All In by Marta Brown Page A

whisper before brushing a curl from my
face and tucking it behind my ear. He plays with the ends of my
hair, running his thumb around the spirals of my natural curls, and
for the first time I think they’re beautiful. “Thank you for
dancing for me tonight.”
    I want to tell him thank you back, for
upping the ante and pushing me to be…me. Instead, I lean in and
kiss him. Tomorrow I’ll be prim and proper again, but tonight I
want to be as wild as my hair.
    My lips are swollen, and I’m panting
when we finally pull apart. Every inch of me is buzzing with
desire, his pull on me like a riptide. “I wish I didn’t have to
go,” I say, glancing at the time.
    Lane sighs, running both hands through
his hair. “You have no idea.”
    I think I do.
    “If it gets any later it’ll be hard to
explain what I’ve been up to if my parents wake up and catch me.
And I think Andrew’s even home already.”
    “Are you sure you have to go?” Lane says, leaning in and capturing my
lips one more time. Oh, he’s good.
    I let him bury his hands deep in my
hair until I’m about to let the cards fall where they may and never
go home again.
    “I…I have to…” I say, my resolve
weakening by the second as Lane kisses down my neck.
    “Alright, if you must,” Lane finally
says when I unball my fists, letting go of his shirt.
    “I must.” Reluctantly, I give him a
peck goodnight then reach for the door handle but stop short when I
remember I’m forgetting something. “Wait. I almost
forgot.”
    “What is it, baby?” Lane asks, looking
around the car for my forgotten item.
    “Our wager…if I showed you mine, you’d
show me yours. Something that scares you.” I say. “A bet’s a
bet.”
    Lane pauses. His smile fades into
something more serious, still content and happy, but there’s an
intensity in the way he’s looking at me now. He takes my hand in
his and brushes his thumb across my skin before placing it against
his chest, letting me feel his heart beat beneath my palm. It’s
pounding, and it makes my pulse race too. His eyes never waver from
mine, and I’m desperate to know him, to know what it means when
he’s looking at me like he is.
    “What scares you, Lane?” I breathe in
the small space between us.
    “How fast I’m falling in love with
you.”
     

Chapter 13
    Lane
     
    “Hey, you,” Ashley says, crossing the
parking lot in a cute little yellow dress. Her hair is stick
straight, and I’m secretly disappointed it’s not down and curly
like it was last night. It was so beautiful. I’m also disappointed
she’s not still wearing her tennis skirt. I mentally slap myself
and my one-track mind, but Ashley isn’t making it very easy on
me.
    I wrap my arms around her tiny frame
and kiss her hello. I’m weirdly nervous and not because Ashley’s
about to meet my family for the first time, but because we haven’t
actually spoken since I told her I was falling in love with her
last night. I hope I didn’t freak her out.
    “You look amazing,” I say, opening the
car door and helping her in.
    “You’re not so bad yourself.” She
winks when I hop in the car, and I wonder if I’m not the only one
with a one-track mind around here, by the way she’s staring at
me.
    I reach over and put my hand on her
tanned knee, my fingers grazing the edge of her skirt, causing
Ashley’s cheeks to flush soft pink. “We better get outta here
before I change my mind and take you to that dark theater and not
let you watch a minute of that movie.”
    “You know that’s not a half bad idea,”
Ashley says before kissing my cheek. “But I’m actually looking
forward to meeting your family, so we should probably put this,”
she kisses my lips, “on hold until after dinner.”
    I shake my head to clear it. Damn.
This girl is turning me inside out.
    “If you insist,” I say, whipping out
of the parking lot and heading up the coast. “Are you nervous?” I
ask as we drive, my hand still resting on her knee.
    She fidgets