you?”
“None of your business!” Whoa, her saliva had probably just turned a radioactive green from the venom in her voice. But after having her almost plant a kiss on my creamy fingers tonight, I begged to differ.
“Come on, it’s a simple yes or no question,” I teased her. “I’ll sleep a lot better if I know the answer.”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself, if you want to know so badly?” hissed the kitten.
Did she hate me because she’d liked when I’d coaxed her to eat the fruit from my hand? Or because I looked like the guy she had a crush on and she just couldn’t deny it? Her attitude about this was quite immature, considering she wouldn’t stand a chance in this challenge anyway. I rolled my eyes but gave her that. “Okay… Since you told me to…” I rose from my bed, walked out the door to my brother’s room, and stuck my head inside. He was doing a workout on the floor. “Hey, Ethan,” I interrupted, hiding the phone behind my back. “Did you kiss Susan tonight?”
He turned only his head toward me. “No.” A grunt as he did a pushup. “Why?” Followed by another grunt.
I waved at him to continue his evening workout and shook my head, mouthing, “Never mind.” On the way back to my room, I pressed the cell to my ear. “Ethan said no.” Then, as I slumped into my desk chair and started to swivel, I innocently added, “I wonder why he didn’t. Could it be that he’s just not interested?”
“FYI, he asked me on another date.” It wasn’t a snappy remark as much as a self-assured jibe. Or maybe it was simply her wishful thinking. Someone should rattle her awake.
“Aw, playing video games again? Is that really your idea of a successful date?”
“We’re going to the movies. Your idea of a successful date is probably coming out of your room with bed hair and a messy shirt.”
I stopped spinning in the chair. Dammit, she had been checking me out when we met in the hallway! And my incorrectly buttoned shirt had certainly given her some wild ideas. A sly grin escaped me at the memory of her almost eating me up with her eyes. “I knew you noticed that.” Now the far more important question was, “Did it bother you?”
Sue gasped. “Why the hell would it?”
Obvious, girl. “Because, for one, I look exactly like my brother and, from what I can tell, you’re totally into him. Means you’re totally into me, too.” Some rules of the universe just couldn’t be broken, no matter how hard she fought it. “And two, only one out of us seems to be dying to snatch a kiss from you these days.” Even if it was only to come out of this game the winner.
The absolute silence on the other end of the line shocked me. No snappy retort for once? I must have hit a nerve. “You stopped breathing, Sue,” I told her warily, unsure if she was still there. Her quick intake of air then made me chuckle. “I guess that means you agree with me on both points.”
She was breathing again, good, yet she took a long moment before she asked me something in a very low and, for her, unusually soft voice—when she spoke with me , anyway. “Chris, tell me one thing.” Another pause. Gee, I was really itching to hear where this was going. “You had the most beautiful girl in your room this afternoon. Why do you want to kiss me ?”
Oh, I would tell her why. “Because Lauren, like most other girls, is an easy catch.” Spanish lessons or not, I only had to snap my fingers, and she would make room in her calendar for me. “You, on the other hand,” I drawled into the phone, hoping to stroke Susan’s senses awake with it in spite of the late hour, “challenged me today—and in front of my friends, too.”
“So you want me because you can’t have me?” Her voice traveled up an octave at the end of the line.
“Who says I can’t have you?” I teased.
“I do.”
Think again, sweetness. You have no idea who you’re dealing with. But her naivety made me smile. “Oh, okay. So yes,
“None of your business!” Whoa, her saliva had probably just turned a radioactive green from the venom in her voice. But after having her almost plant a kiss on my creamy fingers tonight, I begged to differ.
“Come on, it’s a simple yes or no question,” I teased her. “I’ll sleep a lot better if I know the answer.”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself, if you want to know so badly?” hissed the kitten.
Did she hate me because she’d liked when I’d coaxed her to eat the fruit from my hand? Or because I looked like the guy she had a crush on and she just couldn’t deny it? Her attitude about this was quite immature, considering she wouldn’t stand a chance in this challenge anyway. I rolled my eyes but gave her that. “Okay… Since you told me to…” I rose from my bed, walked out the door to my brother’s room, and stuck my head inside. He was doing a workout on the floor. “Hey, Ethan,” I interrupted, hiding the phone behind my back. “Did you kiss Susan tonight?”
He turned only his head toward me. “No.” A grunt as he did a pushup. “Why?” Followed by another grunt.
I waved at him to continue his evening workout and shook my head, mouthing, “Never mind.” On the way back to my room, I pressed the cell to my ear. “Ethan said no.” Then, as I slumped into my desk chair and started to swivel, I innocently added, “I wonder why he didn’t. Could it be that he’s just not interested?”
“FYI, he asked me on another date.” It wasn’t a snappy remark as much as a self-assured jibe. Or maybe it was simply her wishful thinking. Someone should rattle her awake.
“Aw, playing video games again? Is that really your idea of a successful date?”
“We’re going to the movies. Your idea of a successful date is probably coming out of your room with bed hair and a messy shirt.”
I stopped spinning in the chair. Dammit, she had been checking me out when we met in the hallway! And my incorrectly buttoned shirt had certainly given her some wild ideas. A sly grin escaped me at the memory of her almost eating me up with her eyes. “I knew you noticed that.” Now the far more important question was, “Did it bother you?”
Sue gasped. “Why the hell would it?”
Obvious, girl. “Because, for one, I look exactly like my brother and, from what I can tell, you’re totally into him. Means you’re totally into me, too.” Some rules of the universe just couldn’t be broken, no matter how hard she fought it. “And two, only one out of us seems to be dying to snatch a kiss from you these days.” Even if it was only to come out of this game the winner.
The absolute silence on the other end of the line shocked me. No snappy retort for once? I must have hit a nerve. “You stopped breathing, Sue,” I told her warily, unsure if she was still there. Her quick intake of air then made me chuckle. “I guess that means you agree with me on both points.”
She was breathing again, good, yet she took a long moment before she asked me something in a very low and, for her, unusually soft voice—when she spoke with me , anyway. “Chris, tell me one thing.” Another pause. Gee, I was really itching to hear where this was going. “You had the most beautiful girl in your room this afternoon. Why do you want to kiss me ?”
Oh, I would tell her why. “Because Lauren, like most other girls, is an easy catch.” Spanish lessons or not, I only had to snap my fingers, and she would make room in her calendar for me. “You, on the other hand,” I drawled into the phone, hoping to stroke Susan’s senses awake with it in spite of the late hour, “challenged me today—and in front of my friends, too.”
“So you want me because you can’t have me?” Her voice traveled up an octave at the end of the line.
“Who says I can’t have you?” I teased.
“I do.”
Think again, sweetness. You have no idea who you’re dealing with. But her naivety made me smile. “Oh, okay. So yes,
Similar Books
