His mouth quirked upward. “The dishes part, at least. I lived with Mike back in college, and he was a slob.”
“And you’re not dating anyone?”
He met my eyes. “Nope. Single.” He glanced at my lips before he turned to watch the TV. He seemed almost hopeful. Or maybe that was my anxiety overanalyzing the situation. I watched the TV too, waiting. Heart pounding. Awash with indecision. It wasn’t like the camera would show us again. We had already disappointed our audience. Twice. A few had even booed us at our last attempt. But why did that idea not relieve me as it should have?
“I don’t even know your name.”
My neighbor flashed me a grin, and I found myself smiling back. “Makes it kind of exciting, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’d prefer to make sure I haven’t heard your name onAmerica’sMostWanted.”
He laughed, moving his long fingers to his hat to flip it on backward. His hair was longer than I thought, touching the top of his ears. He reminded me of a young Ashton Kutcher.
“Is that show still on?” he asked.
“No idea.”
“I’m Duke.”
I swallowed, my mouth starting to feel dry. “Nora.”
He held his hand out to shake mine, and just as he caught me in his grip, the crowd around us began cheering once more. Duke’s friends shouted and pointed, laughing and whistling.
We glanced at the TV before looking back at each other—a question in both of our eyes.
He held my hand and leaned in closer, his eyes sparking with humor and sweetness. “I’m going to kiss you. You good, Nora?”
I barely had time to breathe out a yes before his lips were on mine.
2
The crowd went wild,as they say.
The excitement in the arena was everywhere. I could feel the vibration of stomping feet and excited shouts. The song had begun to wind down.
All the noise became a low buzz in my ears because my senses were completely immersed in what was happening to me. Warm hands lightly gripped that place between my cheeks and my neck, holding me close. Long fingers played with the hair at the base of my neck. His sweet cologne, smelling of pine and warm spices, had me almost shuddering with pleasure. And his kiss.
I wasn’t sure what I expected being nearly strangers. Cold? Brief? Impersonal? Duke’s kiss was none of those things. He pressed his lips to mine lightly at first, his hands at my neck. He breathed me in before nudging my lips open and increasing the pressure. The soft scrape from the stubble on his skin made my face come alive with sensation. My hands gripped his forearms. My mouth trailed after his when he pulled back to look at me. Soft eyes roamed over my face. He smiled at what he saw and pressed another kiss to my lips before he released his hands from my cheeks and pulled away.
I wasn’t sure how long the song had been over. They were now pulling somebody out from the crowd to make a shot from half-court to win a car. The people around us must have been watching with great interest and gave shouts of excitement our way. A few random men clapped Duke on the shoulder, and his friends had a great time teasing him. In a daze, I sat back in my seat and stared forward.
It felt as though the roller coaster ride at the amusement park had ended. An abrupt stop right where it had begun, the doors opening to let the dizzy passengers off.
Excuse me, sir, I’d like to go on that ride again please.
A large and hairy body settled in on my other side, crowding my space and waving a blue foam finger in front of my face. The reality of my situation quickly settled back over me.
“Nobody can say no to a foam finger. Am I right?”
He had bought me a foam finger. Meekly, I smiled and took the gigantic offering, setting it on my lap somewhat awkwardly. “Thank you.”
Jason took his empty beer cup and tossed it at his feet, leftover beer splashing out onto the floor and a little on my shoes. He replaced his cupholder with a full glass while balancing a chili dog on his lap.
“What’d I miss?” he asked me.
I stilled.
The entire arena had just watched this soap opera of a moment go down. In all actuality, very few people probably noticed, except for those behind me who saw me kiss a stranger while my date was out of sight.
