Page 68 of Starry Skies, Stolen Kisses, and My Best Friend's Brother

“She said it’s too cloudy to get the stars, so why bother?”

Seth points at the sky, and lightning flashes in streaks.

“Yep, those would’ve been terrific shots.”I’m not good with the camera like Abi is.

We watch the lightning in silence for a minute.It’s far enough away that we don’t have to be worried, but the wind has picked up, and the rain is coming quickly.

Our fingers brush together, and instead of jerking away, Seth curls his pinky finger around mine.There’s so much I want to say.So much I want to do.But it’s all forbidden.

“Mae, I…” But his words are lost in a huge clap of thunder and a sudden torrential downpour.Lightning flashes, this time way too close, and Seth wraps his hand around mine.“My cabin is closer.Let’s get out of here.”

We run in the rain, hands gripped tightly together, and within minutes we are at his cabin, dripping water all over his entryway floor.We both looked like drenched cats, and we start laughing.

Deka lifts her head from the couch and looks at us like we’re crazy.

“The thunder doesn’t bother her?”I ask.

He shakes his head.“She’s a weirdo.Loud noises make no difference to her at all.”

“That’s good.And good thing she wasn’t outside with us, or she’d be soaked as well.”

“Speaking of, we should change.”

“I should go.”I point to the door.

He glances out the window behind me.“It’s pouring, thundering, and there’s lightning.Your dad might get upset if we hook up, but he’d kill me if I let you go out in this weather and something happened to you.Looks like you’re stuck here for a bit.”

“Darn.”

He grins.“At least try to sound a little bit disappointed.”

“Time spent with you is never disappointing.”

He sucks in a breath but doesn’t say anything.Instead, he grabs my hand and pulls me upstairs to his room.I stand by the door, dripping all over the place, and he pulls out a t-shirt and a pair of tie lounge pants.“They’ll be big, but you can cinch them up so they don’t fall down.”

He points to the bathroom off of his room, and I debate whether to be brave and change in front of him.In the end, I chicken out.But I leave the door half open and turn so my back is to him.I don’t want to see if he’s watching or not.

Everything is soaked, so I have to go commando, and now I’m regretting leaving the door open.It would be too obvious now if I turned around to shut it.I move quickly and then grab a couple of towels out of the cupboard.I dry my hair and leave my wet clothes hanging on his shower door.

I turn around and see him standing near his bed, fire in his eyes.I swallow and hold up the towel.“I’ll clean up the stairs and the floor.I’ll see you back downstairs.”

He just nods and slips past me.I manage to get the floor wiped and then curl up on the couch with Deka.The rain is still coursing down, and every few minutes, thunder rocks the cabin.Seth plops down next to me.“Looks like you might be staying here tonight.”

“Looks like it.”

His face is twisted, and I sense his confusion over what to do.I feel the same way.But there’s no way nothing is going to happen.It would take an act of God to quench the fire that burns between us.

We need to set some ground rules.

I spin around and crawl into his lap so I’m straddling him, and my face is a few inches from his.

I bring my lips close to his ear.“Did you watch?”I ask, my voice breathy.Maybe there will be no ground rules tonight after all.

His hands grip my hips and pull me closer to him.“I’m no saint, Mae.”His voice is low and sexy.

I nip at his ear.“Good.”

I pull back and see the intensity in his eyes as his hands reach for my face, his fingers gently grazing my skin before they slide into my hair.We just stare at each other, and then we’re kissing.As our lips move together in a passionate dance, I can taste the faint hint of rain on his lips, a reminder of the storm raging outside.

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