“I don’t know what came over me. He was kissing me, and then all of a sudden my fingers were tracing the muscles of his stomach, and his hands were on my ass.” I wince. “Are you sure this isn’t weird?”
“I already told you it isn’t,” she says. “And if I’m surprised, it’s only because I thought you were more likely to kill him than hook up with him.”
“No, no. We’re not hooking up. It was one kiss, and it’s not happening again.”
“You said it was a good kiss.”
“The best. I felt it all the way to my toes.”Award-winning.
She squeals with glee.
“We have nothing in common.”
She looks up like she’s thinking. “You both seem to like kissing each other, so you could just do more of that.”
I finally laugh, and gosh it feels good. I don’t know how Claire does it, but she always makes me feel better.
She nudges me gently with her green elbow. “Seriously. I think this could be good for both of you. Vaughn is ready to move on, and you have been keeping yourself too busy to do anything fun. You’re all school and cheerleading. A boyfriend could be exciting.”
“I am not looking for a boyfriend.” My stomach dips low again. And Vaughn isn’t looking for a girlfriend. He’s been very clear about that.
“A friend you kiss, then,” Claire says.
I glare at her, which just makes her laugh.
“Who cares what you call it? As long as it’s making both of you happier, that’s all that matters.”
“No.” I shake my head adamantly. “It’s not happening again. But thank you for not hating me.”
“I could never,” she assures me.
I let out a long breath. This night has definitely taken some turns. I didn’t expect to kiss Vaughn or like it so much.
“So…” Claire waits for me to snap out of my kiss-jumbled thoughts. “What now?”
Chapter Twenty-two
Vaughn
I fucked up.
That’s been my only thought for the past two days. Ever since Lacey ran away from me at Bobby Boone’s party. I didn’t hear from her yesterday, not that I expected to, and today we’ve somehow managed not to run into each other all day.
Okay, not somehow. I’ve been avoiding her. I don’t know if I can face her yet. I took a big risk, and it didn’t turn out how I expected.
I’m hoping that by the time I see her, I’ll have accepted it and be ready to salvage a friendship if possible. I don’t want to go back to before when we barely spoke and never hung out. But I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be to see her and not want to kiss her again.
“So…” Rowan steps up to me as we’re walking to lunch. “I’m guessing by the fact you’ve been lying low today that things with Lacey didn’t go as you hoped Saturday.”
“Not exactly.”
“Sorry, man. I really thought she was into you.” His brows pinch together in the center.
“It’s not your fault.” It’s mine. I jumped her without giving her any warning. What the hell was I thinking? A few weeks ago, she couldn’t stand me and now I think she wants to make out with me? Stupid. Stupid.
“You want to hang out later? Nothing mends a broken heart like a friendly hang with a bunch of hot chicks. The soccer girls are having a small thing at Amanda’s house tonight.” Rowan looks to me hopefully.
“No,” I say immediately. The last thing I want is to spend the evening pretending to have fun and being friendly.
