Then those perfect lips met mine and my toes curled so hard and my eyes rolled back into my head. There was no tongue. Nothing too romantic, besides the perfect combination of my coffee and the mint in his mouth. I could never have peppermint coffee again without thinking of him. Those soft lips left a trail of tingles all over my face when he ended the contact.
He kept his hands on my face and slowly opened his eyes. They still swirled, all emotions I couldn’t recognize because my head was spinning out of control. My heart slammed and I cleared my throat. Pure self-defense kicked in and word vomit masked the inner turmoil I had. I patted his chest. “Not bad, big guy.”
His lip quirked up. “Not bad yourself. Your lip stuff tastes nice.”
“Dr. Pepper flavored. I don’t drink soda and it’s the closest thing I have to it.” I ran my fingers over my lips, the sensation of his leaving a permanent mark. “You can borrow it sometime if ya want.”
“Thanks, asshole. I’ll keep that in mind.” He chuckled and put his arm around me. “I had to kiss you, just so you know.”
My stomach dropped at his words. But then he added, “It was the perfect opportunity. One of those girls is a huge Twitter troll and I hope she got a picture.” He ran his other hand down the back of his neck, sighing in discontent. “Let’s buy your book and get out of here.”
I nodded, still dumbstruck by that kiss. His words hit like cold water. Ice-cold water waking my damn senses.It was staged, asshole. It was just a kiss. Get over yourself.
“We good, G?” He paused and put his hand on my shoulder. His eyes narrowed and I swallowed down the emotions. Compartmentalizing could be my future career. I nodded and plastered on a fake smile.
“Always, Ronnie.”
Chapter Eight
Aaron
Kenzie wanted to kill me. I could feel it through the phone. She ground her teeth and I winced. Ihatedlying to her. I despised liars. And yet, here I was, surprised my pants weren’t bursting into flames. “Yeah, Kenz. We’re a couple. It’s official.”
“Why did I have to find out from my friends, asshole? You couldn’t tell me!” she shrieked, a loud bang echoing over the phone. I imagined she’d hit her locker. Kenzie liked to be dramatic.Are all the women in my life dramatic? God.
“It just happened.” I tried to think of a way to appease her.But nada.“Look, I would never intentionally keep something from you,” I lied again. My stomach soured, the familiar feeling of self-loathing. “You’ve met Greta a bunch of times.”
“I love Greta. I’m surprised she agreed to this. You were kind of a dog, bro.” She laughed, the anger evaporating. “I really am happy for you. She’s awesome. She cusses just as much as you and doesn’t think you walk on water. I don’t know how you pulled this off, now that I think about it.”
“Hey, now.”
“What? I remember seeing her last year and you did something douche-y, like high-fiving yourself—”
“I didnothigh-five myself,” I scoffed. I was a showboat for a while butthatcrossed the line. “I know I didn’t.”
“I don’t know, man, you were a douche-nozzle for a good year.” Her voice dropped an octave and the uncomfortable feeling returned to my core, the guilt and shame causing all sorts of turmoil in my chest. She cleared her throat, both of us remembering what had changed me.Our dad.“Are you coming home for a visit soon?”
“I plan to. We have a tournament this next week, then a week off. I’ll plan for the week off.”
“Good. I miss your dumb face.”
“I miss yours, too.” I smiled. I did miss my sister and her crazy nail colors and stupid insults. “I heard you’re working a lot now. Are you saving up a lot?”
“Ha! No. I now have a shopping addiction.”
I frowned, unsure if she was joking or not. “Really?”
“Yeah. I make hella tips waitressing and I have no willpower to save it. I put, like, twenty bucks into a drawer and don’t touch it, but the rest goes toward clothes and shoes.Sooomany shoes.”
“Kenzie. Save some money.” The older sibling side of me came out. Our parents were in no condition to worry about her cash flow, but I was. She wouldn’t get a full-ride scholarship and who knew how much our parents could help us out next year. They didn’t talk about money and we didn’t ask. “Don’t be a dumbass.”
“You partied your face off. I spend money. We all cope in different ways,” she snapped at me. The rude tone of her voice caught me off-guard. She never talked like that. “I need to go. I leave soon for my night shift.”
“Kenz,” I sighed into the phone, knowing damn well I’d pissed her off.
“No. It’s fine. I get it. You’re looking out for me.”
“I’m sorry.”
