Page 75 of Pity Party

Her brow furrows slightly. “What’s that?”

“What if we kissed again in order to prove to ourselves that there’s nothing but friendship between us?”

“Come again?” It doesn’t sound like she’s going for it. Also, what am I thinking proposing such an outlandish idea? My desire to kiss Melissa has seriously affected my ability to make sound decisions.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she says.

“Why not?”

“What if we like it and want to do it again?”

“What if we don’t?”

“What if we do?” she maintains.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I tell her. “And that’s to kiss again.”

Melissa turns her head so she’s facing me. “What if one of us likes it more than the other?”

“There’s still only one way to find out,” I tell her.

“Are you going to kiss me, or do you want me to kiss you?” She sounds like she’s trying to decide between archaic tortures.Tar and feathering? Or being drawn and quartered?

“It would be my honor to kiss you.” She leans forward ever so slightly, which encourages me to do the same. I gently touch my lips to hers and know instantly there’s more than friendship going on.

Blissful moments later, I increase the pressure, and Melissa opens for me, allowing me to further my exploration. The groan she releases indicates she’s enjoying herself as much as I am.

I finally force myself to pull away from her. “So, what do you think? Friends or not friends?”

She opens and closes her mouth more than a few times before finding her voice. “I’m not answering first. What do you think?”

I tip my head back and forth as though trying to decide. The truth is that I want this woman like nobody before, but there’s no way I can tell her that. I finally decide, “I think we could be good friends.”

I want to kiss the look of confusion off her face. “Good friends,” she repeats. “What does that mean?”

“Surely you have other good friends,” I say.

The look she shoots at me is pure comedy. “If I kissed Anna or Paige like that, they’d drop dead. And they’re my two best friends.”

“Yes, but isn’t one of the benefits of having a good male friend being able to kiss him?”What am I even talking about right now?

“I’m not a friend with benefits kind of girl,” she says primly.

“I’m not suggesting we jump into bed together,” I tell her. “Just that we kiss every now and then. You know, when the feeling strikes.” I cringe internally when I hear myself say this, but there’s something about Melissa I just can’t leave alone.

“I’m afraid that might confuse me,” she says. “Especially as I’m actively looking for somebody to share my life with.”

I tuck a stray strand of wavy red hair behind her ear. “Tim is dating other women.” Which she does not deserve. I want to tell her how sweet and lovely and beautiful she is. I want her to know that she deserves the world, but I can’t be the one to tell her. I don’t want to give her false expectations of what I can offer.

“So?”

“So, if he’s kissing other people, why can’t you?”

“Because … because …”

And right there, I know I have her.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

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