feeding me in the kitchen at all. It would hardly be the right thing to do, anyway, with his brother being present and all. But hearing him whistle the tune of “Stay” as he placed a dessert bowl in front of me still felt like a taunt.
My cheeks warmed with the memory of how he’d tempted me to take the fruit he held out…my lips brushing his fingers.
Because of my nerves, I hadn’t even had a chance to savor the taste of the kiwi wedge dipped in cream. Now, however, I realized that the dessert wasn’t actually just bland vanilla cream with fruit, as I had expected. In fact, Chris had created an awesome coconut-lemon cream. And though various types of fruit slices floated in my bowl, I couldn’t find a single peach slice.
How very considerate of him. But I’d have rather bitten off my tongue than tell him that.
After dessert, Ethan offered to drive me home, and not a minute too soon. If I was late, my mom would ground me for at least a week. We headed out to his car where he made me swoon a little when he opened the door for me like the last gentleman left in Grover Beach. The drive didn’t take half as long as I’d wished, but on the plus side, Ethan cut the engine in front of my house.
Was this it? The moment when he’d lean across the center console and kiss me? My heart pounded like it was trying to bulldoze a way out of my chest.
Ethan turned to me, a half-smile on his lips. I was breathing so fast that in another couple of minutes we wouldn’t have any air left in the car. My knees shook as I shifted in my seat to face him, too. “Thanks for a lovely evening,” I said with what little control over my voice I had left.
“Mm, it was really nice.” Instead of leaning toward me, he dipped his head back against the headrest. “It’s funny how my mom took a liking to you in an instant,” he continued, his voice still light but coy. Then he laughed, a heartwarming sound. “Chris and I always suspected she wanted one of us to be a girl.”
“You can’t be serious.” It came out as playful banter, but inwardly it felt like a complaint about his making small talk rather than kissing me.
“I am.”
Yeah, I’d figured as much. My heart sank as my longed-for first kiss drifted farther and farther away. What was happening here? Hadn’t we had a great time together? It was our second official date—or whatever—and three minutes past my curfew. Not that I wanted to rush anything, but it was now or never !
As the seconds ticked by, “never” seemed to be the more likely outcome of the above.
A grim thought sneaked into my mind. When Chris drove a girl home, he probably didn’t waste a minute on words. Gee, why was Chris in my head right now, when I wanted Ethan to kiss me?
Frustration seemed a reasonable answer to that one. The thought of my first kiss had clearly wound me up. Ethan was a great guy: gorgeous, polite, sweet…and seductive when he didn’t think about it. Hm, maybe that was the whole problem. Were we both overthinking it?
“Hey, I really like hanging out with you,” Ethan said next, and I could sense that this was going in the direction of another date. At least I hoped as much. A small stone dropped from my chest.
“You’re only saying that because you beat me at Mario Kart tonight,” I teased him, not knowing what else to say, since I didn’t want to be the one to ask him out.
“Yeah, that, and because your feet don’t smell like my other friends’ do,” he joked.
We both shook with laughter, and I poked him with my elbow. “Thanks for that visual, Ethan. It’s really what a girl wants to hear after a second date.”
He smirked at me. “Oh, you should hear what I come up with for the third one.”
Was there going to be a third? The question must have been written in my eyes, because he cleared his throat and stammered, “Want to, er…do something again this weekend? If you’re already bored of video games, we could go to the movies.”
Truth be told, I
My cheeks warmed with the memory of how he’d tempted me to take the fruit he held out…my lips brushing his fingers.
Because of my nerves, I hadn’t even had a chance to savor the taste of the kiwi wedge dipped in cream. Now, however, I realized that the dessert wasn’t actually just bland vanilla cream with fruit, as I had expected. In fact, Chris had created an awesome coconut-lemon cream. And though various types of fruit slices floated in my bowl, I couldn’t find a single peach slice.
How very considerate of him. But I’d have rather bitten off my tongue than tell him that.
After dessert, Ethan offered to drive me home, and not a minute too soon. If I was late, my mom would ground me for at least a week. We headed out to his car where he made me swoon a little when he opened the door for me like the last gentleman left in Grover Beach. The drive didn’t take half as long as I’d wished, but on the plus side, Ethan cut the engine in front of my house.
Was this it? The moment when he’d lean across the center console and kiss me? My heart pounded like it was trying to bulldoze a way out of my chest.
Ethan turned to me, a half-smile on his lips. I was breathing so fast that in another couple of minutes we wouldn’t have any air left in the car. My knees shook as I shifted in my seat to face him, too. “Thanks for a lovely evening,” I said with what little control over my voice I had left.
“Mm, it was really nice.” Instead of leaning toward me, he dipped his head back against the headrest. “It’s funny how my mom took a liking to you in an instant,” he continued, his voice still light but coy. Then he laughed, a heartwarming sound. “Chris and I always suspected she wanted one of us to be a girl.”
“You can’t be serious.” It came out as playful banter, but inwardly it felt like a complaint about his making small talk rather than kissing me.
“I am.”
Yeah, I’d figured as much. My heart sank as my longed-for first kiss drifted farther and farther away. What was happening here? Hadn’t we had a great time together? It was our second official date—or whatever—and three minutes past my curfew. Not that I wanted to rush anything, but it was now or never !
As the seconds ticked by, “never” seemed to be the more likely outcome of the above.
A grim thought sneaked into my mind. When Chris drove a girl home, he probably didn’t waste a minute on words. Gee, why was Chris in my head right now, when I wanted Ethan to kiss me?
Frustration seemed a reasonable answer to that one. The thought of my first kiss had clearly wound me up. Ethan was a great guy: gorgeous, polite, sweet…and seductive when he didn’t think about it. Hm, maybe that was the whole problem. Were we both overthinking it?
“Hey, I really like hanging out with you,” Ethan said next, and I could sense that this was going in the direction of another date. At least I hoped as much. A small stone dropped from my chest.
“You’re only saying that because you beat me at Mario Kart tonight,” I teased him, not knowing what else to say, since I didn’t want to be the one to ask him out.
“Yeah, that, and because your feet don’t smell like my other friends’ do,” he joked.
We both shook with laughter, and I poked him with my elbow. “Thanks for that visual, Ethan. It’s really what a girl wants to hear after a second date.”
He smirked at me. “Oh, you should hear what I come up with for the third one.”
Was there going to be a third? The question must have been written in my eyes, because he cleared his throat and stammered, “Want to, er…do something again this weekend? If you’re already bored of video games, we could go to the movies.”
Truth be told, I
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