"I don't know what you think you're doing," I whispered as he marched me back there.
He stopped and turned to face me once we rounded the corner. The sounds of music, children playing, and people talking were barely audible over the pounding of my own heart. He stared down at me with a slight smile. Both of us were somewhat breathless.
"This is not private," I said, gesturing to the big open space behind me. "Someone can come back here any second."
"We better hurry then," he said.
I gave him a challenging glare. "Are you serious right now?"
"I'm quite serious," he said. "Do I still have permission?"
I smiled. "You're hilarious."
He cupped his hand around my jaw and patiently scanned my face. "You’re beautiful."
I glanced down shyly. I should've just taken the compliment, but I got nervous and had to go and say something funny.
"It has been a long time," I said. "You're probably just desperate."
He ignored my comment, and instead just looked at me with a subtle smirk. He stared down at me for a long time, taking in every inch of my face. I had no idea what in the world he was thinking, so I started talking again when I should have probably just kept my mouth shut. "If we go through with this, I want you to know I'm okay with acting like it never happened."
He cocked his head at me and stared through narrowed eyes. "What do you mean if we go through with it?"
His hand was still on my cheek, and the warmth of it caused a shiver to run down my spine. I was out of my mind with nerves and anticipation. I took in the curve of his beautiful lips wondering what they would feel like when they touched mine.
"I'm gonna kiss you now, Carly."
He hesitated for a second, so I said, "Okay."
He stepped closer. I watched as he licked his lips before ducking to put them next to mine.
"It's been a long time," he whispered, his words creating little puffs of air against my mouth.
"I know," I whispered back.
I saw his chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath.
"We don't have to," I said, breathlessly.
"Stop trying to get out of it," he whispered with a grin. "I'm just taking it all in."
"You're gonna get us caught if you don't hurry," I whispered.
"You're gonna force me to take longer if you keep arguing."
I smiled and when I did, he put his lips on mine. It was torturously gentle. The only places we made contact were his hand on my cheek and his lips on mine, and both of them were barely there.
I closed my eyes and nudged forward ever so slightly. For a few glorious seconds, I enjoyed the feel of his lips on mine. It was at least as wonderful as I imagined. An ache formed deep in my gut and my blood turned to warm honey. I felt like I could melt.
Seconds later, Micah breathed in through his nose as he broke the contact.
I opened my eyes, assuming we were done. It was one tiny little kiss, and I felt weak and spent. I could see by the rise and fall of his chest that he was struggling to catch his breath too. I wondered if he felt the same sensations I felt.
"Yeah, that's not gonna be enough," he whispered.
"What do you mean?"
But before I could even finish the question, he put his lips on mine. It was a warm, flawless kiss that lasted only a split second before he pulled back again.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Another gentle kiss.
"Now that I've started."
Another one.
"I can't seem to stop."
And just then, just as I was utterly lost in the dream of having Micah Bennett's lips on mine, again and again, I heard my name being yelled.
"Carlyyyyy!" I knew it was Thomas, and the sound of it brought me crashing back to reality.
I looked at Micah with an astonished expression. "What are we gonna do?" I whispered frantically. I didn't give him time to answer. I put a hand on his chest, pushing him back a little. "You stay here for a minute. I'll go out there and meet Thomas, and you can come out in a minute so it won't be so obvious."
Without another word, I turned and headed down the side of the cider mill, running a hand through my hair and touching the corners of my lips to make sure everything was presentable.
There were lots of people in my line of vision, but I spotted Thomas instantly. "Hey Thomas," I said, walking toward him.
"I was looking for you guys in the cider mill," he said. "You weren't in there." His attention shifted to the area over my shoulder and he said, "Did she tell you about the science class?"
I turned around to find that Micah, despite what I told him, had not waited a minute to come out from behind the mill. I gave him a wide-eyed you're in trouble glance that only served to make him laugh.
"She told me about science class all right," he said to Thomas. "She showed me an experiment too."
"You did?" Thomas asked, beaming. "What'd you show him?"
I glanced back at Micah with an incredulous expression. "You're in trouble," I whispered, almost inaudibly, making him grin from ear to ear.
I turned to Thomas, who was just looking at me as if waiting for an answer. "I just showed him a trick I knew from a long time ago," I said.
"What trick?" he asked.
"Yeah, what trick?" Micah asked, amused.
I gritted my teeth wondering what in the world I could say without flat out lying. "The one where you rub two things together and it makes a spark," I said, to my own horror. I closed my eyes for a second, not wanting to glance at Micah who I knew would be thoroughly entertained.
"Really, can you show me?" Thomas asked.
I risked a horrified glance at Micah who was staring at me with wide-eyed amusement as if he couldn't wait to hear my response.
"I would," I said, shifting my attention to Thomas, "but I couldn't get it to work with your brother. It's been a long time since I've done that one. I'm going to have to brush up on my skills."
I spared a look at Micah. His amusement morphed to a look of challenge as I spoke. He opened his mouth to say something, but someone called his name.
