Page 60 of Beaten

I jumped up and down and gave Jamie a big hug. “Thank God we won. I wouldn’t have been able to show my face if we lost after all my smack-talk.”

“We?” He asked, his arms around me, laughing. “Who’s this ‘we’ you’re speaking of?”

I’d only scored two points. “I thought we were a team?”

“We are.”

Everyone was having a blast, talking, playing, and drinking. As the sun set, Doug lit the bonfire and eventually everyone made their way over to sit and relax.

Chase had the energy of a puppy, running around talking to everyone and eating up all the attention heaped on him. Beth and Mary laughed as they blamed the three cupcakes he’d eaten.

Beth said, “He rarely gets a lot of sweets, but today’s a special occasion.”

“He’ll sleep great once the sugar high wears off.” Mary added. She should know, she’d raised three rowdy energetic boys.

Ashley and AJ were no longer being subtle as he played with her hair while she sat on his lap. Jamie noticed too, and offered to drive me home later so Ashley didn’t have to worry about it. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, so I didn’t tell him I had Ashley’s keys because she planned on making AJ drive her home after their night together.

The guys bonded over stories about high school and sports, while we girls got to know each other better. It felt a little weird talking to Mary as an adult, since I’d spent most of my life looking up to her as Mrs. Sheppard. But it was nice. Eventually, the two conversations converged and turned to more adult topics like careers, military service, family, and business.

Every once in a while, my mind would wonder back to the kitchen, where I’d agreed to go on a date, with JamieSheppard. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be going on a date with my high school crush. Somewhere between high school and now he’d gone from being cute to being the kind of guy I read about in romance novels. I felt my cheeks flush and hoped no one would notice.

As the evening wore on, people started saying their goodbyes and going home. Mary gave me a hug when she and John said goodbye, which caught me off guard, but in a good way. When Doug offered to carry a sleepy Chase to Beth’s car for her, she gladly accepted. Eric and Sammie thanked Jamie for the invite, then reminded me not to take it personally if they didn’t say hi to me while they were working. I thanked them and promised them I wouldn’t.

There were only six of us left as the fire was slowing burning itself out. Meg was now sitting in Jack’s lap, her head resting on his shoulder, and Ashley and AJ had moved to the other side of the fire so they could make out. I didn’t know if they realized we could still see them, or if they even cared.

When Jack yelled, “get a room,” across the fire, AJ replied, “On it, boss.”

Jack and Meg. AJ and Ashley.Jamie and me?

My nerves got the best of me, again, so I told Jamie I had to use the ladies’ room and went inside. Once safely behind the locked bathroom door, I let my tears fall as I took care of business. Then I rinsed my face in cold water and told myself to take it one day at a time. Just because Ashley was hooking up with AJ, and Jack and Meg were engaged, didn’t mean Jamie and I had to pretend we were a couple, or hook up, or any of the other possibilities I had running through my head.

Yes, we were sitting close to one another. And we’d hugged each other, a lot, during the games. But we hadn’t gone on our date yet. so we weren’t a couple, yet.

Jamie was waiting in the hallway when I walked out of the bathroom. “Are you okay?”

Damn, was it that obvious?“Yeah.” I nodded without conviction.

“Em.” He took a step towards me. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”

I looked into his eyes and forgot why I was nervous.He’s so sweet.

And sexy. I wanted to kiss him. Right now.

“I know.” And I meant it. I slowly closed the distance between us as if under a spell. All I could think about was kissing him. I broke eye contact to look at his lips. My breath caught in my throat when one side of his mouth lifted in a grin.Am I going to do this? Can I take one more step, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him?

I could. When I pressed my palms against Jamie’s chest, I felt it rise just before he exhaled my name.

“Emily.” His rough voice sent shivers down my spine.

I raised up on my toes, so our lips were even, slid my hands up his chest and around his neck. I could feel his warm breath on my face and his hands on my waist.

“Kiss me.” I said a second before I pulled him closer so our lips touched. And I kissed him.

Jamie gripped my waist tighter before sliding his hands around my back and pulling my chest into his. I tilted my head and parted my lips to deepen the kiss. He moaned as histongue danced with mine, making my head swim. I’d never felt so sexy in my life.

Jamie turned me and pushed me against the wall, his hand grabbing my ass, his kiss demanding. I gripped his neck, begging for more.

Then he was gone. The pressure of his hands. The warmth of his lips.

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