In the Spotlight by Liz Botts, Elaina Lee Page A

coming. Prayer group meant that they’d be home at a decent time, so Kyle’s bad teen movie couldn’t really go too far.
    “So where do we start?” I asked.
    “Right here,” Kyle grinned, indicating the couch. “I thought we could talk about your characterization of Kelly.”
    I perched awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, while Kyle leaned back with exaggerated comfort, draping his arm along the back of the couch. I set my purse down on the floor. “Um…don’t you like what I’ve been doing?” I couldn’t breathe with Kyle in such close proximity. My tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of my mouth. There was nothing about Kelly that I hadn’t thought about. Seriously. She kept me up at night, trying to figure out every minute detail about her likes and dislikes. I’d even thought through how she felt about political situations. That’s right, I’d spent hours poring over web articles about the eighties.
    “Oh, no, it’s great,” Kyle hurried to say. “I just think there is always so much more that can be done.”
    Taking a deep breath, I inched back so that Kyle’s arm was basically around my shoulders. “Okay, give me some pointers,” I invited. Kyle smiled and leaned closer. Barely. I think it was probably a nanomillimeter, but he did lean closer. I could feel him.
    He put a hand lightly on my bare knee. The contact made me squirm. It felt wrong. All of my warning sensors were going off, but I sat still and forced myself to see where this was going. I had wanted this with Kyle for three years. I had to at least give it a chance. “I really think you’re missing Kelly’s sexiness,” Kyle began.
    His hand drifted microscopically higher on my knee.
    “Oh?” I squeaked. Calming my voice, I tried again. “You wrote Kelly as incredibly innocent, though.”
    “Well, yeah,” Kyle agreed. “But that’s what makes her so sexy. She’s innocent. A blank slate. It’s like she’s just waiting for a guy to teach her.”
    Was he serious? “That sort of changes the story, doesn’t it?”
    I asked, trying to focus on the supposed reason I was here in the first place, getting inside help to make the show better. “It changes it from a love story to a lust story, essentially.”
    “Oh, come now, Hannah,” Kyle chided, leaning closer.
    “Surely even you know that lust is really what love is all about.”
    I swallowed. Had I really just heard him right? Lust is what love is all about? Kyle leaned even closer. I could smell the sour cream and chive potato chips he must have eaten earlier. He also smelled heavily of coffee. The combination of smells made me slightly nauseous. And in a second, I knew he was going to kiss me.
    A little thrill shot through me. Kyle was actually going to kiss me!
    His lips landed on mine hard and fast. He sought to deepen the kiss immediately, overwhelming me with a slurpy, slimey tongue. As he pressed me back against the couch, an overwhelming sense of panic bubbled up in my chest. This wasn’t how I’d pictured my first kiss with Kyle.
    He was moving way too fast.
    The thought registered as Kyle’s hands skimmed the front of my sweater roughly. As he jammed his tongue further down my throat, he slid his hand up between my knees.
    My stomach twisted. This wasn’t how a first kiss was supposed to feel. Where were my fireworks? My heart felt like it was a jet plane in freefall. Why was Kyle doing this? As his fingers edged under the hem of my skirt, adrenaline kicked in.
    “No!” I yelled, somehow managing to shove him off me. I scrambled off the couch, gasping for breath.
    Kyle shot up after me, grabbing my arm hard and yanking me back toward the couch. I stumbled, catching my leg hard on the corner of the coffee table. Wincing, the pain sent another surge of adrenaline rushing through my body. I wrenched my arm away from Kyle, snatched my purse off the floor, and ran out the front door.
    Suddenly the warm March night felt bitterly cold, but I didn’t care. I