While I hadn’t expected an apology, that was probably the closest I would get.
“How come you’re still awake?” he asked.
“Can you hear that?” I gestured to the wall which adjoined our room. Even through the thin divide, Jodie’s heavy breathing came through loud and clear.
He patted the bed next to him, and I noticed he’d shuffled to one side to make room for me. “Come sit down. Aren’t you cold?” His gaze raked over my body, clad in a tank top—where I’m sure my nipples were making themselves obvious—and shorts.
I wrestled with my conscience. The sensible part of me advised me to go back to my own bed, pull a pillow over my head, and deal with Jodie’s snoring. However, the part of me which had been in love with Max Coady since the age of fourteen shouted much louder. It told me to stay. Only to make sure he was okay, of course. When else would I get the opportunity to share his bed?
He repeated the gesture, and I relented, tucking my frozen feet under the comforter and pulling my knees to my chest.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” He placed a warm hand on my arm. My skin went into overdrive, a combination of the cool air in the room and the glow emanating from his touch. “I think I had a little too much to drink.”
“Really? You don’t say?” I screwed up my nose again.
“You know what it’s like. Joshua’s excited about tomorrow, plus Evan and Trent have always been a bad influence. We started reminiscing about college, then one thing led to another…”
“You could have said no.” I felt like a hypocrite for saying the words. After all, I hadn’t exactly been a teetotaler when it came to that evening. How many shots had I downed for the sake of a dare?
Max hung his head. “Believe me, I tried.”
“Would it have been so hard to come back here and hang out with us?”
The silence which met my question told me all I needed to know. There was little point in staying. Max had said sorry, and I didn’t need anything else. I started to scramble out from under the covers, but he gripped my arm tighter.
“Don’t go.”
“Give me one good reason why.”
“Because I want you to stay.”
Damn. That was a good reason. I couldn’t leave now. I pushed my feet back into the toasty warmth. “Okay, just for a little bit longer. Jodie will be wondering where I am.”
Max tilted his head. “I doubt that very much, judging by the hippo noises.”
I punched his arm. “You can’t say that!”
Before I could take it out of his reach, Max grabbed my hand. His thumb caressed my knuckles. The tender touch sent shivers down my spine, which were definitely not from the cold this time. I bit my bottom lip, trying to distract from his skin on mine.
“I really am sorry,” he said. “It wasn’t how I pictured it.”
My brows knotted together. “Pictured what.”
“Our first kiss.”
Someone sucked all the air from the room as I soaked up what Max said.
Our first kiss.
Our. First. Kiss.
I swallowed. Did that mean he’d wanted to kiss me as much as I did him?
Had I drunk too much tequila, and this was a blue agave-fueled dream?
Surreptitiously, I slid a hand under my thigh and pinched the skin there.
Nope. This was as real as the bruise I’d just given myself.
My heart raced. I tried to get a grip on my thoughts. So many questions rushed through my head. Including the nagging one which asked whether Drunk Max would remember any of this in the morning.
“How did you picture our first kiss?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
He slumped back on the pillows, almost taking me with him. I would have landed on his bare muscular chest. Maybe I should have gone with it.
“We’d have been on a date first. Dinner and drinks. One of those little Italian restaurants on West 46th Street I know you love. A walk through Bryant Park, watching the people on the ice rink make fools of themselves, and maybe a trip on the carousel. I’d take you home on the subway, even though it would be out of my way, to make sure you got home safely. Then, before you went into your apartment, I’d lean down, brush your hair away from your face and…” His voice trailed off.
“And then what?” I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath, picturing everything he’d just described.
I glanced over at Max, his eyes now closed. Shit. Had he fallen asleep without telling me how the date ended? Talk about leaving a girl hanging.
His eyes fluttered open, then his other hand snaked around the back of my neck, pulling me down towards him. He released his hold on me, fingers reaching up to brush the tendrils which had escaped from my ponytail away from my lips.
Much as I tried to resist, the connection was too strong.
When his lips met mine, all rational thought left my head.
This wasn’t like the kiss I’d planted on him when he came through the door earlier.
No, this was the kiss of my dreams, my fantasies, my long-held crush on Max Coady.
And it was really happening.
I sighed against his mouth, his fingers caressing my scalp, deepening our embrace.
When he finally pulled back, a breathless “wow” escaped my lips.
“Something like that.” The corner of his mouth quirked up.
There was nothing I could say which wouldn’t sound trite or utterly stupid. I knew I sat there with a crazy-ass grin on my face, but when your dreams of the past ten years came true, what the hell else were you supposed do? Wordlessly, I nodded. His idea of a date sounded absolutely perfect too, right down to his choice of restaurant. How did he know me so well? Could we actually go on that date? I desperately wanted to find out.
Max yawned, causing me to do the same. I had no idea what the time was, but I really should
