“There are towels in the bathroom,” Colby offered while twisting the lid off his bottle.
Isla headed in first and when she was done, Felicity went to dry off. I didn’t have a change of clothes so I just waited for my shirt, but Colby headed back to his room.
“So Mason…” Isla turned to me, seemingly happy to get me alone. “What’s up with you and Felicity?”
Huh, didn’t expect that but couldn’t really say I minded her skipping the bullshit and getting straight to the point. Especially since I was wondering the same thing.
“I guess we’re friends.”
Her eyebrows pushed together. “Just friends?”
“I hope we’re friends. But other than that, I don’t know.”
“Do you want to be more than friends?”
“At this point, I think you should be asking her that question.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well…” I rubbed my neck, not really sure how much she knew or how much I should offer. “Because when I tried to kiss her, she pulled away.”
“She did wh—Wait, when did this happen? Tonight?”
“No a few days ago. At the laundromat.”
“You went to the—I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.” She stared down, then her gaze shot back up and she looked me square in the eyes. “No bullshit, do you have a girlfriend?”
“What? No.” I shook my head. “Why?”
“Felicity is worried you do because she says you’re always on your phone and flirt with girls or something.”
“I don’t flirt with girls.” But she did get me on the phone part. I was always texting people, sometimes it was Brinley, but she was the only girl I talked with. Though I should probably lay off that now that she’d mentioned it.
“Or girls flirt with you a lot. Whatever, it’s not important as long as you aren’t acting on it.” She waved her hand. “Look, I’m going to let you in on a secret because, well, Felicity is just, I don’t know, so wrapped up in her silly rules that sometimes she misses what’s right in front of her.”
“Rules?”
“Yeah, she has a whole bunch to keep her life in check or something. Anyway, she doesn’t kiss until the third date. She thinks any guy who kisses before the third date really only wants to get her into bed.”
Shit. Did she think that about me? Because sure I’d love to get her into bed, but the kiss that day had nothing to do with that. It was the moment. We were caught up in it. I just wanted to kiss her, nothing more.
Isla went on, semi-mumbling, “Which is dumb because first date or tenth date, I’m pretty sure that’s what guys ultimately want either way.” She glanced up at me. “No offense.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Anyway, don’t take it personally. She wants to kiss you.”
“She said that?”
“Does she have to? You were right there in the water with us tonight. You two had your hands all over each other. I’m pretty sure we all picked up on that.”
“So if I were to try again on the third date, she’d let me kiss her?”
“Well, no promises. But if she’s following her rules, she feels…I don’t know, in control, maybe? And I bet she’s a lot less likely to stop you if she doesn’t feel like she’s losing control over the situation.”
That’s what this was? About control?
Just then the door popped open, and Felicity emerged from the bathroom. And I couldn’t help but smile. If she needed to feel like she was in control then I’d play her little game. But once the kiss happened, she might just discover people who think they want control, really just need to let go.
Isla turned around. “Hey, I’m scheduled tomorrow morning. You cool if we take off a little early?”
Felicity glanced between us, her expression full of question. “Uh, no problem.”
“Okay, let me tell Colby we’re leaving.” Isla wandered down the hall toward Colby’s room, where he’d gone to change.
“Here’s your shirt. Sorry I got it all wet.”
I glanced at her and forced my mind back from where it had wandered. “No worries.” I pulled it over my head then nodded toward the door. “I’ll walk you out.” Thanks to Isla, I now had a game plan.
She checked over her shoulder, but Isla hadn’t emerged with Colby yet. “Uh, okay.” She followed me out the front door.
Once outside, I fought back a grin, but damn if I wasn’t stoked over what Isla had shared.
“So I had fun tonight.”
Felicity glanced at me, looking a bit unsure.
“I’m glad we had a chance to talk. It was nice getting to know you better…learning more about your family.”
“Yeah…”
The wariness in her voice triggered a smirk. “Some might say the evening was almost date-like. Don’t you think?”
“Uh, some might say that.”
We got to the car and I placed my hands on the roof, wedging her between me and the door. “So we’re riding together tomorrow, right?”
“Sure.” Her word came out like a choked whisper, and I loved that I was getting under her skin.
“You know, if we arrive together, some might also think that’s a bit date-like.”
Her cheeks started to flush. “I suppose.”
I patted the roof of the car and finally stepped back a bit. “Well, I, for one, can’t wait for tomorrow, then.”
Isla stepped out of the house with Colby.
Felicity glanced at them then back at me, a fine line between her brows. “Why’s that?”
I stared down at her and said, “Third date.”
Her gaze swung to Isla. She clenched her jaw, then she slowly turned back to me. “And?”
“Felicity…” I grinned and leaned closer, so close the heat of her skin warmed mine as I moved toward her ear. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I lingered for a second, imagining how easy it would be to turn my head and finally taste those lips that had been taunting me for days, but then I pulled back, relishing in the tiny little gasp that escaped her mouth.
