Page 126 of We Shouldn't Be Together
“Why didn’t you order that?”
“Because I want you to still think I’m cute. I won’t look cute in a chocolate coma.”
Kai takes his paper cup and pays for our ice-cream orders. The outside setting looks too romantic to pass up, so we head outside. On the terrace, we sit at one of the picnic tables, canopied with twinkle lights, and take in the changing colors of the mountains ahead of us.
I slide a spoonful of hazelnut goodness onto my tongue and let it melt. I purr in satisfaction and watch the growing smile of the gorgeous boy sitting across from me.
With a tension-relieving sigh, I say to him, “Kai Nelson, I think we’re on a date.”
His eyebrows lift. “Is that so? Don’t dates have to be planned?”
“We went to the mall, then the arcade, and then to the ice-creamery. They’re activities, meaning this is a date.”
“By that logic, you’re saying I’ve gone on dates with my friends.”
I lean in and wiggle my eyebrows. “And how many of those friends have you kissed?”
“Ah.” He smiles, tapping his spoon against his scoop of vanilla ice-cream. “Now I see the distinction.”
I can’t help noticing it wasn’t a direct answer.
I watch him as he eats his ice-cream. He said he’s been to all those places with his friends. Did he mean specifically Jamie? I mean, she is a girl, and he is a guy. Have they ever…?
“What are you thinking about?” he asks, forcing me out of my thoughts.
“Nothing.”
“Bummer.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was hoping you were thinking the same thing as me.”
I sure hope I wasn’t. “What are you thinking about?”
He leans over his paper cup and whispers, “Kissing you again.”
Tingles sprout goosebumps across my skin, and I shiver in the best way.
“And if you were thinking the same thing,” he continues, “maybe it’d give me the green light to do it again.”
Even though my mouth is drying out, I manage, “You have the green light.”
I catch his smile before I lower my eyelids. His lips meet mine with less urgency than earlier. There’s something tender in his movements. His lips part, and mine slip between them like adjoining puzzle pieces.
In a smooth motion, one of Kai’s hands scoops through my curls and nestles at the back of my head. His other hand brushes up my arm, and it coaxes me to move in closer to him.
Breathily, I giggle against his mouth. I pull back to whisper, “This is awkward with a table between us.”
Kai’s arms unravel from me, and he hikes a leg onto the table and propels himself over to my side. His arms wrap around me, and he grins. “Better?”
I slip my arms over his shoulders and latch my hands behind his neck. “Oodles better.”
He tugs me close, and when my chest collides with his, our lips press together. Hoping rom-coms don’t lie, I tilt my head for a better angle. Following my lead, Kai sinks deeper into the kiss, and something surprises and delights me. A hint of tongue teases my bottom lip. Mmm. He tastes of smooth vanilla, and it makes my insides flip-flop.
The next time his tongue tickles my lip, I press down with a slight sucking motion. A moan murmurs out of Kai, and his hands slip under my blazerand massage the middle of my back. He explores, tracing my spine, and then something else.
I suck in a breath during our kiss. Through the fabric of my blouse, his fingers glide over the back clasp of my bra.
