Page 55 of Sidelined By Love

I just need to get her about a foot taller.

There’s no playbook for making out with Zoe Peebles, so I hoist her up under her legs and pull her closer to my height, her knees squeezing my hips as she lets out a little squeal. I spin us away from the center of the room and against the wall. We bump into it a little harder than planned, and a picture rattles dangerously. I barely notice though because of Zoe’s “oof.”

Leaving one hand under her leg and pressing into her so she’s solidly wedged between me and the wall, I slide my other hand into the hair at the back of her head. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Good.” Her eyes flash with something new. Something entirely welcome. “Very good.”

That’s all I need to hear.

I press my lips to her jaw and drag them down to her neck. Her skin is beyond soft, and I can feel her racing pulse through my kiss. My heart rate matches hers, thunder in my ears.

My head begins to spin. But only for a moment. Suddenly I’m hyper-focused on the moment.

Just like the start of a game. The nerves. The uncertainty. The excitement.

And then the rest of the world vanishes and there is only me and the ball and my receiver.

Right now. It’s just me and Zoe. The little gasp she makes at the barest touch of my tongue to the skin below her ear. I brush a few stray hairs out of the way and do it again, and she tries to climb me like a tree. Her fingers slide deeper into my hair, pulling hard yet holding me right where I am. Her knees squeeze into my sides.

Noted.

She tastes better than she smells, and I nuzzle into that sweet hollow where her neck meets her shoulder, inhaling long and deep. “Zoe?” I whisper into her skin.

One by one her fingers unwind, feeling returning to my scalp. Not that I needed it. “Yes?” Her word is barely a breath against my ear, but it has the power to shoot sparks down my back and all the way to my feet.

“Just so you know, I wanted to kiss you.”

She drags a single fingernail around the edge of my ear, and I can hear the smirk in her voice when she says, “Just so you know, I already knew that.”

It’s clear she’s not going to reciprocate vocalizing her interest in our current activities. Impertinent woman. So I press my mouth to her smile. Maybe harder than I need to. But she catches my bottom lip between hers, teasing and tugging at it and sending fireworks to blow off the top of my head.

I’m a goner.

I run my hands from her knees to her hips, gently digging my fingertips into the jeans that cover her thighs. With an exhale, I lean into her gentle curves and—

“Uncle Grant!” Kenna’s call is immediately followed by a slam of the front door so hard that the wall at Zoe’s back shakes both of us.

I step back so fast that I almost drop her, catching her under the arms at the last minute and steadying her on her feet, though her knees are visibly trembling. I barely have time to shoot her a smug smile before Kenna barrels into the room, throwing her blue backpack by the couch. It clatters as it skips along the floor before thudding into the baseboard.

Shooting Zoe a frantic look to see how much damage I’ve done, I smooth my hands down the front of my shirt, which still carries the marks of her clenched fists. Zoe’s top knot is mostly falling out, but the memory of the silk of her hair between my fingers makes it totally worth it.

“I got a call-back for the lead!” Kenna screams, nearly tackling Zoe as she throws her arms around her waist.

Zoe tumbles into the wall for the second time, and only then do I realize the picture of me and my sister and our parents that had been on the wall when the evening started crashed to the floor at some point, the frame broken beyond repair.

Again. Totally worth it.

With a squeal, Zoe hugs Kenna back. “You’re amazing! I knew you could do it.”

Kenna steps back, poking a toe into the carpet. “Well, it’s only a call-back.”

“Only a call-back? Ha! There’s no such thing.” Zoe grabs her hands and holds them up between them. “Every actor who ever got the role had to get a call-back first.”

“But I still might not get it.”

I sling my arm around her shoulders. “But you have a better chance now than you did this morning. I’m proud of you, kiddo!”

She ducks her head and mumbles a thanks.

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