She quickly crossed her arms and schooled her expression, trying to act completely unfazed. But honestly, she wasn’t that good of an actress. And I knew just as well as she did, that a long-overdue kiss was coming…and it couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 9
Felicity
As soon as Isla shut her car door I turned to her. “You told him.”
“About?” She fidgeted with the air-conditioner vent, never making direct eye contact with me.
“My kissing rule.”
She settled back in her seat. “Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“You just answered with a question. Could you be any more guilty?”
“Okay, look, it might have slipped out.”
“Isla! That doesn’t slip out.”
“I felt bad. We were talking, and I may have sort of brought you up, but he thought you weren’t interested in him as more than a friend.” She shifted toward me and now her hands were doing half the talking. “And, well, I couldn’t let him go on believing that was true. So I asked him why he thought that and…”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as we pulled to a stop at a light. “And?”
“He told me about your almost-kiss at the laundromat, but he said you pulled away and he misread things. So I had to tell him. And the only way to explain it was to tell him about your crazy self-imposed rules.”
I dragged my hand down my face. “Is-la,” I whined. “I can’t believe you told him.”
“The light is green.” She pointed ahead.
I started driving again and asked, “What did he say?”
“Not much. He seemed really happy. What did he tell you?”
“That tomorrow will be our third date.”
Isla slapped my arm with the back of her hand. “No way!”
I rubbed my shoulder. “Yep, and it’s all thanks to you.”
“In that case, you’re welcome.”
She grinned at me, and I tried to shoot her a glare but it didn’t work. My friend knew me well enough to know I wasn’t legitimately mad.
“I hope you’re happy because now I’m a nervous wreck. I’d rather not know it’s coming.”
“Why do you care so much? He’s only a Summer Boy, right?”
A quick side glance confirmed she was gloating. She’d suspected I might like him a little more than I should, and the way I was acting only confirmed her belief.
I straightened and shrugged. “You’re right. It’s just a little kiss. What do I care?”
“Please,” she muttered. “Let me know how that works out for you.”
—
I’d never been nervous about a party at Colby’s. Ever. Nor had I been so anxious about kissing a guy. But here I was, my stomach a ball of tightly wound nerves. And it didn’t help that Isla had texted me some bullshit excuse about not being able to drive with me to the party. Of course, she was quick to remind me to bring Mason.
At the designated time, I headed upstairs to meet him on the dock.
He stood with his hands against the railing, watching a group of fishermen taking pictures with their catch.
“Hey,” I said.
He turned and smiled. “I started to think you left without me. Where’s Isla?”
“She got off late, so I’m driving.”
“Oh, so do we need to pick her up?”
“Nope. It’s just us.” I stepped onto the pier and walked to the parking lot nearby.
“Well, I’ll drive, then.” He motioned me toward his car but I paused, unsure if I should insist on driving, but I guessed it didn’t really matter who drove. Isla would be there if I needed a ride home.
He opened my door and, as I slid in, said, “Now that’s more date-like.”
But my door closed before I could object.
Once settled into the driver’s seat he asked, “So how many are we at now? Three, is it?”
I glanced at him, noting his all-too-happy grin as he started the car.
I rolled my eyes. “I know Isla told you.”
“Told me what?” He reached for his seatbelt and clicked it into place.
As if he didn’t know. I stared at him, refusing to play his game.
“Oh, c’mon, third date. Fifth date. Does it matter?” He tossed me a smile then reversed out of his spot. “It’s bound to happen eventually.”
Even though I was excited about the inevitable kiss, I’d be damned if he’d have the last word in this. He didn’t get to make a decision like that on his own. “You’re a little overly confident there. Who’s to say I’m going to let you kiss me at the end of the night?” I crossed my arms.
We rolled to a stop at the lot’s exit.
“Who says it will be the end of the night?” He flashed me a little smirk then turned onto the main road of Port Lucia. “Maybe it’ll happen when you least expect it. Maybe you won’t see it coming.”
His tone was all too amused and I kind of hated the way it made my stomach bubble with anticipation. But I schooled my expression.
“And what if I’m not interested in this ninja-kiss?”
He laughed. “Knee me in the nuts or something. I’ll get the hint.”
“You’re either very brave or very stupid.”
He shrugged. “Probably a little of both.”
We turned into the small community Colby lived in and parked along the front of his house.
Mason stepped out of the car and waited for me before walking to the front door. Without knocking, he pushed the door open and motioned me ahead of him.
We made our way through the house, greeting friends along the way. Though Mason knew the two people from the fishing crew who’d shown up, he hadn’t met the rest of the guys. When I introduced him, it earned me a few raised eyebrows, but once I mentioned he was Colby’s cousin, the guys relaxed. Which meant either I was reading too much into this, or Colby wasn’t the only one who still saw me as his friend’s girl.
After we cleared the crowd, Mason dipped his head to my ear and whispered, “Call me crazy, but these guys aren’t cool with me until they realize I’m not here with you. Kind of reminds me of the way Colby got when I asked about you.”