"Micah, we need you over here!" someone said. We all turned toward the person who yelled to find a group of guys standing there looking like they were getting ready to play a game of football.
"We need one more!" one of them yelled.
Micah glanced at me and then at Thomas.
"Come on, dude, we got 5 on 5 if you play!"
"Do you guys care if I…?" he cut off when he saw me shaking my head as if it didn't affect me in the least.
"Are you coming?" the guy yelled.
"I'm coming!" Micah yelled back. "I won't be too long," he said, turning to me.
"I'm good," I said. "I've got my partner to show me around." I put my arm in Thomas' and he smiled at his brother proudly. Micah hesitated for a second but then smiled and ran off in the direction of the football game.
Thomas took me to the petting zoo where we got to feed goats, miniature donkeys, and llamas. I had seen enough of people get spit on by llamas that I squinted my eyes the whole time I was around them, just in case.
Afterward, we walked to the face painting area where Thomas and I both got a small pumpkin painted on our cheek. Several people came and introduced themselves to me, all of which were friendlier than Gina, who I noticed was with a small group of girls by the open field, watching the boys play football. I honestly didn't care. I was having more fun with Thomas than I would've been watching the football game and trying to look good every time Micah glanced at me.
Okay, in total honesty, part of me wanted to be over there watching the football game, but it was just the part of me that was still reeling from that unexpected kiss. Mostly, I was having a blast enjoying the festival with Thomas.
"I want to play the corn cob toss," I said, chewing a bite of caramel apple.
"I want to play the slide," Thomas said.
"How about we finish our apples, play one round of corn cob t
oss, and then we can slide at least five times after that?"
"That's a deal," he said, nodding.
We stood there, finishing our apples and watching the action around us.
"Where's Roscoe?" Thomas said, glancing at my feet with a worried expression as if he just noticed he was missing.
"He stayed at my house," I said. "He's with my new roommate, Trish."
"Is she gonna take care of him?" he asked with a mouth full of apple.
"Yep."
"Is she gonna let him outside to potty?"
"Yep."
"Is she gonna feed him?"
"Yep, she's a really good dog sitter."
"What's that mean?"
"It means she's really good at taking care of him. He's happy to stay there with her. She pets him a lot and loves on him like I do."
"That's what I do too," he said.
"I'll bet you'd be a good dog sitter too," I said.
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding.
A young couple came up to us just then. They were holding hands, but didn't have any children in tow. "Hey Thomas, who's your friend?"
"Oh, this is my best friend, and I'm a good dog sitter."
"You are?" the girl asked.
"Yep, because I know how to love on Roscoe just like Carly does."
"Is this Carly?" the guy asked.
"Yes," Thomas said.
They both smiled at me.
"And Roscoe's your dog?" the girl asked.
"He sure is," I said.
The guy held his hand out. "I'm Evan and this is my wife Lillian."
I shook his hand and then hers. "Carly Howard," I said.
"Do you go to our church?" she asked.
"No, I'm just friends with the Bennetts, and they told me this thing was open to anybody who wanted to come."
"Oh, totally," Lillian said, waving a hand in the air. "I've been going to church there for six years and I don't know half the people here."
"She's my science teacher too," Thomas said.
Lillian smiled at me curiously. "Really?"
I nodded. "I teach at Roosevelt full time, but here lately, I've been going to the Happy House once a week to teach a class.
"That's cool," she said with a huge smile. She came across as genuinely friendly, totally unlike Gina.
"We're going to play a tossing game and then we get to slide five times," Thomas informed them.
"Five times?" Lillian asked, looking amazed.
"Yeah, and Carly's gonna slide too."
"That sounds like a lot of fun!" she said.
"It was nice meeting you, Carly," Evan said.
I smiled and waved. "You too."
Lillian reached out to give me a hug. "If you ever decide to come to church make sure to come tell us hi," she said.
"I will," I promised. Evan and Lillian walked in one direction, and Thomas and I walked in the other. "I like your friends," I said.
"I have about a million friends."
I was sure he did. I agreed with him as we made our way toward the corncob toss. Not to brag, but I had some tossing skills that were formed way back in my recreation softball days. I wasn't great at many things but I was a boss at tossing a corncob into the bucket. I was sad Micah wasn't there to see it.
It was almost nightfall as Thomas and I rode the slide. It was our fifth trip down when I caught sight of Micah standing near the bottom. It was a double slide with several hills on the way down, and Thomas and I raced down each time. I was tempted to glance at Micah on my way down that last time, but I didn't. I watched Thomas like I'd been doing every other time.
I couldn't even find it within myself to glance at him once we were on the ground. I picked up the burlap sack and tossed it aside as I dusted off my jeans.
"I think Thomas won that one," I heard Micah yell.
"He won every time," I said, finally looking in his direction. It was growing dark, but there was enough light for me to see he was smiling. I smiled back.
Thomas came up next to me and put his arm in mine. I watched Micah watching us as we approached. His expression was unreadable, and I wondered what he was thinking.
"I like your pumpkin," he said.
