I slid my hand up his broad shoulder and lifted my chin the slightest bit, causing our lips to touch once more.So good. Unimaginably good.I braced myself for more, knowing that Jett was just warming up.
He tightened his grip on my waist, tilted his head, and came in at last for a longer, more sensual kiss.
Yes.I tuned in to the gentle push and pull of his heavenly kiss as some sort of whimper echoed in my throat. Jett let out a raspy sigh of his own, igniting even more flames in my chest.Thiswas how kissing was meant to feel, and I never wanted it to end.
Just as the thought ran through my mind, Jett slowed the kiss, pressed his lips to mine once more, then pulled away. He brushed his cheek against mine in the quiet space. “I’ve been dying to do that since junior high,” he confessed in a whisper. His breath grazed my ear, making it very hard to pull out of the spell.
“You have?” I asked, shifting my focus to what he’d said.
“Of course.” He’d said it like he was surprised I’d ever question it.
“Huh.”
“Sure taking a long time to get those paints,” a voice came from somewhere beyond the stage. I was pretty sure it was Connor.
Jett dropped his hands. “We better get back there.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Why don’t you go ahead? Tell them the paints weren’t where I thought they’d be, so I’m checking another place.”
He nodded, the mischief in his brown eyes making him look like an adorable—albeit guilty—child. “Good idea.”
I bolted for the utility room when Jett spoke up once more. “Hey, Harper?”
I stopped short and spun on one heel. “What?”
He rushed back over to me and pressed his lips to mine once more, short, but oh, so sweet. A grin eased onto his face. “That’s what.” He disappeared behind the curtain.
I sat there staring into the black fabric folds as my limbs went weak. My legs like noodles, I leaned back against the wall and replayed the entire thing in my mind. From the incredible feel of his hands on my hips(was that one in the chick magazines too?)to the perfect way he led into the kiss. Slow and smooth and so so yummy.
TJ’s last comment ran through my mind.Have fun with Pastor Boy.
I traced my fingers over my freshly kissed lips and grinned.Don’t worry, TJ. I will.I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening between me and Jett, but after a kiss like that I felt certain things would go someplace. Heck, maybe I’d even ask him to the Sadie’s Hawkins dance.
It was then that I realized just what made that kiss better than it might have been had we kissed last night at the Burger Bar or at Jett’s locker this morning—the absence of Tasha. I loved knowing that, though his ex-girlfriend was nowhere in sight, Jett still got me in some dark, wonderful place and kissed me. Kissed me in the most heavenly, dreamy way I could imagine.
With that happy realization putting a grin on my face, I hurried into the utility room, snatched the box of brushes and paints, and shuffled back through the narrow space as quickly as I could.
I’d barely made my way out of the heavy fabric folds when I heard someone speak up. “He doesn’t actually like you.”
I froze in place, my stomach dropping as I placed the voice in my head. I glanced over one shoulder to see that I was right—Tasha. She was hanging off the side of the ladder leading to the maintenance rafters.
“You didn’t know we were watching, did you?”
I glanced up and spotted a few cheerleaders in uniform on the ledge.
“Yeah, wellJettknew. It’s the only reason he kissed you. Sorry to crush your dreams, butI’mthe one he was thinking about.”
A sharp knot of acknowledgment darted through the center of my chest.
I turned away from Tasha’s green, glaring eyes and let the curtain fall behind me. Another horrific ache tore through me as I considered what Tasha had said. Suddenly it all made sense. He’d been doing it to get back at Tasha after all. I felt like an idiot. Not only did my newly ex-boyfriend like Tasha, it seemed Jett hadn’t fully gotten over her.
I glanced over to Jett and the rest of our group where they sat hovered over posters on the floor. I had acted in several musical productions over the years, and I’d always been confident in my ability to play certain parts. But as I wandered back over to the group on the floor with the box, I realized I had nothing in my acting bag of tricks to make this right. Suddenly, I had no idea how to act around Jett.
Chapter Nine
“Ithought Tasha was suspended from cheer,” I griped before dunking my strawberry into a bowl of sour cream. Times like these called for a carpet picnic in the privacy of my room. Thank heavens Mom had gone on a fruit binge at the market.
“Sheissuspended,” Summer said. “But that’s not the same as kicked off the squad. She can’t cheer at games or anything, but she still has to show up.” Summer dropped a strawberry stem onto the tray and reached for another. “Andshe’s not allowed to wear her uniform until the suspension is lifted.”
