Page 53 of The Bombshell and the Bodyguard
Chapter Eighteen
Shrinkage and Puberty
Wilder
I hadn’t lied to her—I did remember our forbidden kiss long ago. How could I forget?
It happened on a Wednesday night. I’d been over at the Bailey house as usual, eating dinner with the family and then staying around to “study” with Hap—translation—we’d gone over our class notes and study guides for about fifteen minutes and played Xbox the remaining hour and forty-five minutes.
At some point during the game, I’d excused myself to use the bathroom. As usual, I’d bypassed the powder room door and snuck down the hall to Jessica’s room, standing outside to listen to her practicing her guitar and singing.
Suddenly her bedroom door opened. I felt my face go hot and stammered something about stopping to pick up my dropped phone.
She smiled and asked me to come in, telling me she needed my help with something.
I’d always found it impossible to refuse her, so I stepped into her room, expecting her to ask me to help her hang a poster or get something down from her closet shelf.
As it turned out, she had something a little more hazardous in mind.
She told me she was rehearsing for a school theater production and needed my help blocking a scene. Aromanticscene. She handed me a script, I read a few lines, she read a few.
Before I quite knew what was happening, she’d thrown her arms around my neck and kissed me.
And I hadn’t stopped her.
On the contrary, if I was being honest, I kissed her back. And liked it.
The kiss went on for a while, changing from sweet to hot then growing slow and searching again as I used it to communicate my complicated, forbidden feelings for her.
As it ended, I stared down into Jessica’s wide eyes and said the lamest thing. It embarrassed me to this day.
“Your eyes look like jade—you know that stone they make those little Japanese statues out of?”
And then I’d heard Hap’s voice calling me from the hallway, and I’d jumped away from Jessica as if she’d been recently sprayed by a skunk. Hap had appeared in the doorway, looked from me to Jessica and back again.
“What’s going on in here?” my friend had asked in a dangerous tone.
“Just some stupid play she’s working on,” I’d answered, striding quickly toward the door. “She wanted to tell me about it... like Icare."
Both Hap and I had laughed loudly, and I’d left the room, not daring to look back.
As we walked down the hall, I added in a loud voice. “Hey, the cheerleaders are at Olivia’s house today to paint banners for the pep rally. She said we should drop by. She is so fucking hot.”
Hap had punched my arm. “Watch the language. My little sister can hear you.”
I was well aware, which is why I’d mentioned the hot cheerleaders.
After that, I’d stayed far away from Jessica’s room.
And then she was gone, off to Hollywood to star inJust Jadeand after that launching her music career. I’d thought I’d never see her again.
I certainly never imagined I’d get the chance to kiss her again.
It was utterly amazing to feel her in my arms, to breathe in the sweet scent of her and hear the hungry little noises she made.
She hadn’t donethatat sixteen. Everything was different this time. We were two consenting adults, alone, with no chance of anyone barging in on us. Age didn’t matter anymore.
She was a grown woman, capable of deciding what was right for her. And I was a grown man, experienced, and far better able to appreciate everything she was.