He was staring straight at me, but Thomas said, "Thank you. Justine painted it."
"I'm glad you caught me," I said. "I was just about to leave."
The crowd had thinned out considerably. There were very few little kids running around, and I figured it must have been close to their bedtimes. There were still quite a few people, but most of them were teenagers and adults.
"You can't leave without sitting by the bonfire for a few minutes," he said. "It's tradition."
"I have to get back to Roscoe."
"Yeah, and I'm a great dog sitter," Thomas informed him.
"I was hoping you could stay for a little bit," Micah said. "I can't stop thinking about that experiment you showed me… the one that didn't work."
I shot him a warning glance, which only made him smile.
"Because the thing is… I thought it did work," he said, looking comically confused.
My warning glance intensified. "No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm pretty sure it didn't."
"Well, we have to try it again," he said in a matter of fact tone.
"You can come to my science class tomorrow," Thomas said.
"It's not tomorrow," I reminded him. "It's in four more days."
"You can come to that," Thomas said.
"I might have to," Micah said with a hint of challenge. He shrugged. "So are you staying?"
"Just for a few more minutes."
Chapter 13
Trish was there when I got home that evening.
It was Saturday, and our other roommates, Ryan and Isaac, were both out, but Trish stayed home to dog sit Roscoe. She thought about coming with me to the festival, but she was feeling lazy after a long week at work, and wanted to chill. That worked out better for Roscoe anyway, since he was still getting used to the new house.
Trish had just started dating a guy, and he'd come by earlier, but was no longer there when I got home from the festival at 9pm. She was watching a movie in the living room, and she paused it as I opened the door. Roscoe ran over to me with his tail going about a hundred miles an hour. I stooped to greet him in the high-pitched that's my baby tone I always used, and rubbed him behind the ears.
"He's been curled up on the couch with me since I started this movie," she said.
"Were you lovin' on your Aunt Trish?" I asked, still petting Roscoe.
I took off my shoes and purse and stashed them in their places by the door. "It must have gone well," she said.
I looked at her with a regretful expression. "I'm sorry I'm later than I thought I'd be. I ended up having fun, and the farm's about thirty minutes from here."
She shook her head. "Don't be sorry. We had fun. I was glad to have a movie partner." She patted the seat next to her and Roscoe jumped up beside her again as if demonstrating what an ideal movie partner he was.
I followed him to the couch and took a seat, sighing and letting my shoulders slump with relief. "So…" she said curiously. "How was it?"
I looked over at her without taking my head off of the back of the couch. "He kissed me," I said, unable to contain a smile.
Her brows furrowed. "Who?"
"Micah Bennett."
"Get out!" she said with a shocked expression, leaning forward to slap at my leg. "I thought you didn't even know if he was going to be there."
"I didn't."
"I thought you haven't seen him in five years."
"I hadn't."
"So how did he kiss you? Were you bobbing for apples and it just sort of happened by accident or something?"
I laughed, and then sighed and shook my head as I remembered the chain of events. "His girlfriend died," I said. "It happened about a year ago, and he was in the car with her."
She gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand. "That's terrible," she said.
"I
know." I stared into space, thinking about the conversation I had with him. "He was hurt too, but he said the worst part was seeing her." I hesitated. "Anyway, I ended up telling him about what happened to me, and somehow we mentioned that neither of us had moved on since. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, he said we should kiss each other, you know like for an experiment to see if we could still do it or whatever."
"What?" she asked, scrunching up her nose as if that was the weirdest, unromantic thing she'd ever heard.
"I'm not saying it right," I said. "I can't remember exactly how it happened, but we were standing there next to a building talking about it, and he came up with this bright idea that we'd kiss each other." I threw my hands in the air. "I'm totally not explaining it right. It was awesome. He was funny and gorgeous, and I'd do it again in a New York minute."
It must have been obvious how giddy I was, because she grinned at the sight of me. "He's still hot, I take it?"
I sighed dramatically and let my head hit the back of the couch again. "So hot," I said. "He has a scar on his eye from the accident and it only makes him hotter, if that's even possible. Plus, he's a lot bigger than the last time I saw him. I think he turned into a man."
"You're totally in loooove!" she said.
"If I could fall in love at first sight with anyone, it would be Michael Bennett. It's too bad I told him we should pretend like this never happened."
She slapped my leg again. "You did not!"
"I sort of did."
She hit me again, making me giggle.
"I think he mentioned it first, and it made me nervous, so I said it. I was a little out of my mind."
"Well, you better find a way to take it back."
"I might have also said that I didn't enjoy myself," I said.
"What? Why in the world would you say something like that?"
"I didn't say it in those words. It's a long story. We were referring to it as a science experiment, and when we talked about it in front of his brother and I sort of led Thomas to believe that the experiment didn't work. I didn't mean to say I didn't enjoy myself, but it might've come out that way."
Her expression was utterly dumbfounded, which made me laugh.
"It's too hard to explain," I said.
"Basically, you loved it, but you made him think you didn't."
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