The sound of our shoes on the pavement mixes with the sound of crickets calling out loudly to their mates.
“I wouldn’t know how to properly hustle someone at all. I have no poker face whatsoever. I’m terrible.”
“Remind me to arrange a strip poker match with you one day,” I joke.
“I’d be better off just arriving naked.”
The images flying through my head go from tame to filthy in two point five seconds, and I have to clear my throat because my body can’t process it without some kind of reaction.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I open the passenger door and she steps up into the truck, with the aid of my hand on her hip.
“Thank you,” she says softly as she settles into her seat.
“You’re welcome.”
The drive back to her house is filled with simple conversation and there isn’t a single moment of awkwardness. I will admit a sense of disappointment settles in when I roll to a stop in her driveway.
“I had a really great time, Isaac.” She unbuckles and angles her body toward me.
“So did I. I really mean that.” I unhook my seat belt and open my door. “I’ll walk you to the door. Can’t be too cautious at night, right?”
Her door isn’t that far from where we are, but any reason to spend a bit more time with her is good by me, and it’s the polite thing to do.
When we climb the stairs of her small, wooden porch she digs in her bag and pulls out her keys, tossing them gently back and forth in her hands, her nerves apparent.
“Thank you for taking me out tonight. It really helped me in ways you can’t even know.” She stands with her shoulder perpendicular to the front door, and I move to stand in front of her.
“You don’t have to thank me for spending time with you because, Sawyer, I promise you, the pleasure is mine.”
“So you’d consider date number two a success? Maybe date number three will be even better.”
“Is this you agreeing to seeing me again?”
“I think it is.” She clears her throat a bit then slips her key into the lock. “I should get inside. I still have some papers to grade now that my buzz is wearing off,” she giggles.
“I’ll call you?” I ask.
“I hope so.”
I want to go in for the kiss, but I don’t want her to think I’m coming on too strong, even in the wake of the almost kiss in the bowling alley.
So I opt for a peck on the cheek, and when I pull back there is a flash of something in her eyes. Is it disappointment? Confusion?
“Goodnight, Sawyer.”
“Goodnight, Isaac.”
I stand on the porch until she is inside and I hear the lock click into place.
The entire walk from her door to the driver’s side of my truck, all I can think about is the way her lips would taste, and how she’d feel when she melted into my kiss and pressed her body into mine.
It’s all I can think about.
Christ, I should have kissed her. She was willing and even wanting it. It was written all over her face. When did I become a pansy?
Fuck it.
I move with purposeful, powerful strides from the driveway, back up to her porch, and I deliver three loud knocks to her door.
A light in the front room flips on then the porch light follows suit.
The front door pulls open and she greets me just as I left her, except she has bare feet and the cutest blue painted toenails I’ve ever seen.
“Isaac? Are you all right?”
I step toward her, “No, I just forgot to do this.”
I clasp her face in my hands and pull her lips to mine.
There is no resistance, no pushback or pulling away. I can feel her wrap her hands around my wrists and hold on to me as her lips part, allowing my tongue access to her soft, perfect mouth.
She tastes like sugar with a bit of tang from her drinks. It’s intoxicating, and if I’m not careful, I could get drunk on her right here where I stand.
I’ve kissed plenty of women in my life. Some have been mediocre, some have been pretty great, but nothing compares to kissing Sawyer Westbrook.
I can feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest against mine, and her body begins this slight sway, almost as if she doesn’t even have control of her movements anymore. She’s just completely lost in this moment with me.
Her tongue finds a slow, perfect rhythm in a dance with mine before I finally pull away with a tug of her bottom lip between my teeth, and then a gentle kiss to it.
“There,” I slide my thumb along her jawline, “Now I’m all right.”
I step back from her with a grin before turning on my heel and heading back down to my truck.
Chapter 9
Sawyer
I can still feel that kiss on my lips three days later as I’m packing up my bag after dismissing my final class for the weekend.
I can still taste his tongue when I get home forty minutes later and collapse onto my back on the bed, with a smile on my face that has been there since the minute he pulled out of my driveway.
I’ve never had a kiss, a single kiss, affect me this much for this long. It was unexpected and absolutely perfect.
We’ve been texting constantly this week too, which is new for me. It makes me feel like a teenager with a crush. I stay up late when he’s on shift, texting about nothing and everything at the same time. It’s nice to have this connection with someone again. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt the butterflies, and boy does he make my stomach flutter.
The last thing I expected was to actually like him, but he makes me feel comfortable and safe in a way I haven’t in
