“That’s whatyousounded like,” Alessio said, smirking at me before shoving a whole fried Oreo into his mouth.
I narrowed my eyes on him. “Did not.”
“Mhmm.” He wiped at the crumbs on his mouth with the back of his hand, and my gaze dropped to one he’d missed. I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to lean in and lick it off. I’d been thinking about his lips a lot lately. What it would be like to press mine against his—and not just to shut him up, either.
What would he do if I did? Would he shove me away? Tell me that was gross and friends didn’t do that kind of thing?
But sometimes I saw him looking at me too. At least, I thought I did.
So maybe, just maybe, he’d like it…
“What? Do I have Oreo on my face?” he said, snapping me out of my staring.
I could feel a flush creep up the back of my neck, and I snatched one of the Oreos from the small paper plate resting on his lap to deflect.
“Yep,” I said before taking a bite and forcing myself to look out at the water. It was late in the season and hardly anyone was around, especially with it getting darker earlier. The sunhad already dipped beneath the horizon, making the sky a mix of reds and purples, which meant we needed to head home soon.
“I would’ve given you one if you’d asked for it,” Alessio said. “Maybe even two.”
That startled me out of my thoughts of his mouth, wondering if I’d said what I’d been thinking out loud. Giving me a foolish sense of hope that he wanted it too.
Oh. Right.He was talking about the Oreos.
Get it together. He’s your friend. And besides, the church says it’s wrong.
I finished off the cookie and wiped my hand off on my shorts, trying to ignore the way Alessio stretched his legs out beside mine, so close they almost touched. Mine were longer, since I’d shot up a few inches the last few months, but his were more tanned with dark hair, which made sense, since he was Italian.
Italian and hot,I thought, my heart hammering like I was about to actually do the thing I’d dreamed about. But I wouldn’t. I never did. I just quietly pined after my best friend, and he had no idea.
“You okay?”
“Huh?”
“You went all quiet.”
“Was just thinking,” I told him, and leaned in to bump his shoulder with mine. “You should try it sometime.”
“But it hurts.” His lips kicked up at the edges in a way that had me refocusing on his mouth. “Plus, you do enough thinking for the both of us. Lemme guess, you’re worried we’re gonna get home late and get in trouble. We’re fifteen now—just blame me. I’m used to it.”
He was so far off, he had no idea. But at least that gave me an excuse.
“You know Mom likes me home before it gets dark.”
“So she can tuck you in and make sure you’re safe.” Alessio rolled his eyes and leaned in close to me, his face inches from mine. “What if I promise to keep you safe?”
He’d asked me a question, I was sure of it. But with his mouth so close I could feel his breath brush over my lips, I already couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was.
“Rafael?”
I swallowed, my eyes fixed on his full bottom lip and the way his tongue came out to slide over it… Almost like he was nervous too.
Oh God. Oh God. Is he… Does he…want what I want?
My heart thundered as I sat frozen, the ringing in my ears drowning out the screams from the passing coaster behind us, as Alessio shifted a little closer toward me.
A careful hand on mine where it rested in the sand was the steadying presence I seemed to need. He leaned toward me, and as his lips were about touch mine, my eyes fluttered shut. He grazed his mouth tentatively across mine, soft at first, a gentle coaxing, as if testing my acceptance of what he was doing. But when I brought my hand up to grab hold of his arm and pull him closer, everything changed.
A soft groan left Alessio as his lips parted, then he slid his tongue alongmylower lip. Heat flooded my body, as if fire was licking through my veins. My pulse hammered at the intimate touch and my fingers dug into his bicep. It felt as though my entire body was vibrating from the inside out, and when his tongue slipped between my lips and rubbed up against mine, my dick jerked to attention.
