“Just trying to make good on my declaration of being the best wedding date there ever was.” He sips his drink, which I think is an attempt to hide his blush, which has already spread down his neck and under the collar of his crisp white shirt.
“We’re only at the halfway point of this thing, and you’ve passed that test with flying colors.”
“Don’t tally the score just yet. There’s still a meal to eat and some dancing to do.”
I roll my eyes. “Unless you start eating with your feet or request the Electric Slide, I think it’s safe to say you’ve secured gold status when it comes to wedding dates.”
“I see your Electric Slide and raise you a Cotton-Eyed Joe.”
“Oh, yeah? If you request the Cotton-Eyed Joe, then I’m hell-bent on doing the Cupid Shuffle.”
“God, no. Anything but the Cupid Shuffle. I’ll have the directions stuck in my head for at least five days.”
“Don’t test me, Techler. I’m a menace when it comes to line dances.”
He steps closer to me, our cups almost clinking. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was putting the moves on me. Is he thinking what I’m thinking? His breath smells like gin and vermouth, a taste that would be so much less satisfying if I got it from my own glass. “When pushed, I can be even more menacing…”
He tilts his head down toward me. The two of us are basking in a nighttime glow, an event-day high. I lengthen my neck, curious. So damn curious. “How so?”
My eyes become a ruler, taking detailed measurements as the inches between our lips become centimeters and the centimeters become millimeters. We hold there for what feels like forever, hovering over the precipice of the impossible. Am I imagining this?
Suddenly, he whispers, “Gangnam Style.”
My immediate laughter gets interrupted by Drew’s upturned lips crashing into mine.
I’m not imagining this in the slightest. No, I’m kissing Drew Techler. His silky tie slips between my fingers while his hands dome around my face, careful our noses don’t bump. Not that I’d notice. Breath hot, heart racing, I’m too busy relishing this, feeling his pulse drum into my palm at the base of his neck. It’s heaven.
When he pulls back, I stumble off-center, stunned, clutching my burning cheek. I accidentally spill part of my drink over the ledge, narrowly missing the head of an unsuspecting guest in a mint-green gown. Thank God the olive stayed put.
Afraid someone might look up and see us, I take Drew by the hand, jerk him inside, and ditch my martini glass behind a portly clay vase—no evidence, no crime.
Relaxing, I laugh a little to myself. “I’m such a fucking klutz. Goddamn.”
“At least you’re a handsome klutz.” Drew reaches out to smooth down my lapel where he’d rumpled it seconds ago.
“You…kissed me,” I say finally, a little awestruck. Our firstrealkiss. My lips still tingle. His fingers are so close to my neck again. Any moment they could be walking their way up toward my jaw, tracing a line back to my mouth. A place where his mouth just was. All hot and bothered and fantastic.
“I did,” he replies, less brazen than before. “And you kissed me back?” The question lingers.
“I…” His touch is amazing, making it nearly impossible to answer as my throat jams up with giddiness. “I did. And, listen, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you…” My heart pounds and adrenaline surges. This is it. The perfect segue. My confession is about to trip right off my tongue when my phone starts buzzing in my pocket.
Dammit.
When I don’t recognize the number on the screen, I sharply hitIgnore. “As I was saying…”
“Who was it?” Drew asks. We’re in a corridor now, hidden and a bit dark.
“Spam, probably,” I say, annoyance lingering over the interruption. “Now, where were we?” I lean in again, swathed in the joy andthe charming albeit heteronormative displays of love, ready to tell him everything I haven’t had the guts to say previously.
The roar of the party is feet from where we’re standing, but it’s no match for the roaring inside my head. The floating inside my chest. The buzzing against my leg. Against my leg? “Shit, it’s the same number.AndI have a voicemail?”
“Jeez, spam is getting way more aggressive these days.”
I’m a firework show of frustration as I ask, “I should take this, right?”
Drew nods, practical. “Could be important.”
“Ugh, fine.” I groan, feeling all the air fly out of me. “I’ll take it.”
