“So,” I drawl, trying to ease the awkward tension, “I didn’t know you liked food trucks.”
Ugh, why did I just say that?
Brayden glances over his shoulder, and then looks back at me. “I thought you weren’t interested in him.”
Wait…what? We sit together and talk for maybe fifteen minutes, and suddenly I’m interested in him?
I frown, my nervousness slowly shifting into annoyance. “I’m not.”
“Clearly.” He scoffs, freeing one of his hands from his pockets so he can run it through his dark hair. “I mean, is this why you’ve been acting weird? And avoiding me?”
“You’re the one who’s been acting weird and avoiding me!” I snap at him, unable to stop myself. “And I can’t even believe that you’re here now, accusing me of lying to you about Liam when all I’ve done these past few days is miss you!”
He proceeds to make a frustrated sound. “Explain Wednesday then, because when I tried to talk to you it was pretty obvious that you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”
My leg resumes its bouncing. “I told you that I didn’t want to be late for class.”
“Megan,” he says, tilting his head to the side as he gives me an unconvinced look, “we both know that wasn’t the real reason.”
I can’t believe we’re having this conversation here, at a food truck event of all places…
“Meg?”
I let out a loud sigh. “I wasn’t ready to hear that you were having second thoughts about the kiss.” I’ll expand my horizons of maturity and listen to whatever he has to say. “But, I’m ready now. So, go ahead and say it.”
He blinks, his eyebrows creasing almost simultaneously. “I can’t.”
Now it’s my turn to be confused. “What do you mean?”
He glances at the sky, then looks back down at me. “Can we walk?”
Right, the sun is starting to set.
“What about my food?” I ask lamely, remembering how out last sunset stroll went.
“Uh…” he trails off with a slight chuckle. “Well, if you’re worried about someone or an animal taking it, then maybe you can put it in your car?”
I’m not going to walk away.
Going to my car is way too much of an easy out from this conversation. I could literally just leave.
“No, you know what? It’s fine.” I get up from the table and wipe my hands with one of my napkins. “If someone or an animal decides to take my food…they probably need it more than I do.”
Plus, Lora’s going to be paying me back for it anyway, so it’s not like I’m going to lose money.
Yeah, I know that sounds harsh, but I am here as a favor for her. Just saying.
“So,” Brayden drawls as we begin to walk away from the picnic table, “I can tell you right now that I have not had second thoughts about the kiss.”
My pulse quickens without any warning. “You haven’t?”
“No,” he replies, shaking his head, “but I was convinced that you might’ve been. Which is why I thought you and Liam—”
“He just saw me by myself and offered to keep me company,” I interrupt him, “tonight is the first time I’ve even seen him since Saturday.”
Relief fills his eyes as he moves to stand in front of me. “Meg, I was only avoiding you because I didn’t know what to say. I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
“Tell me,” I reply, trying not to seem overeager, “tell me what you wanted to say.”
He’s hesitant at first, I can tell by the wary look on his face, but then he nods. “Okay.”
And now I’m back to feeling nervous.
“I wanted to say…Megan, I like you a lot,” he says, tucking some of my hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry for all the times I acted like an idiot…and even though it might be too soon, I want you to be my girlfriend again.”
Goodbye to feeling nervous. Hello to feeling BEYOND excited.
I force myself to swallow the happy shriek that wants to escape. “It’s not too soon.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Because I don’t want to rush anything if you’re not.”
“I’m more than sure,” I match his tone, stepping closer to him, “just…promise me something.”
His hand disappears to the back of my neck. “What’s that?”
“No more avoiding or ignoring each other,” I tell him in a firm tone, “it’s exhausting.”
“Agreed,” he says with a lopsided grin, “no more avoiding or ignoring each other.”
Silence falls between us, and Brayden slowly brushes his thumb over my bottom lip as his eyes watch me expectantly. He wants to kiss me…I’m sure of it. And I want to kiss him too, so badly.
“Megan,” he drawls, his voice becoming low again. But then he doesn’t say anything else, and he doesn’t need to. His thumb grazes across my jawline, and my eyes flutter when he leans in—his mouth hovering over mine.
This time, however, I kiss him first. I tilt my chin up just enough so my lips meet his, and he doesn’t waste a single second in kissing me back.
It’s cloud nine all over again, except somehow this is even better. Will it be like that whenever we kiss? That every time is better than the last? Am I always going to feel like there’s some kind of…electricity shooting through my veins? Because I can definitely get used to that.
With his right hand still cradling my neck/cheek, Brayden’s left arm snakes around my waist and he tugs me even closer to him as we continue to kiss. And kiss. And kiss. And then kiss some more. At this point, I’m grasping his upper arms while hoping my legs don’t give out. But,
