Page 81 of Terms Of Un-Endearment
I yelp and jump back, laughing out loud when he stumbles. But then his eyes flicker with a challenge that stops my giggling and sends me running to the other side of the kitchen island, clutching my phone tight.
Archie follows, then changes direction when I dart toward the living room, intending to escape upstairs. He blocks my way before I get out of the kitchen, so I run back toward the island.
“Come on, Piper! You know I’m gonna catch you!”
He’s right, but between his long legs and my lack of coordination, he could have already done it.
But he hasn’t.
We’re both enjoying the chase.
“I dare you!” I call over my shoulder while darting down the hallway toward the gym, forgetting about Valente and myuncertain future. The only thing on my mind is how much IwantArchie to catch me.
He follows, his bare feet slapping against the wood floor. I’m not sure how close he is until I run into the gym. I’ve just stepped over the threshold when his arm winds around my waist. He picks me up, and I gasp.
“Archie! Put me down!” I squeal and kick my feet in the air, but without resisting. His bicep presses into my side, bulging with the effort of holding me inches from the ground with one arm.
I’m enjoying this even more than I imagined.
“Fine.” He kicks the door shut and sets me down, his hands on either side of my shoulders to keep me from escaping. The soft fabric of his shirt brushes against the bare skin of my back not covered by my halter top. “Now give me the phone.”
Archie’s heavy breath skitters down my spine, prickling my skin like a sudden cool breeze on a hot day. I clutch my phone against my chest. If I stick it in my pocket, he’ll go after it.
But there’s another place he won’t try to get it.
I shove it down the front of my V-neck halter, then slowly turn. My elbow scrapes across his stomach, and the thought skims through my head that maybe I wouldn’t mind if he went for my phone.
Which is straight up crazy, because until an hour ago, Archie and I had spent a decade determined to be enemies.
When I face him, his eyes shimmer with the same shades of green that dot the brown Southern California foothills after a good rain. He smells of the sea and salty air. His tongue darts between his lips at the same time his gaze drops to where my phone peeks out from my top.
Archie’s smile falters. The air between us shifts from something playful to something more…charged. Like a Triple A battery transforming into a V-8 engine.
I stare at his mouth and the spot his tongue touched a few seconds ago. My skin prickles with goose bumps. I’ve never let thoughts about kissing Archie linger before, but if he looks at me all hungry much longer, I will have no choice but to feed him. His lips are begging me to.
I tip my chin, and Archie moves closer; so close he has to hear my heart pounding. Every nerve in my body lights up in anticipation of Archie’s lips meeting mine. I don’t remember ever wanting something more than I want his mouth on mine. My eyes flutter shut as he closes the distance between us.
Archie presses into me, and I suck in my breath. His lips brush mine, and I slide my hands behind his neck to bring him back for more.
A door slams and we both freeze.
“Archie? Piper? Where are you?” a voice calls.
Archie moans and glares at the door before dropping his hands and stepping away from me. We don’t break eye contact as he calls, “In the gym, Frankie. Be right out!”
I can’t read his mind, but the question on his face feels like the same one I have. Am I sorrier that we were within seconds of kissing or that we were interrupted before we could?
I don’t know.
“If you’re a good boy, I’ll think about deleting the video,” I tease, to break the spell Archie still has over me. My breath is ragged, and the words scrape across my throat.
Archie huffs a laugh that I pretend not to hear as I step away from the door to let him through.
“Hey, is Piper here?” Frankie asks a few seconds later. “Dex, Britta, and Stella are on their way over, too.”
I take a breath, put on a smile, and walk out of the gym. “I’m right here!”
The surprise on Frankie’s face when I walk out of the same room Archie just did quickly passes as she pulls me into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you!”
