Page 56 of No Rhyme or Roughing
Rubbing a hand down her back seemed to calm her, and suddenly the last few days made no sense to me. Staying away from her. Talking myself out of wanting her.
For what?
“Syd?”
“Hmm?”
“I think I’m going to kiss you.”
She pulled back, tilting her head to look up at me. “Youthink?”
My gaze fell to her lips, to the way she drew the bottom one between her teeth. “I know. I’m going to kiss you. If you don’t want me to… well, you’re going to have to stop me.”
She didn’t.
I met no resistance as I closed the distance between us, finally blissfully fitting my mouth to hers. Her mouth was hot, like the caress of a sauna, soothing every ache in me. I scraped my teeth against her lip and yanked her more tightly against me.
Laughter from inside brought me back to reality, and I slowed my kisses, savoring her. One peck. Two. And I pulled away.
“I hate to say it…”
Her eyes were wide when she looked up at me, her lips swollen. “I should go face the music.”
I watched her straighten her dress and fluff her hair. She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and left me standing there—completely lost.
And completely found.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SYDNEY
Awkward didn’t begin to cover dinner. I sat next to Teddy—me using him to shield me from Mom, and him using me to shield him from Dad. Cowards, the both of us. On Teddy’s other side was his coach, Frankie, which had to be weird for him too, as he sat there pounding wine like it was dollar Jäger bombs at the bar.
To my left was Sam, who seemed oblivious to the way no one would look at each other. Across the table, Mrs. Cassidy sat between my parents, and the Cassidy twins took up the ends.
We were a right party, we were.
“I want to know everything,”Sam was saying to me.
“Sorry, what?” I’d been too busy shuffling food around my plate to pay much attention.
She nudged me with her elbow, laughing. “About the boys. Teddy tells me stories about growing up with them, but it’s so much different from a woman’s eyes. Tell me, were they complete assholes? Trouble?” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Which one of them caused their mother more gray hairs?”
I flicked my eyes to where their mom was chatting with mine, like the old friends they were. Mrs. Cassidy had a full head of gray hair, but on her, it looked classy—like she’d deliberately embraced the color and made it her own.
I tried to recall what ten-year-old Sydney had thought of the twins, but so many of my childhood feelings had been replaced with those of a fully grown adult—one who felt with her entire body, rather than a little girl’s mind. “Everyone loved Sullivan,” I said, biting back a smile as I caught sight of him talking to my dad with big gestures and a wide smile.
“Did you?” Sam asked, her smile teasing like she already knew the answer.
I shook my head. “He was nice to me, but he wasn’t…” I trailed off, searching for words that wouldn’t offend the girl who’d chosen Sullie over Ryder.
“He wasn’t Ryder.” Her voice was kind, as if that was the answer she’d been hoping for. “And now? You two…”
I sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Why?”
I shrugged, wishing she’d turn to talk to someone else. The attention didn’t sit well with me.
