Lingus

by Mariana Zapata

  He turned his attention back to me with a blush. "I was just grabbing a bite to eat with my friend, and I wanted to come over and say hi," he said.

  I smiled at him in response before I felt a swift kick to my shin underneath the table. Zoey was winking at me from her side of the table while looking between me and Kieran and mouthing something. "I'm glad you did," I managed to say slowly, while trying to read Zoey's lips.

  "Who is he?" she mouthed.

  "What a coincidence," he said with a long exhale afterward. He started pulling at some imaginary lint on his shirt. "I was kind of wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me?" His face flamed red across his nose.

  Another kick a little harder that time landed right on my shin. By some miracle I managed to swallow the groan that under normal circumstances would've been considered a borderline yell, and instead diverted my eyes over to give Zoey a forced, saccharine smile. She sat there with a big grin on her face and mouthed, "Say yes."

  Kieran stood there during our little exchange, tugging on his belt loops as he smiled sweetly. "Or we can do something else if you want," he offered.

  He really was too handsome and polite for his own good. If he would've appeared in my life two months before, I would've e-mailed him the hour I got home from the aquarium, but all I could think about was Tristan. But suddenly his porn-escapades filtered through my brain in a slush. I truly doubted that Tristan had thought about me at all when he was off in Los Angeles.

  "I'd love to," my mouth responded before my brain had completely comprehended my actions. "I'm free tonight."

  Chapter 42

  It was bad enough that I was nervous to begin with.

  The text I got on my way to the movies to meet up with Kieran only served to make my hands sweat more than they had been before. I didn't think it was possible for them to be more clammy but obviously I was wrong.

  Are you done with Zoey?

  'Magellan' texted me. My stomach rolled in nerves.

  He had texted me in the afternoon, asking if I wanted to come over when he was done with work, but Zoey had roped me off to go look at the bridesmaid dresses that Nikki and I had picked out two weekends before. I may have failed to mention that I had a date. I may also have been feeling like shit because a part of me felt like I was cheating on Tristan, which was truly an impossible circumstance. We aren't dating, was the mantra I kept on repeat in my head. It was the truth; we weren't anything more than friends despite his recent flirting. I was my own woman, I reminded myself.

  Which is why it was wrong for my freaking traitorous hands to shake like I was a crack addict. I bit my lip before glancing up at the red light and sighed.

  I'm going to the movies and then home :]

  I was already driving again when his response came in, so I waited until I was pulling into the movie theater parking lot to read his message. Kieran had offered to pick me up but I wasn't dumb enough to let him. After all, I didn't really know the guy, and the last thing I needed was some sort of stalker situation in case he turned out to be boring or self-centered. I doubted it. I also doubted I'd mind a hot as fuck stalker but you could never really know.

  Cool. What movie are you and Miss Star watching? =D

  My stomach rolled again as I typed the response. I wasn't going to lie to him and really, I had no reason to hide what I was doing. I was my own woman, damn it.

  I'm watching that new comedy with Kieran the aquarium guy.

  I waited two minutes for his response before getting impatient and putting my phone on silent. I got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the theater where Kieran's tall, inky headed form was clearly visible over the scattered people waiting around the box office. He grinned the moment he caught sight of me and started walking in my direction. Wearing an emerald green polo, his skin looked even more pale than before at the restaurant. His soft, "Katherine," tore me away from my thoughts about his skin color.

  In two long strides, he was standing in front of me, grinning down. I couldn't help but return his smile while also trying to ignore the fact that his green shirt reminded me of Tristan's eyes. "Hi Kieran," I said back.

  "I bought the tickets already, ready to go in?" he asked, tilting his head in the direction of the doors. I nodded, smiled, and followed after him. He was sweet and walked slower so I could keep up before opening the door for me and grazing my shoulder blade with his hand after passing the tickets to the theater employee. He treated me to popcorn that we decided to share and individual drinks, because I wasn't about to share a drink with someone I barely knew. I wasn't ruling out swapping saliva via mouth on mouth, but I'd worry about that after the movie.

  "Thanks for inviting me," I told him right after we sat down in our seats. We still had about ten minutes before the movie started, I estimated.

  Kieran blushed. "I'm glad you came. I wasn't sure if you were interested," he practically whispered.

  He was too cute. I almost wanted to wrap him up and put him in my pocket. "I'm sorry I didn't e-mail you or anything, I just had a busy weekend."

  "You don't have to explain anything," he replied. "I'd rather you tell me about yourself before the movie starts."

  I told him the little things, the unimportant things like what college I went to, what town I grew up in, my lack of siblings, and my affinity for popcorn in five minutes. He managed to squeeze in and tell me that he had three younger sisters, what colleges he went to, and that he too loved popcorn. The previews started mid sentence, and we both just turned to face forward and watch.

