Page 65 of Play the Game
She narrows her eyes at me. “You don’t need to know everything.”
I reach up and cup her cheek, rubbing my thumb over her face. “I don’t need to know anything you don’t want to tell me, but if you did want to tell me, I would be here to listen. I always want to listen to you.”
Evan blows out a breath and leans into my touch so slightly it’s almost like it’s not happening at all, except it absolutely is, and it’s the best. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. This is the grossest thing I’ll ever say, and once I say it, we forget I ever did.”
I laugh, stroking a hand down her ponytail. “I promise never to speak of it again.”
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. I was going to say that it might not be our first time, but it would be the first time it meant something.”
My heart squeezes at her admission, even as I school my face into a neutral expression, nodding gravely. “You’re right. So gross.”
It’s her turn to laugh, and it’s the prettiest sound I’ve ever heard. I’m suddenly overcome with the need to kiss her, right here on my parents’ porch, in the cold, semi-darkness of dawn, as night turns to day and the world wakes up to Christmas. I take her coffee from her hand and set both mugs down on the table next to the swing, sliding closer to Evan and cupping her face in both of my hands.
“What are you doing?” She practically whispers, her warm breath caressing my lips.
I slide my hands around her neck, thumbs stroking over her jaw. “Unless you tell me not to, I’m going to kiss you, right here, right now.”
Her eyes bounce between mine as we hover right on the precipice. “Why does it feel like this will be the first time too?” Her voice is a little raspy and full of questions.
I bend and kiss one cheek. The other. Then I look right into her eyes and give her back her words. “Because I think maybe this time it means something.”
Evan smiles, leaning her forehead against mine. “Touché, Cooper. Tou-fucking-ché.”
I chuckle, tunneling my fingers deeper into her hair. “It’s Christmas, Rhodes. Let me kiss you and make it mean something.”
“Mean what?” she asks.
“Mean everything,” I say quietly, as I tip her head back and seal my mouth over hers. When our lips meet, my brain short circuits, my only thought:This.More of this. Evan lets out a low moan as I push my tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers, sliding closer to me, splaying her hands on my chest and then twisting them in the fabric of my sweatshirt, meeting my tongue stroke for stroke. My head spins with the intensity of it all, and I take the kiss deeper, kissing her like I won’t ever get another chance.
Evan didn’t know how right she was when she said that this would feel like the first time. It feels like the first kiss I’ve ever had. The first kiss anyone has ever had. The only kiss anyone has ever had in the history of the universe. Of the cosmos. A revelation. A fucking religious experience. As my world shrinks to the size of me and her and this porch swing in the dim light of dawn, I realize that this is where we’ve been headed all along.
I realize it’s always been her. It’s only ever been her.
I’ll be different when this kiss is over than when it began.
This is the kiss that changes everything.
“Fuck, Rhodes,” I murmur, breaking away from her mouth to trail my lips over her jaw, down her neck, drinking in her taste and her scent and the feel of her next to me.
I didn’t know it could be like this.
“Fuck is right.” She gasps when I flick my tongue over her pulse. “You can really kiss.”
“It’s not me,” I murmur, licking a path back up her neck and taking her lips again in a kiss that’s longer. Slower. “It’s us. This is how it’s going to feel when we’re together.” I lift my head and lock eyes with her. “Every time, Ev.”
She raises an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure it’s not just Christmas magic?”
I recognize the dodge the same way I recognize the tiny bit of panic in her eyes at the intensity between us. This isn’t a woman who trusts easily. She’s independent, self-sufficient, a certified badass, and she’s been alone for a long time. Her entire life is changing fast, and she still needs time to catch up. It’s a good thing I’m a patient sort of guy.
I chuckle, pressing a kiss to her forehead and leaning back against the swing, wrapping my arm back around her and tugging her to my side. “Could be. We’ll need to try it again when it’s not Christmas to test that theory.”
Evan shifts a little closer, wrapping the blanket tighter around her. “Jo mentioned that you guys are having a New Year’s Eve party next week. She invited me.”
Taking one of Evan’s hands in mine, I twine our fingers together. “Did she?” I ask, giving Jo a mental fist bump. I’ve wanted to invite Evan to Jo and Jordan’s for New Year’s, but I didn’t know if it would be too much, too fast. Bless my friendly, outgoing, loves everyone in the entire world sister-in-law.
Evan nods. “She mentioned something aboutThe Poseidon Adventureand five kinds of takeout?”
I laugh, pressing a kiss to Evan’s hair. “Disaster movie night. It was a feature of Jo and Jordan’s early relationship the summerthey met in New York. They watched a movie where a natural disaster destroyed some part of the world, ordered a ton of takeout, and dumped candy into popcorn for dessert. They brought the tradition to Boston when they moved back here, and it kind of became all of our things. She likes to match the movie to the moment if she can. Hence,The Poseidon Adventure.”
