Page 30 of Strawberry Kisses

“Try this one,” he said. “I think you’ll like it. It’s ridiculously sweet and fluffy, and it’s got like, zero angst and just enough delicious smut without overdoing it. Perfect first-time romance. And it’s the first in a series, so if you like it, you can read the rest of them.”

“Thanks.” I looked down at the screen to see the cover displayed in black and white with the title in pretty, swooping letters and a beautiful, shirtless man smiling up from behind the title. One Last Kiss by Ella Fox. Well, here went nothing. I tapped the screen until I reached the first chapter and started to read.

Three hours later, I was still reading.

Connor had curled up and fallen asleep two hours earlier. He’d read a couple of chapters before his yawns had finally gotten too big, then he’d put my book down and curled up beside me. I’d flicked my lamp off, reading by the soft, electric glow of the Kindle so I didn’t disturb him. He looked so adorably peaceful when he slept, his little kitten snores filling the quiet room. I almost wanted to snuggle up next to him, watching him sleep and brushing the stray hair off his forehead, but I wasn’t quite ready to put the book down yet.

It had surprised me how quickly I’d been sucked into the story and how easy it was to read. It was the story of two guys who’d known each other for years, one of them the best friend of the other’s older brother. Now they were in their twenties and had reconnected at college where one of them was doing his PhD and the other was finishing up his undergrad. One of them was also really into sports while the other wasn’t, but he still made time to go and watch the other play because… well they were friends even if he wanted it to be something more.

On paper, it sounded slightly cliché and tropey, and maybe it was, but I still couldn’t help being drawn into the narrative and the complex feelings they had for each other. It almost felt validating in a strange way. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

I flicked the page over, and as the characters kissed, a strange sensation of heat built in my stomach. The characters began to strip off their clothes and explore each other with wandering hands and desperate mouths, and I felt my whole body flush.

Beside me, Connor made a little snuffly sound and snuggled closer into my side, his hand reaching across my stomach as he buried his head in my chest and hooked his leg over mine.

I froze. Heat flooded my face and ran down my body. I flicked the Kindle off and set it down, plunging the room into darkness. I’d survived the solo shower scene, but the idea of reading a sex scene with Connor draped over me was a little too far out of my comfort zone.

I slid down slightly, making myself comfortable and gently tried to nudge Connor free, but it was no use. He clung to me tighter than a koala on a eucalyptus tree, and he was absolute dead weight. For someone so small, he suddenly seemed to have morphed into a mountain, and there was absolutely no way to shift him.

Sighing, I put my arm around him and drifted off to sleep, a contented half-smile curling across my lips.

---