Page 42 of The Backtrack
Then Damon stepped in front of them. Damon, with his thick hair and thicker legs, and those ridiculously gorgeous arms of his, sat in the empty chair next to Sam. “What are we cheersing to?”
“Alternate universes,” Sam offered. Rachel raised an amused brow and took another sip from her beer.
The three of them sat there, searching for something to talk about. And Rachel found the perfect topic. “So, Damon, tell me, was Sam always so uptight?”
“I’m not uptight!” Sam was indignant. Since when did she sign up to be roasted?
“You have a weekly calendar and each hour is scheduled to the minute.” Rachel then turned to Damon. “Do you know how hard that is to accomplish when you fly planes that are often delayed?”
“I write in pencil so I can move the items easily.” Sam took a sip, then noticed Damon staring. “What?”
“Sam wasn’t uptight in high school,” Damon finally answered Rachel. “I mean, she was serious about tests and things like that, but the only thing we ever had planned were Friday pizza and movie nights.”
“Mmm, pizza,” Rachel said wistfully. “Pizza, though. I think we need some.”
“Agreed,” Sam said. The sandwich hadn’t been enough for the amount of beer they’d already had.
“Let me go to the back and see if the kitchen is still open.” Damon stood and took another sip of beer.
“No, I don’t trust you to order pizza,” Sam said and pushed herself up. “Your favorite topping is pineapple.”
“Oh, Lord, no.” Rachel shook her head. “Sam, please go make sure we get something edible.”
Sam and Damon discovered that the kitchen was closed, but there was food to be had. They stood in the back, opening drawers and scavenging.
Damon opened a cabinet and pulled out a bulk bag of tortilla chips. He poured some onto a clean white plate. “I’m still thinking about that whale we saw.”
Sam took a chip and chewed. “I just wanted to show you what I left Tybee for. I never meant to hurt you, and I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch.”
He leaned across the chrome countertop and pointedly met her eyes. “We’re allowed to make choices, and you made yours. That’s not for me to judge.”
Yes, shehadmade choices. All those years ago when she’d chosen not to kiss Damon, and then chose to leave Tybee. But now there was another universe where they had kissed, and ended up together, and they seemed sublimely happy.
She didn’t want to lose Damon, not the way she’d lost him all those years ago. And maybe it was the three beers, the way his eyes sort of turned down and leveled her, or the way his biceps flexed with the pressure of the counter, but she moved toward him. She wanted to be close, hug him and let him know all was okay.
Only, when she went in for the hug, her face also awkwardly pressed against his cheek, her lips so close to his it could be a near-kiss. And therewasa bit of a kiss as their lips briefly met. Damon quickly pulled back, and so did she.
“Oh, God.” Sam’s hand flew to her mouth to cover any evidence that she even had one. “I’m so sorry, that was an accident.”
“You accidentally tried to kiss me?” Damon’s brows furrowed.
“I was going to hug you, and then sort of fell on your mouth.” Sam covered her own face with her hands.
“Don’t worry about it,” Damon eventually said. But when Sam looked up, his finger traced a line across his lips as he quickly turned away to scour for dip.
And Sam was glad he wasn’t looking at her, because the truth was that she needed a moment to compose herself. Her lips still tingled from the warm feel of his mouth pressed against hers, and now that she knew what he tasted like, she wanted more of what she couldn’t have.
16
Sam was quiet when they returned to the table. And so was Damon. He’d told her not to worry, but she had a hard time pretending like everything was fine and normal when it just wasn’t.
She’d accidentally kissed Damon.
When their lips met, she’d wanted to deepen the kiss.
She could still taste the salt of him on her.
And Rachel must’ve noticed the shift, because as soon as they’d gotten into a Lyft, she decided to grill Sam about it.
