“Whoa,” he interrupted, slamming on his brakes as we turned into the ranch. “Who said this wasn’t the best date?”
I’d been nervous and fidgety all evening. Every time he leaned forward to dip his fry into ranch or snag a napkin from the dispenser, all I could think about was whether he was finally going to kiss me. It’d been so bad at one point I’d missed the big dollop of mustard that’d splattered against my shirt until he pointed it out.
I shrugged. “No one, I guess, but?—”
“’Cause it certainly wasn’t me,” he continued, pointing a finger in his direction. “And if this is your way of telling me you had a horrible time?—”
“No! Oh my gosh,” I mumbled, covering my face with my hands. “That wasn’t what I meant at all.”
He tugged gently on my wrists, and I let them fall to my lap. The heat in my cheeks told me all I needed to know about what I must look like right now. “I was just teasing, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you go all red like a lobster,” he said.
“I’m not good at this,” I admitted. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Neither do I. I think that’s the point of this,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll learn together. You’ll be a pro in no time. I bet it won’t take long for all your friends to hit you up for relationship advice.”
It didn’t make much sense, but something about his words scared the hell out of me in the best way possible. He seemed so sure about us after only a handful of weeks, which was crazy, right? We were sixteen. This should be our time to fall in and out of love in the blink of an eye, but the way Grady was staringat me made it seem like he had no intention of running for the hills.
“You sound so sure.”
This time, he shrugged. “Because I am. Look, I’m not trying to scare you or anything, and there definitely won’t be a marriage proposal anytime soon—” I laughed as he continued “—but I really like you, Cleo. I don’t know how long this will last, but I wanna find out if you’re down.”
“I really like you, too,” I mumbled. I couldn’t look at him right now, too nervous about embarrassing myself again.
I should’ve known he wouldn’t let me get away with it. His fingers found my chin, guiding me to look at him. There was no judgment or hesitation, only patience. “Can you look at me when you say that?”
I nodded as his hand fell away. “I really like you, too.”
Grady’s gaze darted down to my mouth before glancing at the clock on his dashboard. His tongue darted out, leaving a wet trail across his bottom lip. I looked in time to see it change. “It’s 11:11.”
“I should probably get you back,” he said, but he didn’t move. His eyes dipped to my lips.
“Or you could make a wish,” I said on a shaky exhale. “It’s supposed to be lucky.”
Grady’s brows furrowed. “Did you make one?”
Yeah, I wish you’d kiss me. “I just did.”
I didn’t realize how close we’d drifted until I could smell the spicy mint of his gum. “Can I?—”
Without letting him finish, I launched myself at him. It was awkward at first. I was too nervous to do the wrong thing, so we sat there for a moment with our lips just kind of smushed together, but then he took charge. I let him guide me, matching his movements the best I could, but it was so hard to focus.
Grady freaking Wilde was kissing me. He took me on myfirst date, gave me my first kiss, and wanted more. He wanted more withme.
I didn’t really know what more meant, but I wanted it, too.
I fell forward as he pulled away with a groan. Oh god, was I horrible? Did he not feel the fireworks I just felt? How was I going to ever show my face?—
He turned back, threading his hands in my hair and pulling my face toward him. This time, his kiss wasn’t tentative. It was entirely intentional. It reminded me of those kisses you see in movies, the ones you only dream about experiencing because they’ve made it seem too good to be true.
This time, Grady pulled away gently before giving me a single peck. I reached up, brushing my fingers across my lips. They felt strange. Swollen, almost. Was that normal?
“I don’t wanna stop,” he said slowly. Something about his voice was different. It made me feel warm all over. “But I wanna get you home a few minutes early so your parents don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I breathed. My heart was racing so fast, it felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. How did people kiss and not be swept away in the rising tide? “I’m sure one of them is up waiting.”
“Probably.” Grady’s eyes dipped again, but he didn’t act on it. Instead, he pulled his gaze forward and put the truck in drive. Neither of us spoke until he pulled up in front of our house. The porch light was still on, which meant I was right—someone was still awake.
Grady hopped out of the truck and came around to open my door. He stuck out his hand for me to take as I stepped out. I expected him to let go, but he didn’t. If anything, he held it tighter.
