“Dude, you are fucking rocking the ball right now.”
“I’m seeing it really clearly.”
“I know. It’s pissing me off,” he said, laughing, and hit my shoulder before we put our gear in his trunk. “I can drop you off at the house if you want, but I’m heading to Greta’s. Callie gets back from her trip and is cooking for Zade and us. You in?”
Impose on their double date and miss the chance to talk to Kenzie with him gone? No thanks.“Not tonight. I’m worn out from the party and cages.”
“I feel you. I tend to hate off-days, but sometimes, like now, I can’t wait to not break a sweat tomorrow. G wants to watch a season ofGame of Thrones. I might not be back until Monday.”
I laughed and slid into the front seat, desperate to change the subject.Forty hours with no Aaron? Not good. Nope.I asked the first thing that came to mind. “How’s your dad doing?”
“Still going to chemo, still fighting.”
“No news can be good news,” I said, thinking about my own situation. “You know I’m here if you ever need to talk.”
“I know, dude, thanks.” He focused on the road and remained silent for the short drive to our house. “I appreciate it.”
He dropped me off, giving me about thirty seconds to grab my shit out of the trunk, and flipped me off before driving away. The light in Kenzie’s room was on and I made sure to stow away my equipment in our pseudo-garage/storage area before heading up there. I couldn’t explain why my heart raced or why I had the same feeling in my chest as when I walked up to bat. The door remained open and I didn’t ask before sticking my head into her room. She sat on her bed, legs crisscrossed, hair in two braids and those goddamn glasses falling off her nose as she read a large book. She wore the tiniest pajama shorts and oversized Cubsshirt that had my mouth watering. “Hey.”
She looked up, smiled and set the huge text to the side. “Hey yourself. I wondered who got back first.”
“They’re all going to Greta and Callie’s for her cooking. If you haven’t had it, it’s stupid good.” I leaned against the door, loving the slight blush of her cheeks and the number of times she ran her teeth over her bottom lip. “Did you want to join them?”
“Ah, maybe another time.”
“Got big plans tonight?” I motioned to the book. She pursed her plump lips and nodded with all the confidence in the world.
“I do. Thanks for asking. I’m assuming you’re leaving…?” She let the words hang, sounding a little too hopeful for my liking. I pushed off the doorframe and took two large steps until I met her bed. “Sure, come in, please.”
“Kenzie.” The way I said her name caught her attention. She swallowed hard, blinking more and more the closer I moved toward her. “You’re not drunk, are you?”
“What? No! Why would you think that?”
“I’m making sure because I want to tell you something I haven’t been to get off my mind all fucking day.” I scooted closer so our legs touched and took it as a good sign when she didn’t push me away. “I didn’t kiss you for any other reason then I wanted to know what your lips felt like against mine.”
I had no idea how she reacted to that, because all she did was chew on her goddamn lip and stare at me. “And, Kenzie, they rocked my fucking world. I’m going to want to taste you again.”
Yes.She sucked in a breath, her chest moving a lot faster than it had been seconds earlier. I moved to get closer to her, but she reached out and pushed against my chest. I froze, so goddamn confused at what had happened, but then she spoke.
“That girl. You helped her, that’s all?”
I’m a fucking idiot.Pieces clicked together and I covered her hand with mine, trying hard not to laugh.She thinks I hooked up with Ambar after kissing her.“I helped her clean herself up, gave her a shirt and a glass of water. That’s it.”
“And our kiss was the best for you, too?”
“One hundred percent, yes,” I said, carefully moving closer to her. “It would a disservice to kisses everywhere if we didn’t indulge ourselves again, just to be sure.”
She giggled and slid down the bed so she was completely underneath me. I propped myself up onto my elbows and stared at this beautiful, spunky girl, and time seemed to stop. “They’re gone all night?”
“All night.”
“Just us?”
“You and me, Kenzie.” I pressed my lips against her jaw, moving along her skin until I got to the spot underneath her ear. She smelled like the shampoo I loved, a mixture of sweet and sweat, and my voice shook when I asked, “Can I kiss you again, before I lose my mind?”
“Hell, yeah, you can.”
Chapter Eleven
