Oh my gosh. Is he blushing? I swear that his cheeks look red all the sudden.
You’re not sticking with the plan, Megan.
How can I stick with the plan if I don’t know when I’m going to see Liam again? In all honesty, I don’t even want to think about Liam. How can I when Brayden is standing in front of me while talking about kissing?!
And even more honestly? I’m pretty sure I want us to kiss right now.
Is it incredibly cringey that our first kiss would also be where we had our first date? Yes.
But I also think it’d be kind of sweet; and with all this talk about kissing, my mind can’t focus on anything else.
The big question is, however, does Brayden want us to kiss?
Based off the way his eyes keep flicking to my mouth, I feel like the answer might be yes. I really hope the answer is yes. I mean, why would he bring up the whole “bad kisser thing” if he didn’t want us to kiss?
“Megan,” he murmurs, his cool breath caressing my face, “remember when I asked for a second chance with you…as friends?”
No, no, no! Please don’t mention us being friends right now. This is the worst time to talk about us being friends. I don’t want to talk at all. I just want him to lean in and press those beautiful lips of his against mine.
I force myself to keep a neutral expression. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well,” he says, lifting his hand from the railing—only to set it down again, “I did that for you. I know you wanted us to be friends in middle school after we broke up, and I couldn’t do it back then, so that’s why I wanted to do it now.” He sighs, giving me an apologetic look. “But I can’t. I still can’t see you as just a friend, Meg. I’ve tried so hard to…but I can’t do it.”
At that, I almost choke. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he replies with a nod, “and I’m sorry but—”
“Don’t be sorry!” I cut him off, feeling like I’m about to burst. “You don’t have to be sorry. The truth is—” I can’t believe I’m really doing this. “—the truth is that I didn’t actually want us to be friends after the breakup! I guess I just wrote that because it felt like the right thing to say.” I shake my head, realizing how stupid that sounds. “But I can’t see you as just a friend either, Brayden.”
I grip the railing, my legs feeling wobbly from the way he’s staring at me.
“I thought you were going to tell me there was someone else,” he says, his gaze softening. “That guy you were talking to at Kyle’s soccer game?”
“No, his younger brother is friends with Kyle…that’s how we know each other. That’s it.”
He glances at my mouth again, slowly moving in closer. “Good, that’s good.”
Oh my gosh. He’s going to kiss me. This is it.
Finally.
“Wait,” I find myself stopping him, his lips a few mere inches away from mine, “what about Beth?”
I hate asking…but if he’s going to kiss me, I need to know.
His sexy laugh makes an appearance once again. “Never.”
And then, right there on the roller rink for anyone to see, Brayden kisses me—causing tingles, sparks, and everything else in between to erupt all at once. It. Is. AMAZING.
His hand slides over my hand that’s still resting on the railing, and he uses his other hand to cup the side of my face as I close my eyes and kiss him back.
I’ve only kissed a few guys since starting high school—during some pointless dates that didn’t go anywhere—but this time, it feels real.
Brayden deepens the kiss and moves his hand to the back of my neck, taking this already incredible experience to a totally different level of real. And if Lora asked me now if Brayden was a bad kisser, I’d flat-out laugh at her. I wouldn’t be able to lie again even if I wanted to, because he is the furthest thing from a bad kisser.
I’m on flippin’ cloud nine right now. I never want it to end.
But it does.
Brayden’s lips break away from mine—slowly though, like he doesn’t want it to end either—and then he gives my hand a light squeeze.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for days now,” he whispers, a lopsided grin on his face, “it was definitely worth the wait though.”
Well, it’s good to know my kissing skills aren’t too rusty.
His other hand leaves the back of my neck to slide down my arm instead, and I bite my lip to keep myself from smiling like an idiot. “I’m glad you didn’t wait any longer.”
He presses a brief kiss to my forehead, just like he used to do in middle school. “So am I.”
Chapter 22: Second Thoughts
Are we a couple?
The question kept repeating itself in my head for the rest of our time at the rink, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him. I mean, just because we both basically confessed that we liked each other—and then shared a really great kiss—doesn’t mean we’re automatically a couple.
Even if we held hands when we went back to skating. He probably just didn’t want to fall again.
I feel like we should be a couple though. It’s not too soon, right? Technically, we’d just be getting back together—almost six years later.
Yeah, that’s a little weird.
Now we’re in his car again, and he’s driving me home. So far, the ride has been quiet, which is fine…I guess, but it’s giving me too much of an opportunity to think. I need to chill out.
Ha, impossible.
Eventually,
