More Than Once by Elizabeth Briggs Page B

uncurled herself and moved into my welcoming arms, bringing the blanket with her. I wrapped it around us both and held her close, stroking her hair, tucking the flyaway pieces behind her ear. I hoped she would open up to me when she was ready, but until then I was happy enough to offer her some silent comfort, to be the guy she leaned against for support.
    “Everything will be okay,” I whispered into her ear.
    She turned her head and found my lips with her own. It was a slow kiss, a soft brush of our mouths, the lightest touch of our tongues. Completely different from the fervent, rough kisses from last night and somehow even more intimate. She stroked her fingers across my jaw, gazing into my eyes, and we were both lost and then found in a single, shared breath.
    I felt powerless against her, falling under her spell with each kiss, and it was too much, too dangerous, too close to something real. Something not at all casual and a whole lot serious. I couldn’t stop it, wasn’t even sure I wanted to stop it, but had to stop it somehow.
    “I should get going,” I said, extracting myself from our embrace. “I need to call my family back home and…”
    She nodded, tugging at her lower lip with her teeth. “Yeah. We’ll be heading to Austin soon. That’ll be a fun three-hour car ride. But we still have our date tomorrow, right?”
    “We do. I’ll be here at seven to pick you up.”
    “We’re not really exchanging presents, are we? Promise me you won’t get me anything.”
    I tucked the blanket tighter around her. “I promise.”
    She gripped my shirt, looking up at me. “I’m serious, Andrew. No presents. I won’t have time to get you anything and I can’t afford to anyway, and if you get me something, I’ll just feel bad.”
    “I swear, no presents. You don’t need to worry.” I bent down to give her one last kiss. “After all, I already got my present from you last night.”
    She gave me a faint smile. “If you’re good, you might get another present like that tomorrow.”
    “I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BECCA
    M y parents didn’t discuss the college thing or mention Andrew even once during the long car ride to my uncle’s house in Austin. There was a heavy tension in the air, and it wasn’t just from me and my parents, but from Trish and Matt, too. I wondered what had gone down after I’d left the room.
    Once we arrived at my uncle’s house, all of that was forgotten in the spirit of holiday cheer. We opened more presents and had another huge, delicious meal with my uncle’s family and my grandparents. I sneaked off once to text Andrew and wish him a merry Christmas, and he told me he’d gone to work after all. I scolded him, but hey, at least he was getting paid extra for it.
    We stayed over after dinner, sprawled on couches and crammed into guest rooms, and then we all drove back in Trish’s minivan in the morning. The storm had completely cleared up by then, and all the snow was melting away. Our magical, white Christmas was over.
    Once we returned home, Trish and Matt took Hannah inside to make her some lunch. But as I moved to follow them, my parents cornered me on the front porch.
    “Rebecca, can we speak with you for a moment?” Dad asked.
    “Sure,” I said, sliding my hands in my jacket pockets. Still no cigarettes in there, dammit. Quitting fucking sucked.
    “We’re sorry for how we reacted yesterday,” Mom said. “We were just surprised and confused by everything you told us.”
    Dad nodded. “We’ve been putting too much pressure on you, but only because we want the best for you. At the end of the day, we don’t care who you’re dating.”
    “Well, we do,” Mom said, nudging him. “But your dating life isn’t as important to us as your happiness. We want to help you, with or without a man at your side. Obviously I would love it if you
did
find someone to settle down with, since I’m not getting any younger and would like another grandchild,