Page 51 of Jingle Bell Jilt
We stop just before the tree, waiting in the small line. I nudge Shay and jerk my head toward the girl taking the ‘professional’ pictures. “Marianne,” I whisper.
Her eyes drop to her nametag. She’s quiet for a minute, but then she snaps her fingers. “You’re close. But I think she’s more of a Miranda.”
I squint. I’ll be. She’s right. “Yep. Miranda it is.”
It only takes a few minutes until it’s our turn. We position ourselves on the tape mark on the ground and scoot close together. At that moment, Goofy sidles up next to me and puts his arm around me. I flinch but then relax and laugh. “Hey, Goofy, Merry Christmas.”
Goofy laughs and returns the greeting. Miranda-Rachel takes our picture and we’re about to walk away when someone standing in line yells out, “Hey, there’s mistletoe. Kiss her.”
We both slowly look up to see Goofy holding a sprig of mistletoe above our heads. And I thought he was such a mild-mannered character.
Everyone in line starts chanting. “Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her,” with no apparent care that we’re making it so they have to wait longer in the line.
There’s indecision in her eyes as she bites her cheek. “Listen to them. I think they might riot if we don’t do it.” She takes a step closer.
I want nothing more than to have a do-over of our last mistletoe kiss. Don’t get me wrong, I think it was amaze-balls. But I’m not sure it rocked Shay’s world like it did mine. I’m sure Shay must have felt like she was kissing her cousin or something. It was so fast and uncertain. I’ve never enjoyed, yet been so embarrassed by, a kiss in all my life.
But I also don’t want to take advantage of her. “If you don’t want to, I’ll totally fight our way out.”
She smiles and I can’t help thinking what an idiot Nathan is. “Ah, my own knight in shining armor.”
I puff out my chest in an act of mock heroics.
She looks down at her hands. “I’m fine with whatever. So if it makes you uncomfortable…”
I scoff. “I’m not uncomfortable. I just don’t wantyouto be uncomfortable or think that I’m taking advantage of the situation.” I take a step closer and we’re now close enough that if either of us leans in a fraction, our lips will meet up close and personal.
“Garsh,” Goofy says. “If you don’t kiss her, I just might.”
Shay looks at Goofy like she might take him to the ground if he makes a move. But then she turns back to me and there’s a look in her eyes. It makes my heart skip a beat.Don’t overthink this, Evan.I mean, it’s just a mistletoe kiss.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
SHAY
My hands are shaking with anticipation.Come on, please, just kiss me.I don’t know whether it’s because everyone is chanting or because I don’t think I can take a second rejection in less than a week. Or maybe I just really want to know if our other mistletoe kiss was just a fluke and really was not as life-altering as I’ve made it out to be. But whatever the reason, when he leans even the tiniest bit forward, I jump on it. Or maybe I jump on him? Who can be sure at a time like this? I just know our lips make contact.
The chanting changes to cheers and whooping, but I only hear it for a moment before the sound of blood rushing to my ears drowns it out. All I hear is the sound of my heartbeat hammering in my chest as his lips cover mine.
My hands slide around his neck and my fingers splay through his hair. Oh my heck, it is just as silky as it looks.
He hugs me tighter to him, and now I can feel his heartbeat thudding in tandem with my own. Did I just tug at his lip? I did something, because he deepens the kiss, and it’s all I can do not to jump into his arms and wrap my legs around him. I just want to be closer to him.
A loud cheer goes up and my brain finally registers where we are. I pull back.
Evan must have similar thoughts because he steps back as I run trembling fingers over my lips. Did I seriously just make out with him in the Town Square of Disney? Oh, my mother would be so horrified right now. I can already hear Maggie screaming when she hears about it.Ifshe hears about it.
I look down at my toes, my cheeks blazing hot. I don’t regret what I’ve done, just where I did it.
Evan seems to be looking at anything but me or the crowd of people. I totally understand what he’s feeling. The group of people—much larger than when we started kissing—standing in front of us have to see my feelings written all over my face. They must know what I’m thinking—how much I want to keep kissing him. How much I want him to hold me and keep me close. This is so bizarre because we hardly know each other. And yet, I kind of feel like I know him better than I knew Nathan.
“Garsh,” Goofy says. “This is a family park.”
Evan smirks at him and without thinking, I turn toward the crowd and curtsy. I curtsied. What. In. The. Heck? I don’t know why I felt compelled to do it, but I did. And I can’t take it back now.
I’m pretty sure Goofy’s seen worse. I mean, I have, and I’ve only been here for five hours. But no matter what Goofy is inferring, the kiss was amazing. And not at all sleazy. Now, if Ihadthrown my legs around Evan, Goofy might have a point, but I didn’t, so the dog needs to step off.
The crowd is clapping like we’re Taylor Swift or something. I’m not sure what to do, so I’m glad when Evan takes my hand and pulls me toward the exit hole in the rope line maze. My heart is still beating erratically, and I can’t quite seem to get my breathing into a normal rhythm.