  Kieran didn't make a move throughout the entire movie besides patting my leg when I came back from the restroom. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed that he didn't make an effort to at least try to put his arm around my shoulder or something. Even my middle school boyfriend did the whole yawn, raise an arm and flop it across my shoulders in the least slick way possible. I smirked obnoxiously every five minutes because I thought the movie was pretty hilarious, and a lot of things reminded me of Tristan. I noticed that Kieran just kind of chuckled quietly when I had tears in my eyes.

  "That was the funniest movie I've seen this year," I snorted on our walk out.

  He smiled sweetly and nodded. "I thought it was pretty funny, too."

  It didn't escape me that he didn't agree with me completely and not that he should have to, I mean, life is all about difference in opinion so I just grinned back at him.

  "I'll walk you to your car," he said.

  "I'm parked over here," I said pointing in the direction of my car when we made it to the parking lot. "Do you have to work tomorrow?" I asked him, trying to make conversation.

  "I do. When do you go back to school?"

  I was parked pretty close to the front of the lot and by the time I opened up my mouth to respond, we were already within ten feet of my car. "I have to go back in two weeks, and then school starts again two weeks after that."

  We were standing by the driver seat while I shifted from foot to foot as he tugged on the belt loops of his jeans some more. "I guess this is goodnight then," he said with a shy smile.

  He took a step forward at the same time I did, each putting up our arms in opposite directions for a hug. Then I switched my arm positions at the same time he did, so we mirrored each other again. I giggled a little at the awkwardness before we finally met in the middle for a tight hug. He was warm and hard against me just the way I liked. "Thanks again," I said against his shirt.

  "I had a good time." Kieran pulled back a fraction of an inch before leaning down to plant a kiss on the side of my cheek. "I'll call you," he said.

  "Okay. Goodnight," I responded before unlocking my door and slipping into the seat. By the time I had my seat belt and the car on, he was already walking in another direction.

  To say I was a little confused about our date would be an understatement. I figured Kieran was a little shy and that might be the reason why he wasn't more forward, not that it was a bad thing at all but it wasn't what I was ex
pecting. With the exception of Ryan, every other guy I'd been out with had been pretty passive. I wasn't exactly sure how Kieran felt about our date, but I sure as hell wasn't about to stress about it. I pulled over at Taco Bell on the way home for dinner to go before I pulled into the same spot I always parked in at my apartment complex. Jogging up the stairs, I caught sight of a long figure wearing a black hoodie sitting up against my door.

  I froze, clenching the plastic bag in one hand and my purse in the other. I was debating whether or not to grab my pepper spray from my purse when the figure moved and turned to look in my direction. I recognized Tristan's face beneath the black hood as he hopped up onto his feet a lot more gracefully than a man of his size should be capable of.

  "Are you okay?" I asked him, taking the remaining steps toward my door.

  He didn't say anything as I approached, keeping his steady green gaze on me. I stopped in front of him and looked up to try and read his facial expressions, which I'd like to think I had gotten pretty good at. He exhaled a long breath, continuing his intense glare. My heart thumped wildly against my chest in an off-tempo beat that was impossible to follow. The muscles in his face looked flexed and his jaw more defined.

  "What?"

  Tristan's hands reached for the bags in my hands to set on the floor. Unwinding himself back to up to his full height, he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt down before sighing deeply. I'd like to think that if I would have been warned beforehand of what his following words were going to be, I'd make sure not to have a bag of chalupas between us. His words floated through the air like a delicate memory that severed any thought from my brain, "You're all I can think about anymore."

  Chapter 43

  I died a hundred times right then.

  There would be an obituary in the paper that would say: Katherine Alba Berger, dead at the tender age of twenty-five from the result of a massive heart attack.

  Obviously, I didn't die, but my heart did stop beating for all of three seconds. I didn't move. My body, my mouth, and my blood cells ceased to function. I didn't even think any wind blew in those long moments that changed my life forever. At least it seemed like it was one of those moments that I'd remember the rest of my life. I had a few of those: the day I found out my mom died, when I realized I was never going to be an astronaut, and the day I graduated from college. My mind made an etch into the fiber of my tissues of the longing and pained expression on Tristan's beautiful face after he spoke those words.

  His eyes darkened at the same time his brows furrowed. "I don't know what to do." Those emerald orbs searched the surface of my face for something as I stood there mute. He brought up his left hand to press the back of it against my face. "I miss you all the fucking time," he admitted softly.

  I sucked in a breath and let my brain run away with ideas and emotions. Little pieces of reality seemed to settle into the aftermath that his words left, the fragments cemented together, piecing a puzzle that had done nothing but confuse me for long weeks. The reality of Zoey's words just earlier in the day seemed like such a possibility all of a sudden.

  My hands went up aimed for the back of his neck. There they met with soft, thick hair. I used my palms to pull his head down to me without allowing myself to think. Down, down... I pressed my lips against both of his, my cold ones onto his warmer ones. A warm, electric shock zipped up the length of my spine in response. I kissed his full, upper lip with a peck next. Without a second thought, I kissed that pouty bottom lip with both of mine and pulled away to enjoy the current that was still running through my back at our touch.

