Page 16 of A Very Oceanport Christmas
But no. This wasn't about me doing anything. I was the one standing under the mistletoe. If anything, it was on Sam to act. He'd placed me here, which meant....
Which meant...
My thoughts sputtered out as Sam closed the distance between us and covered my lips with his own. The touch lasted only for a few seconds before he drew away again, but holy hell if it didn't leave me wanting more. So much more. My lips tingled as if Sam's had been on fire and left little embers burning in their wake. I stared at him wordlessly.
He gave me a sheepish smile. "I had to do that since you're standing under a mistletoe. It's tradition. Besides, I figured it would be a good way to say thank you, and also sorry."
"Sorry?" Whatever was he sorry for? My brain scrambled to keep up with Sam's words as my eyes watched his lips move. He wanted to thank me? Was that really why he'd kissed me? Why he'd dragged me under the mistletoe?
"Yeah, I kind of... I made you go to that store with me and then I abandoned you there and all... It wasn't cool. And I'm also sorry that I've been such a shitty friend. I know you said it's okay, but it's not. I'm gonna do better."
"You're doing fine," I made myself say. Sure I'd missed him when he'd left for college and all that, but I wasn't mad at him. I still wanted to be friends. More than friends, really--but that was the problem, wasn't it? If I didn't have these inappropriate feelings for my best friend, seeing him with Nigel wouldn't have bothered me and then I wouldn't have avoided him for so long. I wouldn't have pushed him away.
"Are you going to keep standing there?" Sam asked, his gaze wandering upward where the mistletoe still hung over my head.
I swallowed thickly.
"It's almost like you're gunning for another kiss," Sam said with a little laugh that was just a little too high-pitched to be completely casual.
"If you want to kiss me again I'm not going to stop you," I made myself say, hoping beyond hope that I was reading my friend right.
Sam's eyes widened. A beat passed and then another one. Neither of us moved or spoke.
And then a young couple walked by to settle in the table near the window a few feet to our left and whatever had hung in the air between us, whatever had kept us frozen in place, shattered and allowed us to move again, to breathe again.
I rubbed my neck awkwardly as Sam grabbed two menus from the counter and brought them to our new customers. He seemed to welcome the distraction. Of course he did. I'd put him in a weird spot, hadn't I? I watched Sam work for another moment before going back to the kitchen like the coward I was.
If only I hadn't implied that I wanted another kiss. But I did, and I couldn't take those words back anymore.
The ball was in Sam's court now.
6
Sam
Ever since David's dad had pointed out the mistletoe to me, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. From the instance I'd seen it, I'd known that I wanted to catch David under one of those branches. Even if only for a second, I wanted his lips on mine, wanted to know what it would feel like.
And now that I'd done it, I wanted to do it again. Our kiss had been too short. It hadn't been enough to sate my curiosity. Or my desire.
If anything, it had only gotten worse.
I busied myself by waiting tables for the rest of the afternoon, and David barely poked his head out of the kitchen anymore. He'd said that he wouldn't mind if I kissed him again, but he sure didn't act like it. I didn't know what to think.
* * *
My paps textedme later that evening, around the time we closed up the ice cream parlor. "Are you coming home tonight or staying over at David's again?"
That was an excellent question that I didn't have an answer to. I glanced at David. He'd come out of the kitchen again now that the guests were leaving, but he hovered between the door to the back area and the counter as if he wasn't sure where his place was anymore.
All because I'd stolen a kiss from him?
Watching him, my heart pounded so hard I almost couldn't hear my own thoughts. Was there a chance that David might actually want me the way I wanted him? Damn it, I should have gone for another kiss when I'd had the chance to blame it on the mistletoe.
No, I told myself. I didn't want another mistletoe kiss. I wanted a real one. One that couldn't be explained away.
Steeling myself, I walked up to David by the counter and tugged on his sleeve again even though I'd rather have grabbed his hand. "Wanna go grab some food for dinner? I was thinking we could have pizza and watch a movie. It's okay for me to stay over another night, right?" Even though I was trying to appear casual, I held my breath as I waited for David's response.
"Yeah, of course you can stay over," he said, and I exhaled. "You know you're welcome any time, right?"