I stiffened. So Mason had noticed too? Which meant I wasn’t overanalyzing. And that only furthered my annoyance with the situation. Brody had a new Felicity-free life. Why couldn’t I have a Brody-free one? Did these guys honestly think I was still pining over him almost a year and a half later? Just because I never brought guys around them? I’d been in a long-term relationship, not a convent. I could date. And have casual sex. And every other thing an almost-twenty-year-old girl should be doing. Geez.
“Something I should know?” he asked.
That these boys were fiercely loyal to my ex? Probably not.
I grinned, skirting around his question. “So if you’re not here with me, then this is most definitely not a third date.”
He tilted his head back and grinned in return. “Call it what you will, but that kiss is happening.” Then he turned and walked away.
“I hope you wore your cup,” I called after him.
His shoulders shook a little with laughter as he disappeared outside.
If only the idea of this ninja-kiss didn’t excite me as much as it did. It was frustrating, really, because Mason wasn’t playing by the rules.
My relationships over the course of the past year all played out very similarly. We flirted. We kissed. We had fun. But we never became friends. We never teased. Nor tormented. There was attraction but no sexual tension. It was all very superficial…as a good fling should be. If I started breaking the rules now, where did it stop? It was a slippery slope that would lead to bad decisions.
Shortly after my relationship had ended with Brody, I’d foolishly thought I could handle a one-night stand, leading me to sleep with my very first Summer Boy. I’d been mistaken. It’d felt…wrong. I had no real connection to the guy, and it’d been a huge error in judgment on my part. But then I met Evan, a guy who I actually liked more than I should have. We’d had a little fling last summer that went great, so when he came back into town this summer, we hooked up again. And eventually, I thought maybe sex wouldn’t be so bad since I had feelings for him. It was worse. My emotions got involved, which was stupid on my part. I quickly went from summer fling to fuckbuddy in Evan’s mind, and what we had going crumbled to shit. That was when I’d realized if there was one rule I had to be firm about, it was the sex one.
Yet here I was, anxiously anticipating this kiss and wondering what kind of doors it would open.
“Hey.” Isla had finally arrived and beelined straight over to me. “You have your serious face on. What’s up?”
“Mason,” I grumbled. “He’s not cooperating.”
“With what?”
“My Summer Boy rules.”
Isla smiled. “Are you ready to admit you might actually like this guy?”
I groaned. “You’re reading way too much into everything.”
“If you say so.” She grabbed my hand. “C’mon, let’s get a drink and find Colby.”
—
We’d been at the party for almost an hour, and Mason hadn’t tried to kiss me. We’d talked a few times, even had a whole run-in during a group photo that involved him getting bumped directly into me. He’d stared at my mouth for several seconds longer than acceptable then practically smirked before turning away. Like he knew he was torturing me and got a thrill off it. Which really ticked me off. The picture was on Colby’s phone, but I’m pretty sure when he took the time to look at it, he’d find Mason with his cocky grin and me looking totally flustered.
Now we were sitting in the backyard while Landon did the cooking. Mason sat almost directly across from me, while the other guys ragged on me about my complete disgust over fish. Except I barely had it in me to toss any snarky comments back since I was too busy obsessing over the Mason situation.
Dammit. I r
eally needed to stop glancing his way. But I couldn’t help it, especially since every time I did, I’d find him looking right back at me.
Yet here I was, as if not in control of my own body, letting my attention drift back to him once again.
When our gazes connected, his dark eyes focused on mine then dipped to my mouth like they’d done every other time I’d looked at him. But this time, his gaze kept going, slowly lowering over my body. Heat pooled in my belly then slowly spread, warming me from head to toe.
Judging by how Mason looked both amused and turned on, I’m sure he’d noticed, and could tell exactly how flustered he’d made me. God, he was frustrating.
Needing a break from this stupid little game, I stood and made my way inside. A drink would help. A real one, because beer wasn’t cutting it. Not when I was this high-strung.
A bottle of vodka was sitting on the counter right next to a stack of plastic cups. I grabbed a cup, dropped in some ice then poured in a generous serving of alcohol. In the fridge I found some orange juice, which I used to top my glass, then gave it a quick stir and tasted it. Wow. So maybe I was a bit heavy-handed with the vodka. I sipped a bit more, winced then added more juice before putting it away.
I turned to head back outside but ran smack into Mason. My drink splashed, some of it getting on my chest and a little on my cheek.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized.
“No worries. Just don’t light a match near me. This drink might be flammable.” I wiped my chest. “Did I get it all?”
He laughed then brushed his thumb down my cheek where more orange juice had splattered. His hand lingered as his gaze dropped to my mouth.
Wait. Had we finally reached the moment? No one was around. This was our chance.
Deciding I needed to help move this along, I tilted my face up and stared back, clearly giving him the invitation to kiss me and dispelling any notion that I might actually punch him in the nuts or something, because, c’mon, it’d been a joke, and if that was what had been holding him back then, by all means, let’s get that cleared up.
Mason’s thumb glided from my cheek across my jaw and made its way to my chin. He’d left a trail of fire, and my pulse raced. I wet my lips, partly because my mouth suddenly felt very parched, but mostly because, hello, kiss me.
Just a Little Kiss Page 8