Page 57 of Safety Net
"Questioning my qualifications?"
She shrugged. "I'm more of a seeing-is-believing type of person."
The space between us had shrunk. I was close enough to grab her waist if I wanted. Kiss her lips. Whisper how much I wanted her.
Instead, I settled for grabbing the bottom of her shirt and gently tugging her close enough that there's nothing between us anymore.
"Want to talk?" I asked, feeling more levelheaded and ready to clear the air.
Celeste swallowed, nervous as she nodded. "Okay…explain yourself. You have five minutes."
I laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd be bossy."
It's sexy and now, I'm desperate for her to tell me what to do and how to do it.
"I've waited long enough," she said. "And also, the time limit is because the tour bus boards in ten, and I really would like that frozen lemonade."
"I will make sure you have your lemonade."
"And my explanation?"
My gaze fell to her lips for a second. They're red, covered in a gloss that sparkled in the light. Had I really been lucky enough to have a taste of her?
"You'd been so anxious and stressed," I started.
She smiled. "When am I not?"
"True." I chuckled. "But I didn't want to kiss you when you were in the middle of that kind of storm. I wanted to be sure you wanted it to happen. I wanted to be sure you weren't holding on to me in fear of getting caught up in something else."
"Lincoln… I'm pretty sure I kissed you," she said. "So, yes, I wanted it to happen. Did you?"
I scoffed. "Of course, I did. AndIkissed you."
"I stood up on my toes," she said. "Why else would I do that?"
I frowned, trying to remember. "But I leaned in."
"After I leaned in."
"Are we arguing?" A very low-stakes and arousing argument.
"We are. And you deserve it after how you pulled away." She playfully stepped back, putting unnecessary distance between us. "I panicked, and it was all I could think about, but couldn't talk about for days."
"I'm sorry." I moved closer. "I was playing it safe."
"Ask me next time," she said, distracted by my lips this time. "If I want it safe… don't assume just because I haven't…done this that you know what I want. Or need."
I nodded, breath caught in my throat, skin on fire with the need to touch her. "What do you want? What do you need? I'll make it up to you."
She stood on her toes again, and I'm so hers I don't know how I've lasted this long without her.
"A frozen lemonade," she whispered against my lips before lowering herself.
My head's buzzing from the suddenness of expectations rising. It took a moment for me to get my bearings once again before saying, "Whatever you want."
With our frozen lemonade in hand, Celeste and I boarded the old tour bus that would drive us around Tinsel. The sunset painted our seats a fuzzy, warm orange. The bus was half full of tourists, most of whom were Americans because Tinsel wasn't popular enough to attract much international attention.
"How often do you take these tours?" Celeste asked once we had settled into our seats. I wanted her to have the window so she could enjoy the scenery.
