floor therapy appointment.”
“A—what?”
She shook her head, her earrings swaying with the movement. They were grapes, these earrings. Bunches of purple grapes.
I didn’t know why I found that absolutely charming but I did.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” she said. “So, what’s the deal? Did you ghost her? No, wait. You gave her a night she’ll never forget and—”
“Shut up, Shay.” It came out in a rumble, a rockslide of words that left her gazing up at me, her lips parted and her brows arched. There’d never been a moment where I wanted to kiss her more than I did right now, and I’d devoted two years of my life to wanting to kiss her. Yet this was different. It was so much more powerful. Truly, a rockslide.
“Wow. When did you turn into a player?” she asked. “Breaking hearts all over town, huh?”
“That’s not what happened,” I snapped. “She thinks—I don’t know—she thinks we’d suit.”
“What an old-fashioned way of saying she wants to get a piece—”
I pressed a finger to her lips. “Did I not tell you to shut up?”
She blinked at me, her brows raised as she silently commanded me to explain. Before I could think better of it, I left her lips, traced the round of her cheek, and drew my thumb over the crease of her brow. Smoothed out the curiosity gathered there. “It doesn’t matter what Christiane wants because her kids have been terrible to Gen. They’re twins and they’reterrible. I know I shouldn’t say that about children but, seriously, if you knew the half of it, you’d agree with me.”
“What happened?”
“The boy, that little fucker, chased Gennie around the playground on her second day of school with a dead garter snake he’d found somewhere in the bushes. But she was the one who got in trouble because she elbowed him in the mouth and knocked out a few teeth when he tried to shove it down her shirt.”
Her gaze dropped, her lips parted. “What thefuck?”
I nodded as I tucked a few pink strands over her ear again. The wind was keeping me busy here. I loved it. “That’s how we met. She said the whole thing was a misunderstanding. Her boy was going through a difficult time since she and the father divorced last year. She wanted us to arrange some playdates so the kids could get to know each other. That was her solution.”
“What was your solution?”
“I wrote a letter indicating I’d bring my concerns regarding student safety to the state department of education and file a lawsuit if she wasn’t moved into another class.”
“Was she moved?”
“The next day,” I replied. “But the teacher wasn’t a great fit for Gennie. Just didn’t get what she was all about. They clashed from the very first minute. I’m pretty sure she retired at the end of the year and credited Gennie with that decision.”
“That’s not great,” she murmured. “Were there any other incidents? With that boy?”
“Nothing as bad as the snake situation but lots of reports of them getting into it on the playground. And the girl, I thought she was the good seed in that bunch but that wasn’t the case. Never lets Gennie play with her or the other girls. Always saying awful things about Eva when the teachers aren’t around. And that’s just the stuff Gennie tells me. I know there’s a lot more. The issue with her hair, for example. She doesn’t tell me everything.”
“Have you mentioned any of this to the lady lusting after you?”
