Page 46 of For My Finale
“So you did want it,” Blossom said, feeling warmth blooming in her chest. Then she stopped. “Wait. You’re taking love advice from George?”
“It wasn’t love advice,” Lilah said. “It was just… life advice. About going after what you want.” She let out another long sigh. “This isn’t going the way I thought.”
Blossom bit her lip to keep from smiling. “And how did you think it was going to go, sheep aside?”
“I don’t know.” Lilah shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking uncharacteristically uncertain. “I didn’t really think. I just… I just wanted to kiss you.”
“Don’t apologize,” Blossom said, stepping closer. “I liked it.”
Lilah’s eyes snapped to hers. “You liked it?”
“More than liked it.”
Lilah made a small noise in the back of her throat and Blossom caught the way her teeth dragged across her lower lip, her eyes darting to Blossom’s mouth again, like she was considering another kiss but didn’t quite know what to do.
Blossom arched an eyebrow at her, then turned and walked away.
“Wait,” Lilah said. “What’s happening here?”
There was an unmistakable note of panic in her voice, which Blossom found ridiculously endearing in the normally unshakable Lilah. “Calm down,” she said. “We’re going inside, to my kitchen, to have some Horlick’s and talk like adults.” She paused. “Unless you want to stay out here in the dark with Billy lurking somewhere around?”
She continued to walk and then grinned as she heard Lilah’s footsteps pattering behind her. Lilah Paxton, she couldn’t help but think. She’d kissed Lilah Paxton. Her stomach was falling over itself and her whole body felt like it was glowing. She’d kissed Lilah Paxton.
BLOSSOM CRADLED HER mug of Horlick’s between her hands, breathing in the familiar, malty scent. Across from her, Lilah was staring into her own mug with something that looked like trepidation.
“What is it?”
“It’s Horlick’s,” Blossom said.
“Yes, I know that. I’ve seen it in Mrs. Wilkins’s shop. But what actually is it?”
“It’s a drink,” said Blossom. “It’s comforting. Try it.”
Lilah took a tentative sip, pulled a face, and then put the mug back down. “That,” she declared, “is disgusting.”
“Comforting,” Blossom corrected.
“It’s beige disappointment in liquid form,” Lilah said. She shook her head. “The English have a long way to go when it comes to drinks.”
Blossom laughed. “You do remember that you’re technically English, right? I mean, I’m sure you’ve been corrupted by fancyHollywood coffees and green juices and all the rest of it, but you were born here.”
“I’m not sure that my nationality and your terrible drinks are the biggest issue at hand here,” Lilah said, staring into the depths of her drink again.
Blossom set her mug down and leaned forward, elbows on the table. “So, what is the biggest issue, then? You kissed me, I kissed you back. Enthusiastically, might I add. I liked it. I fully consented. But you’re clearly having some sort of break-down over it. So what’s going on?”
Lilah exhaled heavily, drumming her fingers against the table. “Part of it is who I am,” she said slowly. “I don’t want you kissing me because I’m—”
“Lilah Paxton,” Blossom finished. “Except I did kiss you because you’re Lilah Paxton. I kissed you because you’re Lilah, my infuriating neighbor who hasn’t lit a fire yet because she doesn’t know how and at this point she’s afraid to ask. I kissed you because you’re Lilah, who’s supportive and wants to see me succeed, even when I have no faith in myself. I kissed you because you’re Lilah with the sexy lips and the eyes that are colored like wine bottles.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lilah said.
“I know what you meant,” said Blossom. “I kissed you because you’re you. I didn’t kiss you because you’re famous, if that’s any help?” She sighed. “What’s the real problem?”
Lilah looked down at her hands. When she finally spoke again, her voice was quieter, more uncertain. “This is the first time in a long time that I’ve actually wanted something. Really wanted it. It… it scares me.”
Blossom’s heart clenched. Just for a moment, she watched Lilah. Really watched her. The way she wasn’t meeting her gaze, the way her shoulders were slightly hunched as though bracing for something.
Then she reached across the table, resting a hand over Lilah’s. “Then we take things slow. But if this is something that you want, then you have to know that I want it too.”