  Tristan stood there with his lips slightly parted and his face pale. "Kat," he said breathlessly after a second without moving his mouth.

  My pulse raced in my veins as I took in the look on his face, which resembled more of a mask than anything else. He didn't move an inch for a few moments, making me start to doubt the interpretation I'd taken from his words. Of course, he could have been thinking of me all the time, but maybe because he felt guilty? Or, maybe he missed me for some other reason? Oh my god, I was such an asshole. "Tristan, I'm so sorry—," I started to say, taking a step backward.

  Before I could take another step he smashed his lips against mine. Smooth, warm, full flesh pressed against me so abruptly I couldn't think straight. I couldn't get passed the idea that Tristan, my Magellan, was using the perfect lips I'd been eyeing for weeks against mine.

  He pulled back just an inch with his peppermint breath heavy on my skin as he head shifted, so that his lips brushed my ear in the most erotic action of my life. "You need to open that sweet mouth for me."

  He'd barely completed his sentence before my lips fell apart, and then Tristan was there. His velvet tongue dipped into me, caressing my own so sensually I would've cum in my pants if I were a guy. One mouth slanted against the other, and there was no way I could've known whose did what. I only knew that his tongue stroked mine deeply, and that for the lack of a better explanation, it could only be described as fucking awesome. Tristan's hands gripped my waist tightly, fingers digging into the meaty flesh over my hips. I could feel the pressure on my lower back as he pulled me to him.

  It was when he started sucking my bottom lip between his that I reached up to grab two handfuls of auburn hair, thinking to myself that his taste was as addictive as caffeine. I moaned against the heat of his mouth when he crushed my breasts against his chest so tightly it kind of hurt. "Kat," he groaned after he stroked his tongue across the corner of my mouth.

  "Dang, Kat! Get! That!" a squeaky voice whooped from down the hall.

  If Tristan's lips, tongue, and even his saliva weren't practically miraculous, I may have given a shit at being caught by my neighbor. I didn't even bother to step away from him, instead I just turned my head to look at Christy, my thirty-something neighbor who claimed to have slept with half of the professional athletes in the city. "I would have if you wouldn't have killed the moment," I laughed, feeling the fingers on my hips loosen their grip.

  Christy laughed loudly before unlocking the door to her apartment with a wink. "You get some of that for the both of us, girl!" Fortunately, her dark mop of hair disappeared into the apartment a second later.

  I looked up at Tristan, who was still standing so closely our chests were pressed together. His cheeks were pulled back into a lazy smirk, but it was his eyes that showed blazing, pure intensity beneath the green. "That wasn't exactly the way I envisioned things happening," he said in a husky voice that managed to affect my uterus.

  I blushed and tried to will my brain to think of what to do next since standing in the hallway making out didn't seem like the best idea. "Come inside," I told him, pulling away from his hands to reach for my purse and bag of food.

  He grabbed my bags before I did and nodded, smiling and silent. The door was unlocked faster than ever — even the times when I was at the brink of peeing my pants — and we were in my home and on the couch a moment later, sitting next to each other. I was nervous and my lips felt a little chafed from brushing against the scruff of his facial hair. Tristan shifted a few inches over so his muscular thigh pressed against the side of mine, his eyes focused on my face. Rummaging through the bag, I handed him one of the two chalupas waiting to be devoured while I opened mine up. "So, Mag, about that out there..."

  A breath of air was sucked in harshly. "Please tell me you don't regret it," he whispered at the end of the inhale.

  Was he freaking serious? It would have been easy to play it cool and try to make it seem like our game of tonsil hockey a second ago was perfectly normal but it wasn't. It definitely wasn't normal, and after my up-close and personal encounter with that mouth, it would be pointless and too hard to pretend like there wasn't something there. Something massive, electric, and heavy. This was exactly what Zoey had been trying to tell me to do: make my move.

  I leaned into his warm frame and looked up at him from under my eyelashes. "I don't regret it."

  Tristan sucked in a ragged breath, shifting his
body so that his back nestled into the corner of the couch. His glowing green gaze was steady and wide on me, making my heart rate speed up tenfold. "Would you regret it if I kissed you again?"

  I should have told him that we needed to talk about what had just happened; that I deserved to know when he started feeling something for me, when he started missing me the way that he had but I didn't though. Those perfect lips that millions of women paid to recreate were just inches away from my face. I'd tasted those lips, that mouth, that tongue, and I hoped to God I'd be lucid enough to remember to talk to him about everything later. Right then was not the time, and he must have sensed my decision because we both leaned into each other like two impossible magnets meeting out of necessity in the middle.

  His lips were on mine. Hot, velvet, and sweet lapped at me with more passion than I could ever comprehend. Tristan sucked my tongue into his mouth, and I moaned in a way that would make Zoey blush. My skin was covered in a feverish rush of blood and the sugary, clean scent that was Tristan. His hands were on my hips, and my hands were trying to pull chalupas off our laps because all I wanted right then was to sit on his face. But I'd settle for his lap.