her body balanced on the curved surface, anchored by her widely spread feet. When she let go of Theo’s hands, the ball felt like a life raft on choppy seas.
“Now it’s your turn. Tell me what just happened back there.”
Lucy tried to get up from her perch but should have rearranged her legs first, because once her butt cleared the ball, her center of gravity pulled her backward. “Uh-oh…”
Theo grabbed her, and in an instant she was standing in his arms, his nose up against hers and his lips not two microns away from her own. She feared her beating heart would punch a hole through her damp T-shirt.
Theo whispered, “A kiss is not dating. Just so we’re clear on that.” His lips brushed hers even as he spoke.
“Of course.” Her lips grazed his.
“I don’t want to violate company policy.”
‘Then just violate
me
.“
Theo pressed his mouth full against hers while he gripped her hard by the upper arms. Lucy closed her eyes and swayed. OK, perhaps she vaguely remembered kissing as a concept, but she’d never felt a kiss like this in her whole life.
His mouth seemed to know exactly what it wanted, and took it. Theo’s kiss had a unique rhythm. Its own language. Theo’s kiss was like visiting an exotic foreign land that she’d only seen in travel brochures. It felt so strange. So perfect. And she thought to herself,
So this is a kiss
.
Lucy let herself sink into it, the heat and the connection and the soft, sweet questions Theo seemed to ask her. And at that instant, her answer to everything was,
Hell yes
.
Theo found it difficult to kiss and smile at the same time, but he found he had no choice with Lucy. He
knew
it would be like this. He knew she’d be soft and delicious and responsive and he’d get one taste of her and not be able to stop himself-so why had he started? Now all that mattered was that he feel every inch of her body, kiss her until they both couldn’t breathe, until he knew her down to her very last secret.
His hands roamed around her back, down her sides, and they were just about to grab onto the full globes under those pink sweatpants when the camera crew pulled into the parking lot.
“I kissed her.”
Tyson crammed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and dragged his gaze from the basketball game to Theo. “Kissed who?” he mumbled.
Before Theo could answer, Tyson’s focus wandered back to the TV screen. The room erupted in hoots and jeers, and Buddy and his Special Olympic teammates gave one another high fives and pranced around the family room. The noise was deafening.
“Lucy.” Theo said it in a near whisper.
Tyson jumped to his feet, dumping the bowl of popcorn on the floor.
“Hey! We were eating that!” somebody complained.
“We got to have a talk, boy.” Tyson grabbed Theo’s forearm and herded him through the dining room just as Buddy tossed the empty bowl their way and asked for a refill.
“So when did
that
happen?” Tyson leaned up against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms across his big chest. He found a stray kernel of popcorn on the front of his polo shirt and popped it in his mouth. “And does this mean I can’t ask her out?”
Theo laughed. He’d always appreciated how Tyson cut to the chase. That’s probably why the athletes enjoyed his help as an assistant coach-he gave it to them straight. “It is what it is,” had become the unofficial slogan of the Special Olympics of Miami-Dade track-and-field team, thanks to Tyson’s all-purpose application of the saying.
“Yesterday at the high school track. I’m not sure what happened.”
Tyson laughed loudly. “What do you mean, you’re not sure what happened? Your lips don’t go running around smacking into women without your knowledge, do they? Where’s the popcorn?”
“Second cabinet to the right. Set the microwave on three minutes or it’ll fry.”
“Gotcha.”
“I will come after you if you hit on her.”
Tyson tapped the buttons on the microwave and chewed on
“Now it’s your turn. Tell me what just happened back there.”
Lucy tried to get up from her perch but should have rearranged her legs first, because once her butt cleared the ball, her center of gravity pulled her backward. “Uh-oh…”
Theo grabbed her, and in an instant she was standing in his arms, his nose up against hers and his lips not two microns away from her own. She feared her beating heart would punch a hole through her damp T-shirt.
Theo whispered, “A kiss is not dating. Just so we’re clear on that.” His lips brushed hers even as he spoke.
“Of course.” Her lips grazed his.
“I don’t want to violate company policy.”
‘Then just violate
me
.“
Theo pressed his mouth full against hers while he gripped her hard by the upper arms. Lucy closed her eyes and swayed. OK, perhaps she vaguely remembered kissing as a concept, but she’d never felt a kiss like this in her whole life.
His mouth seemed to know exactly what it wanted, and took it. Theo’s kiss had a unique rhythm. Its own language. Theo’s kiss was like visiting an exotic foreign land that she’d only seen in travel brochures. It felt so strange. So perfect. And she thought to herself,
So this is a kiss
.
Lucy let herself sink into it, the heat and the connection and the soft, sweet questions Theo seemed to ask her. And at that instant, her answer to everything was,
Hell yes
.
Theo found it difficult to kiss and smile at the same time, but he found he had no choice with Lucy. He
knew
it would be like this. He knew she’d be soft and delicious and responsive and he’d get one taste of her and not be able to stop himself-so why had he started? Now all that mattered was that he feel every inch of her body, kiss her until they both couldn’t breathe, until he knew her down to her very last secret.
His hands roamed around her back, down her sides, and they were just about to grab onto the full globes under those pink sweatpants when the camera crew pulled into the parking lot.
“I kissed her.”
Tyson crammed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and dragged his gaze from the basketball game to Theo. “Kissed who?” he mumbled.
Before Theo could answer, Tyson’s focus wandered back to the TV screen. The room erupted in hoots and jeers, and Buddy and his Special Olympic teammates gave one another high fives and pranced around the family room. The noise was deafening.
“Lucy.” Theo said it in a near whisper.
Tyson jumped to his feet, dumping the bowl of popcorn on the floor.
“Hey! We were eating that!” somebody complained.
“We got to have a talk, boy.” Tyson grabbed Theo’s forearm and herded him through the dining room just as Buddy tossed the empty bowl their way and asked for a refill.
“So when did
that
happen?” Tyson leaned up against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms across his big chest. He found a stray kernel of popcorn on the front of his polo shirt and popped it in his mouth. “And does this mean I can’t ask her out?”
Theo laughed. He’d always appreciated how Tyson cut to the chase. That’s probably why the athletes enjoyed his help as an assistant coach-he gave it to them straight. “It is what it is,” had become the unofficial slogan of the Special Olympics of Miami-Dade track-and-field team, thanks to Tyson’s all-purpose application of the saying.
“Yesterday at the high school track. I’m not sure what happened.”
Tyson laughed loudly. “What do you mean, you’re not sure what happened? Your lips don’t go running around smacking into women without your knowledge, do they? Where’s the popcorn?”
“Second cabinet to the right. Set the microwave on three minutes or it’ll fry.”
“Gotcha.”
“I will come after you if you hit on her.”
Tyson tapped the buttons on the microwave and chewed on
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