“And you’re the worst,” I say, still smiling. “I’m never giving you a compliment again.”
A slight smile stretches up his face, his eyes glittering right in front of me. He dips his chin, and his long lashes leave a dark shadow across his cheekbones.
“I can’t believe you said you’d do anything,” he whispers. “For more of me.”
He lifts my chin to kiss me, and I let him. Even though it won’t get me out of here. Even though I’m afraid. I kiss him back because I want to—because I can’t not.
Penn’s thumbs bracket my jaw as the kiss deepens, and my head spins over how, and when, and where, the night might end.
When we eventually pull away, he takes my hand and leads me back to his car. “I shouldn’t have said ‘anything,’ ” I tell him. “I regret that.”
“Yeah. You really cast a wide net there.”
“What about a Laser Tag rematch?” I suggest. “Or maybe I could give you half of my Bath and Body Works collection. You seemed really into that Plumeria bubble bath.”
“No. I already know what I want.”
My pulse quickens. “You do?”
He nods, then slants me a look. “Two words: Toga. Skate.”
I knock into him. “Get out of here.”
“Just imagine all the sheets billowing in the breeze,” he exclaims. “Imagine Theo wrapped in a sheet that’s probably covered in his own face.”
I can’t help but laugh at the vision. “Not happening. Because if I give you a toga night, then next thing you know, Theo will insist on Golf Pros and Tennis Hoes.”
“Well, we’re doing a theme night,” Penn insists. “So take your pick.”
“Let’s keep it easy. What about a 2000s party?”
“Depends,” he says. “If we’re going back to the 2000s, does that mean you’ll pretend you hate me all night?”
I smile up at him sweetly. “No pretending required.”
“Liar,” he whispers, eyes sparkling. “You couldn’t hate me if you tried.”
I don’t deny it.
Penn stops then, beneath the streetlight. Gently, he pulls me toward him, leaning in for a long, slow surprise of a kiss that takes all the feeling out of my legs. I grow dizzy as he dips to kiss my neck, his mouth hot against my skin. “By the way,” he says, planting another kiss on my collarbone. “I think my answer is obvious.”
“What answer?” I ask, all breathy and embarrassing.
One more kiss, beneath my ear. “You can have as much of me as you want, Ruby.”
My breath hitches, and when Penn straightens, looking at me in a wide-open way he never has before, I know the terrifying truth. I want it all.
16
A Coldplay Kind of Night
When we gethome, the house is dark. I feel my way to the console table along the wall and flip on a lamp. Penn closes the front door behind us, and theclickof the lock echoes through the entryway. His shallow exhales puncture the lingering silence, as irregular as my stuttering heartbeat when I turn and face him.
It’s hard to know what comes next. Hard because I don’t want the night to end, and both of our bedrooms sit just up the stairs, and Penn Hayes, who’s never, ever short on words, has seemingly lost the ability to speak.
Not that he needs to say anything. Even in the dim light, I can make out his heavy, focused look, and I know what he wants. He’s making me take the lead, though, unsure if I want it, too.
I wish I didn’t, but I do.
