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“Luke?”
His lips caught in my hair. I felt the warmth of his breath, and he kissed my forehead. “You know, you and I haven’t gone out yet. Not by ourselves.”
His hand had stilled on mine. I started tracing the lines in his palm. He opened his hand wider, giving me access. I slowed my fingertips, continuing to trace gently. “I thought we had. You know, the night we stole a camera and got shot at.”
He chuckled, his breath teasing my skin. “Is that what girls look for in a date?”
I wanted to smile, but to be honest, it kind of struck me in a strange way. Normal girls didn’t break into a house as a date. Now that it was over, I’d thought about it a lot. I thought of how my heart pounded at every moment, but not every beat was because we were neck-deep into trouble. There were moments when I felt Luke nearby, felt his sign language in my palm, holding me against the wall to keep me quiet, and even after, when he was bandaging me in the bathroom of a house we’d also broken in to. “It wasn’t fun?”
“Hmm, I don’t know if I’d call it romantic.”
“Oh,” I said. Nerves started to rattle. Romance. A real date. What was I supposed to tell him?
My fingers made another trace along the lines of his palm, but as the silence thickened around us, his hand closed over mine, capturing it.
Luke’s voice softened. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
He pulled his head back. Out of curiosity, I did, too, but when I did, I found his eyes on mine in such an intense way, that my breath left me and my heart pounded in my ears. The teasing glint that seemed to always be in his expression changed. He wasn’t playing any more.
“If I had kissed you that night, would you have tried to stop me?”
“No,” I said, and my heart nearly exploded when I realized I had gone with my first instinct answer. My mind whirled with thoughts of North, of Nathan and the others. They weren’t allowed. They’d made that clear. He’d thought about it?
But Luke had been in the car with us when Gabriel had kissed my face, and Nathan then kissed me at the club. Luke was the one that had held back. I noticed that now about him. Gabriel often took center stage when we were together, and Nathan was more subtle but voiced his opinion. I didn’t know how Luke felt about it, but he’d laughed through it.
Luke parted his lips, but words didn’t come. Instead he picked up my hand, bringing it to my mouth. My eyes closed, expectant.
He kissed my fingers as they covered my lips. Just a little, towards the tips of my fingers. After that, he paused, and his nose touched mine. He waited there, his breath falling on my fingers. “I’ve been thinking about our first kiss plan. I don’t think I want it to be at the diner anymore.”
“Oh?” I asked through my fingertips.
“Maybe I should have done it before.”
“When I tried to pickpocket you?”
“I’m thinking before that.”
I paused, thinking. “In Kota’s closet?”
“Maybe,” he said. “But probably closer to when I first thought I wanted to.”
My heart flipped over. “When?”
“Back when the diner was a church. The first time you followed me inside.”
The first time we met? He hardly knew me! I was thrilled by the idea, but wondered if back then I’d have let him. I didn’t know him at all then. I was so nervous.
“If you don’t want to at the diner, then where?” I breathed.
“Wherever you are.”
I tilted my head a little to get a better view of his face. He was so close, his face hovering over mine.
I lowered my hand from my mouth.
“Sang.”
I think I said his name, but didn’t hear it over my pounding heart.
He brought his face closer. He didn’t kiss. He only touched his upper lip to mine. “If I start, I won’t stop,” he whispered.
His mouth moved over a little. He kissed me on the cheek, close to the corner of my mouth. He did it slowly. My hands reached to grip, to balance myself, and I ended up clinging to his shoulders for support. I felt more sure than before that he’d kiss me. Not a trick. Maybe it wasn’t like we’d pictured, but did it need to be?
I was a bundle of nerves, vibrating all at once, excited, and self-conscious that I might do it wrong, and unsure if I should back off or keep going.
His palm slid up, cupping my jaw. His fingers slid to the spot behind my ear, and he shifted my head, tilting it. He cocked his head the opposite way, so our noses were no longer touching. He kissed my cheek again, slow, closed-mouthed with his lips puckered further, softening the kiss.
I let him guide me where he wanted. His lips trailed across my cheek, and started grazing my jaw line. I found space to breathe, and caught his vanilla and sugar scent. That sweet fragrance set every last nerve inside me trembling. It held a promise that his lips were trying to deliver on.
His fingers captured my chin, and he angled my head further. His lips found my ear. He suckled at the lobe, nipping at it with his teeth.
And now while he was kissing other parts of my face, I wanted him back. I wanted the real thing. I wanted to tell him I knew he’d get into trouble. Some small part of me wanted to tell him not to so the Academy wouldn’t find out.
Most of me didn’t want him to stop at all.
A sharp knock from behind Luke jarred me to pull back. Luke sat up quickly, turning to face off whatever it was.
A policeman squinted at us giving us a knowing smirk. “Go make out somewhere else,” he said, his voice muffled through the window.
Luke nodded to him, and he quickly turned over the engine. He rolled the car forward quickly. I glanced back once, spotting the police car that had parked a few houses down, the lights off. My heart was a mess over what had just happened with Luke and then the cop. The whole day had me ready to hide under a rock for a while to calm myself down.
“We’ll, we’re a bust,” Luke said, winding through the neighborhood, taking the long way around to the way we had come in.
“Are we in trouble?” I asked.
“No,” Luke said, adjusting the rearview mirror. “At least I don’t think so. If he thought we were just fooling around, he probably won’t report anything. One of the neighbors must have noticed us and called him. Or he lives in the area.”
“If he lives there, it’ll be harder to keep an eye on Rocky.”
Luke smirked. “Even cops leave the house once in a while. Don’t worry. We’ll figure out what they’re up to.” He turned the car onto a bigger road and sped up. “But I guess our job is done. Time to take you wherever you’re supposed to go.”
I nodded, but as he drove, I stared hard out the window, trying to calm myself. I slid my palms along my skirt and kept trying to readjust the hem.
But I was angry. So close. I thought for sure. He’d said he wanted to kiss me. Why did I feel this crazy desperation to be kissed? Did I expect something to change? I didn’t want to go wherever we were going. I wanted to find another place to sit. Maybe I wanted to go back to Luke’s house.
But I was grounded, and everything was out of my control.
DR. GREEN’S CONDO
Luke made a call and we were told to head to Dr. Green’s place. When Luke pulled out of Goose Creek, he took back roads instead of the interstate. I got lost but was pretty sure he was heading east. It made sense that Dr. Green lived downtown since that’s where the hospital was.
Luke pulled into a cozy neighborhood where most homes were single family. At the end of one cul-de-sac, there was a small collection of condo units. Each one had a different design, like miniature versions of downtown Charleston estates with brightly painted colors.
Dr. Green lived in the far left end unit, in a section painted a light lavender. There was an extensive flower bed surrounding most of the front porch, and while it was dark, it looked like rose bushes.
Luke parked in the lot, running around to open the door for me. My nerves rattled
much like the first time I spent the night over with Victor. New place. New things. Would I even be able to relax here?
We stood together on Dr. Green’s front porch. Luke held my hand and squeezed it.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
He smiled and then leaned in, planting a kiss on my temple. “Don’t look so scared,” he said. “I’ll be tempted to steal you and take you to the beach, too.”
“You could?”
Luke laughed and rang the doorbell. “You’re going to get me in so much trouble.”
“Come on in!” A shout came from deep inside the condo.
Luke opened the door to a short hallway. He ushered me inside and closed the door behind himself.
