Slowly, I let my shoulders relax. I force my breathing to slow.
I glance down and notice Beck is still touching me. Still leaning closer. His gaze drifts to my eyes, then my lips, then back again.
I freeze. Hold perfectly still.
“Gracie.” Beck licks his lips, and suddenly I can’t look away from them.
“What?” I whisper.
He inches closer until his chest brushes my arm, his heat burning through the thin fabric of my dress. “What if… what if…” He closes his eyes, like he can’t actually look at me and say the words. “What if you show me how to do it?”
I blink, certain I misheard him. “How to do what?” I ask softly. “Kiss?”
His eyes stay shut as he nods.
My gaze drops to his mouth, full, a deep red in the shadows.
What would it be like to kiss Beck?
Butterflies wake in my stomach. Flutter their wings. Take flight.
And suddenly, I’mveryinterested in this plan of his. Because if I’m being really honest with myself, this isn’t the first time I’ve wondered about it. Kissing him. It’s been a recurring thought, a dream, often enough to be disruptive, ever since he saw me in this same dress three years ago.
Still, I decide to approach with caution. Beck is too important for me to mess this up.
“Like…how would that work?” I ask, not wanting to misinterpret the situation.
He still won’t look at me. “I don’t know. Like I kiss you on your hand or something?”
That won’t be enough,whispers a tiny voice in my ear. One thatreallywants to kiss Beck.
“Or,” I draw out the word, “I could kiss you for real. Like on the lips.”
Beck’s eyes snap open. “What?”
“I mean…” I take the crown from his hands and place it on his head, tilting it just enough to make him look a little dangerous. Just enough to make me think I can actually pull this off. “Just for teaching purposes, of course. You know. See what we’re working with.”
His expression is so stunned that I let out a tiny, breathless laugh. “Geez. You’d think I just suggested we rob a bank or something.”
“Robbing a bank sounds less dangerous,” Beck says.
“Does that mean you’re out?” I tease. “Too scared?”
The words surprise me. I don’t know why I’m pushing this so hard. He’s right, this is the worst, most risky thing I’ve ever suggested. And that includes the time I talked him into breaking into the country club at night so we could use their hot tub.
Beck studies me cautiously. “You think it’d be okay?” he asks. “Me kissing you?”
I aim for nonchalance, even though my heart is trying to pound its way out of my chest. “Of course. We’ve known each other forever.” I flap a hand between us. “You know nothing’s going to change how I see you. Not even a bad kiss.”
That part, at least, is true.
Beck nods, the crown slipping just a little as his eyes narrow thoughtfully. “You’re right.” He straightens. “We should do it.”
A long pause.
“How do we start?”
I giggle. “Well, it’s pretty simple. You put your lips on mine, and we kind of…I don’t know. Move them around.”
