Page 14 of My Sweet Cherry
“Do you want to do it again?” Was he serious? By the way he stepped away from the counter, leaving both slices completely untouched, it seemed like he had forgotten about the dessert too.
I nodded. “I think so.”
Carter lifted his hand, tucking his finger under my chin and lifting it until his stare drilled directly into mine. “Me too,” he said, leaning down until his lips touched mine. This time I didn’t pull away. Instead, I leaned into the warmth of his mouth and the comfort of his hand on my cheek. When he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, I parted them, savoring the taste of his breath.
Then I whimpered, and I felt him smile. I could still feel his smile against me when he pulled back. Before my lips hadstopped tingling, I already missed the feeling. Nobody had ever kissed me in a way that made me question how my legs were still holding me up.
“Is that cherry lip balm?” Carter asked, lifting a brow as he drew his finger across the corner of his mouth and smirked.
I nodded. “Good guess.”
When he looked over his shoulder at the counter, he chuckled. “You must really like cherry.” My stomach grumbled again, and I thought about grabbing for the pie I almost fled without.
“I guess I do.” I giggled, and the blush on my cheeks got warmer. By this point, I had to be bright red.
Carter looped his arm around my waist and tugged me against him. When he kissed me again, I hummed. I didn’t want the kiss to end as quickly as it did. He wiggled both of his brows before he let go of me. I watched him reach for one of the plates. “Thank you for the pie,” he said, taking a bite and groaning with approval. Then he winked, and the butterflies in my stomach did somersaults. “If I’m not careful, I just might end up liking cherry a bit too much.”
Chapter 14
Carter
Before recently, I avoided the library at all costs. Now I slowed down in front of the doors.
“Hey, man. You comin’?” Anthony asked when I didn’t react to whatever he had been saying, instead staring at the library I knew she was probably inside. Benny stopped, turning around when he discovered he was mumbling something to himself about a new girl he was trying to get with.
“Yeah, I’ll catch up with you guys.” I waved, signaling for them to keep walking. He furrowed his brow, likely torn between staying to question me and hurrying after the group of men undoubtedly headed for a cold beer. “I gotta take care ofsomething real quick.” I pointed with my thumb to the door of the library like it explained why I needed to go into the library on a Friday afternoon for probably the first time in four years.
“Whatever you say, dude.” If he knew what I was doing, he didn’t say anything. Anthony was observant—he didn’t know that I had been thinking about cherry lip balm for two days or that I had eaten pie for breakfast twice, but he knew that there was something going on. He watched me walk her out of the party, and he knew she worked at the library. He also knew it wasn’t common for me to get hung up on a girl, so why was I doing so with the good girl of the year?
“Don’t take too long!” Benny shouted when Anthony took off to catch up with him. I didn’t wait for them to turn the corner before I pulled the door open and hurried inside, heading straight for the shelves like I knew exactly which book I was looking for.In a sense, I do.When I caught a glimpse of her stretching onto her toes to reach a tall shelf, I paused, watching her face twist with concentration.
“Hey, cherry,” I said, leaning against the side of the shelf. She gasped, nearly dropping the book and wincing when she thought it might come tumbling toward her face. “Do you want some help with that?”
She smiled, looking at the book in her hand and then back at the shelf. “What are you doing here?” she asked, cradling the book in her arm instead.
I took it from her, reaching up to the shelf and sliding it into place while she watched. She was waiting for an answer. I sighed. “I wanted to see you. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’ve eaten cherry pie for breakfast every day since you brought it over, but I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“About me?” She put her hand over her chest like she was surprised, and I nodded.
“Well, it’s either you or the pie.” I laughed and when she realized I was joking about the pie being on my mind, she laughed too. Then she blushed, and the sweet color made her face almost glow. It was such a stark contrast to the dark books and even darker wooden shelves.
“I’ve been thinking about you too,” she finally admitted. She chewed on her lip like she was nervous, and, for a second, I thought she might chew through it. I reached out, using my thumb to tug her lip from between her teeth, licking mine when hers practically shimmered. Suddenly all I could think about was the way her lip balm tasted and the soft whimper that had slipped from her when we kissed. What was it aboutthisgirl?
I stepped toward her, backing her into the shelf and savoring the quiet, breathy gasp that slipped from her probably-cherry-flavored lips. When she looked up at me and her lashes fluttered, it took all of my effort to remain in control. “Then let me take you out,” I said, brushing her hair away from her face.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” Why was she so surprised? “Hank’s has pretty good pie.” I winked and the blush on her cheeks darkened more.
She looked around like she was looking for someone—or maybe like she was waiting for the catch.There is no catch.“Okay,” she finally said, convincing herself that it wasn’t a game. “When?”
“When are you off?”
Beth checked her watch, and a sweet smile tugged at her lips. “In about an hour.”
“Then I’ll pick you up in an hour.” When her face scrunched up in an effort to stop her smile from becoming a full-on grin, I winked. I took the book from her, reaching up to the shelf and slipping it into the space she had been trying to get to earlier.
“I’ll see you in an hour.”
