Page 21 of Take A Number
A quiet groan vibrates in my chest as I turn my head and deepen the kiss, massaging her tongue with mine as she squeaks out a soft cry. Her hands move from my jaw to my hair, and her fingers skate through my strands like they’ve done it a thousand times before.
I’ve fantasized about kissing Norah Donahue countless times, but this moment right here…exceeds all of those dirty thoughts.
A distant throat clearing interrupts our most likely indecent public display, and I force myself to pull away becausefrom little acorns, mighty oaks do grow.And I do not need to pop a boner in front of Norah’s parents.
My eyes crack open and attempt to blink away the shock of what just transpired. Norah pulls back, still holding my head, her chest heaving with deep breaths and her lips red and swollen as she stares at me with wide blue eyes.
“I thought you said no kissing,” I croak softly, my voice deep and in a weird, raspy tone.
“I might have lost my temper.” She exhales a shaky breath, her nostrils flaring with life. “So much for those rules, I guess.”
The corner of my mouth pulls up into a smile before I painfully turn away from her to see it’s Norah’s father who was the throat clearer. He’s eyeing me like he doesn’t like me as much as he did five minutes ago. I can’t blame the guy.
I cough into my fist, and murmur, “I think it might be time for us to go, sugar lips.”
“I think you’re right,” Norah replies, detaching herself from me and turning to face her parents and their friends with a sheepish look. “Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. I’m afraid myboyfriendand I have to be going now.”
My body tenses at that label. When the fuck did we go from a fake date to a fake relationship? If I wake up engaged tomorrow, I might regret this favor for a friend.
Elaine shoots her daughter a murderous glare while her dad appears to be fighting back a smile. Norah then waffles her fingers through mine and practically drags me behind her through the party, out of the backyard and into the dark night full of a million more possibilities that I hadn’t considered before.
When we’re in the safety of my car, Norah exhales heavily. “Oh my God, my lip is sweating.” She jerks down the visor and eyes herself in the mirror before dabbing at the skin above her lip. “I have disgusting lip sweat.”
I start the car and pull out of the parking spot. “That’s not normally where I make women wet.”
“Shut up, Dean,” Norah snaps, pressing her hands to her flushed cheeks. “I just…I lost my mind in there.”
“You did skip a couple of steps.”
“I just tongued you in front of my parents and their friends…and Nate!” She bows her head and runs her fingers through her hair. “What was I thinking?”
“Nate’s a douche.”
“He’s not a douche,” she bites back crisply. “He was very nice. Nicer than I expected. And oh my God, he looks nothing like what he looked like when we were kids.”
“You want me to take you back so you can tongue rape him too?” I snap, my tone harsher than I intended, but the idea of her kissing that douche wagon makes my hands tighten around the steering wheel.
Norah shakes her head dismissively. “No, God. I’m just saying…he wasn’t as bad as I remembered. I don’t remember him being that tall. And he must be taking anabolic steroids because I know he didn’t have those muscles in high school.”
“Norah, would you please stop talking about your childhood crush right after you just kissed the life out of me?” I want to kiss her again just to make her shut up and forget he was ever there.
Norah’s head snaps to look at me, but I refuse to look back. Her commentary about Nate Douche Wagon is irritating me for some ridiculous reason. Am I acting like a jealous boyfriend? Jesus, I need to get a fucking grip. This is all a ruse. I know that. But what the fuck was that kiss about? And why the hell are my slacks really fucking tight in the crotch right now?
“I never had a crush on Nate,” she says softly, and I hear her inhale sharply before she adds, “Did I really kiss the life out of you?”
I glance over at her, and my body tenses as the blue hue of the dashboard illuminates her features, making her look good enough to fucking eat. I swallow the lump in my throat and shift in my seat.This is going to be a problem.
“That was…a really good kiss. Even if it was ill-planned. What the hell made you go off script like that?”
Norah growls and balls her hands into fists on her lap. “She was just being her normal self, and then she accused me of bringing you to spite her, like the idea of you wanting to date me is unbelievable. Ugh! She always does this. She always sees right through me. When I was a kid, she could tell whenever I was lying to her. Her mother’s intuition is completely insane. I think she’s a freaking witch. A demon witch who can read people’s minds.”
“Norah, take a breath.”
She does as I say and then crosses her arms over her chest, making it hard to avert my eyes back to the road. “God, I told her you were my boyfriend, and to prove it, I kissed you in front of all those people. I charged you like a bull in front of Nate.”
“I actually liked that part.”
“I wasn’t thinking,” she rushes out. “My mother is going to be so pissed at me.”
