Page 14 of Cocoa Kisses
“I’m going to get him back to bed,” Sara says, setting Gage on the stairs and starting up behind him. “Choose somethingquietto play without me.”
They disappear, leaving Taylor and me standing beneath the mistletoe with the gazes of all four of our parents on us.
Taylor clears her throat. “Codenames?”
Mrs. Bixby blinks at us a couple of times, then slides the game from the stack. “Codenames.”
The rest of the night goes fine, wrapping up after two rounds of Codenames just as Sara rejoins us.
“He’s down again. Sorry about that, guys. Am I a party pooper if I say I’m too tired to play another game?”
“Nope,” Taylor says, practically shooting to her feet. “I need to head home and answer Christmas Town emails anyway.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I say before anyone else can.
She opens her mouth like she’s going to protest but shuts it and turns and walks out.
“You don’t have to walk me out in my own parents’ house,” she says when we get to the front door.
She reaches for the handle, but I beat her to it, clasping it and keeping the door shut.
“Are we going to talk about it this time?” I ask.
She doesn’t pretend to not know what I mean. “Not necessary,” she tells my collarbone.
“Taylor.” I wait until she meets my eyes. “Last time we didn’t talk about this, I didn’t come home for four years.”
She draws her head back. “That’s why you stayed away?”
“It’s part of it, I’m realizing. Not doing that again.”
“You don’t have to. You didn’t have to last time. It’s fine, Levi. We stepped in and helped a stressed kid. Doesn’t need a conversation.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “And last time?”
She studies my collarbone again. After several long seconds, she shrugs. “Rum.”
“That’s it?” I don’t want to leave this alone. Not with the realization that avoiding a simple conversation did more to keep me bouncing around Europe than I’d acknowledged to myself until now. “This is the second time we’ve found ourselves in this position. And neither of us drank enough to pretend that was really about helping out a kid.”
She pushes past me and opens the door. “It was for me. Don’t make it weird, Levi.” Then she slips out of the door and tries to pull it shut, but I catch it and watch her hustle down the walkway.
“Too late,” I call to her as she skims around the front of her car. “It wasn’t just me. And I know where you work.”
She stares at me over the roof of her car before she licks her lips and says, “Let it go or I’m cutting you off from cocoa.”
I clutch at my heart to let her know her threat has hit home. “You’re a cold woman, Taylor.”
She gives me a sweet smile—sweet enough to be rotten—and gets into her car and drives away.
“This isn’t over,” I tell her disappearing taillights. Not even close.
Chapter Five
Taylor
Iheaddowntoopen the café at 6:00 like I do every morning, even though I was up until midnight answering emails and didn’t sleep great after that. Tossing. Turning. Replaying that kiss. Burning with mortification every time I remembered moaning.
Moaning. Imoaned. Levi Taft kissed me, and I moaned. In front of him. And our parents. All of them.
