Page 55 of Scoop Me Up
“Maybe six? I don’t remember exactly.”
“Wow. What happened to the boy?”
His question made me laugh out loud. “His name is Cooper.”
He laughed along with me, nodding. “I get it now.”
“How about you?”
He hummed softly. “First kiss or best childhood memory?”
“Kiss,” I said after a moment’s consideration.
“It’s not as much fun as yours. I took this girl to the movies. We held hands the whole time. At one point, I got up to use the restroom, and when I got back, she was standing in the hallway next to the theater, waiting for me, and she kissed me.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “That’s not that bad.”
“The next day she told me I was a bad kisser and broke up with me. I was fourteen.”
“Ouch.” My heart ached for young Gabe. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
He shrugged. “Everyone has to go through heartbreak at some point.”
“Still.” I stayed quiet for a few seconds, my heart beating hard. The longer we sat there, the more we shared with each other, the harder I felt myself falling. I didn’t know whether to let it happen or to pull away. And his story had just emphasized the thing I was most worried about. “Your first kiss was a girl, then.”
He cleared his throat quietly. “All of my kisses before you were.”
I let my eyes close for a second, anxiety washing over me. When I opened them again, he was looking at me intently.
“But that doesn’t change how I’m feeling.”
I could barely stand the intensity of his gaze, my breath coming out shaky and uncertain. “It doesn’t?”
“Sam, I—” Gabe stopped and took a slow breath before lightly placing a hand on the side of my neck. His touch was warm. “I told you, I don’t know where this is going, but I’m not running away from it. It might be my first experience with someone other than a woman, but I’m not afraid of that.”
“You’re not?” I couldn’t seem to make a coherent thought, my mind tangled up in his words alone.
“I’m not scared of being with you, no.”
I nodded slowly. “What if—” I could barely stand to say it out loud. “What if you change your mind?”
“I’m not running away from this. From us. At least, not yet. If something changes, we’ll talk about it then.” A moment’s pause. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He leaned in and pressed the most tender kiss to my lips, so sweet and gentle it made me ache. A moment later, we parted and Gabe moved to sit closer, until we were touching again, our thighs pressed together, and I lay my head on his shoulder.
I sighed, a soft little sound, and closed my eyes. Just as I did, a metallic crash came from nearby, and I startled, sitting up. Gabe jumped too, letting out a little yelp. After a moment, the sound settled down, and I looked at him.
“Did you justyelp?” I couldn’t help but laugh as I said it.
He chuckled and looked at me, eyes narrowed. “Don’t make fun of me.”
I held up my hands. “I’m not.” But I couldn’t stop the quiet laughter that still came, my body shaking with it.
Gabe shoved me playfully. “You’re judging me.”
“I would never.”
“You are,” he protested.
A second passed until I calmed myself down, my laughter dying out. “It must have been a raccoon or something knocking over a trash can. That’s what it sounded like, anyway. Maybe an opossum.” Another second of quiet. I settled back into the comfortable position I’d been in prior to the crash, leaning against Gabe, thigh to thigh, head on his shoulder.
