“You two just earned three minutes of heaven,” Dillon belted from the other side of the door.
Jace shook his head. “Actually, Greenwood, you just earned a skull-crushing.”
“Oh, just play along,” Leo hollered. Or was that Kip?
“Yeah, Amy,” a female whined. “It’s just three minutes. Then we’ll open the door.”
Jace shook his head, ready to barrel past Amy and kick down the door, but the look on her face stopped him short. The apples of her cheeks lifted slightly, catching a warm glow of light. One side of her mouth lifted in invitation.
She’s not angry. She’s not angry. She’s notangry?
How was that possible?
He took one step closer. “I really can crush that kid if you’d like.” It came out in a whisper.
Amy glanced down at her feet and shook her head. “No,” she said, voice in a hush as well. “It’s okay.” She pried off her ball cap and lifted her chin, smoothing a hand over the blonde strands of her hair.
Hmm. Kissing her wouldn’t have been easy with that cap on. The rounded bill would have acted as a barrier. But now she’d removed it right in front of him.
They were surrounded by fine wines. Each unique and aged to perfection. The chemistry between them swirled like a brew all its own. An explosive one. And heaven help him, Amy was putting fire to the fuse.
Jace closed the gap between them with another step, moved a hand to her hip, and let his eyes shut as he cradled the warm, hypnotizing curve. He swept her hair behind her back and leaned in, running the tip of his nose along the length of her shoulder. “I’ve been wanting to ask you out,” he confessed, not daring to look in her eyes yet. He let his lips slide gently over her collarbone as fire roared low in his belly.
Amy gripped onto his bicep and let out a shaky breath. Jace pulled back and fixed his gaze on her. She looked surprised for a blink, but soon her expression changed, eyes narrowing as her gaze fell to his lips.
There went that fire in his belly again. The fierce desperation to kiss those full, pouty lips. And so he gave in to it. Moving in slowly, he let his lips glide over hers in invitation.Yes.Sweet, like the taste of victory. Amy Nelson was a challenge—and every guy in school knew it. He tipped his head to the side, urged her lips to part with the gentle taste of his tongue, when suddenly she laughed. Not a full-on laugh; more of a quiet little noise of amusement.
Jace froze in confusion, unsure of what it meant. Was she not into it? Or perhaps she’d only been teasing him.
“Time’s up in there,” the group hollered in unison. Jace recognized Kip’s voice in the mix on the other side of the door a moment before it pushed open.
He pulled away quickly, unwilling to look Amy in the eye, and headed toward the cluster piled at the doorway. Disappointment poured in so hard it hurt, stabbing his chest as he pushed his way past the group.
“You guys are lucky I’m letting you live,” he grumbled as he dashed toward the stairs. Instead of rounding the landing and heading back to the den, Jace cranked open the back door and hurried out. After closing it behind him, he shuffled across the patio and shoved a hand through his hair. Just what in the world had happened back there?
She’d laughed at him. Had he read her wrong? Moved in without the invitation he thought she’d given him?
The last thing Jace wanted to do now was show up to that stupid Belder bash. Everyone would be pairing off into couples, and Jace wouldn’t be interested in any of the girls there. Besides, he didn’t need one more party to finish off the school year. It was already over. Soon he’d pack his bags, fly out to Maryland, and join the Navy.
And though he wanted to think about anythingbutthe horrible rejection, Jace replayed it again. Amy definitely wasnotinto him like he’d hoped.
Yet, as he pushed the recollection from his mind with one last mental thrust, Jace clung onto two telling memories of their shared time: Amy’s hand curling around his bicep, and the sound of her whimper a moment before their lips met.
