“So all this time, you were working to add new clients so two interns could potentially be hired?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Just doing my best to keep up with the work ethic of this amazing intern we had at the office.”
I looked at my watch. “I don’t mean to tell you your business, but it’s been exactly four minutes since you last kissed me.”
Watching me carefully, he closed the distance between us, this time a smile playing across his lips.
“You gonna make me come the whole way?” he asked.
“I’ve always wanted to see if a guy would go the full hundred.”
His hands found my face, and his forehead touched mine. “InHitch,they said it’s supposed to be 90/10.”
I drew in a breath, stars in my eyes. “You’ve seenHit—“
Then he was kissing me.
Epilogue
The crowd cheeredand stomped their feet in the stands when the Jazz scored another point right at the buzzer. With our seats at the top of the nosebleed section of the arena, the sound was deafening in my ears. It had been almost four years since I’d been back to a Jazz game. This time, I could lean into the good-smelling guy without it being weird. There was no body hair in my face. This time, we skipped the armrest altogether, and instead, Duke had his arm around my shoulders. Dancers from the Jazz dance team began filling the court.
“Can I buy you a foam finger?” Duke asked as he stood up to grab us some snacks for the second half.
I grinned. “I think I’m good.”
Duke leaned all the way down to give me a quick kiss on my lips before sliding out onto the stairs. As he walked away, my eyes couldn’t help but take note of the way his jeans hung low on his hips, the basketball hat, and his soft-blue t-shirt. It was sometimes hard to believe he was mine. Being back at the Delta Center with Duke felt surreal in the best way possible. Our seats were at the bottom half of the second level, which I found I liked. And most importantly, we had quick access to the stairs for easy snacks. A pretzel with cheese sauce for me—and a Dr. Pepper. Though Duke and I were together every day at work and hung out at his house whenever we could, I still found it difficult to get enough of him. He always left me wanting more.
The Jazz dancers began dancing to an enthusiastic beat a few moments later, and I was immediately captivated. I wouldn’t tell Duke, but the dancing was by far my favorite part of the game.
My mom and Kip are still married and living in his RV down in the south of Florida somewhere—near a beach, if the bikini-clad pictures she sends me by the water mean anything. She seems happy, but maybe that’s just what happens in such close proximity to a beach. I hope she really has found what she was looking for, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find her on my couch one day. Years of this cycle weren’t easily forgotten. Duke and I have had several long talks about ways to set boundaries with our parents while still maintaining loving relationships. Having someone in my corner, to help me make decisions and set guidelines, has made all the difference for me.
A man wearing a ratty t-shirt and a blue beanie covering up his stringy blond hair slid past me and sunk into the empty seat at my left. He looked to be in his mid-forties. I re-adjusted, scooting closer to where Duke would be sitting and put some space between me and the man. I couldn’t help but be disappointed that out of the hundreds of empty seats I’d seen littered throughout this section of the arena, his seat had to be the one right next to mine.
All too soon, the dancers finished their routine and left the court. A smile lit my face as “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer came blasting over the speakers. The kiss cam started off strong with a couple who’d been dancing in their seats. They pointed and laughed when they saw themselves, and she jumped into his arms. Two more couples got on screen before I saw my face on the Jumbotron.
Instantly, my smile left, and I blinked again, not quite sure how this was happening. I stared in horror at my open-mouthed, terrified face gracing the screen. And my blond seat neighbor.
Are you freaking kidding me?
“Hey!” the blond man leaned toward me. “Look at that!” He looked over at me, laughing. “It’s us!”
My eyes were as wide as plates. Panic flooded my insides. Frantically, I waved the camera away, except I had no idea where the camera was, so it looked like I was motioning toward someone in the opposite direction on the screen. After a moment, big and bold words appeared on the screen.Kisshim,kisshim,kisshim!
What in the—?
NO.
“They’re kind of intense about this,” my seat neighbor said, looking down at me with a small, uncomfortable laugh. You and me both, buddy. “Should we just kiss real quick?”
“No,” I blurted. “I have a boyfriend. He just left.”
“He left the arena or…” came his mumbled reply.
“He’s grabbing snacks.”
Our eyes were still peeled on the Jumbotron. We were starting to get booed. Was the camera broken? I planned to write a strongly worded letter to the kiss-cam people as soon as I got home.
“Let’s just kiss on the cheek real quick. We’re going to get food thrown at us if we don’t give them something.” He was eyeing the Jumbotron in confusion. The crowd behind and in front of us began shouting, motioning through very specific gestures of what was expected.
