Through wide watery eyes, I stare at Olivia. “Why?” I rasp out.
Her face turns red, and she pauses as if considering her words. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” she says carefully, “but we havea lotof physical chemistry.”
I take another drink of my soda. “Uh yeah, well aware. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It is, but I’m worried we used it as a crutch all summer to avoid dealing with our deeper emotional connection.”
She’s chewing on her bottom lip again, and I wonder if she realizes that between this whole no-kissing condition and the attention she’s drawing to her mouth, she’s torturing me.
“You’re the one who introduced the wordfling,” I grumble.
She sighs. “I know, and I did it because I hoped to keep things between us surface-level. But now, that’s the last thing I want. Is it what you want?”
I take my eyes off her mouth and meet her gaze. “It never was.”
Her cheeks turn pink again. “Okay, good. So, I’m not saying forever, but until we work through some of this emotional baggage, let’s take kissing off the table.”
I smirk, the opening too perfect to pass up. “It doesn’t have to be on the table. Could be on the couch, in my Jeep, wherever.”
“Gage.” She groans. “I’m trying to be serious here.”
She really is trying. I can see she’s serious about getting our relationship right this time around. I am, too.But still, no kissing?
“I know, but I don’t see how not kissing will help anything. All summer, our emotional connection grew anyway despite us focusing on the physical.”
“Exactly. So, probably our physical connection will grow anyway while we take some time to focus on the emotional.”
Despite how much I hate this idea, Olivia’s reasoning makes sense.
“Is hugging okay?” I ask.
She looks at me like I’m the biggest idiot in the world. “Of course.”
“What about if I kiss the top of your head or your forehead?”
She considers her response to this question. “Yeah, I think we avoid, like, lip-to-lip kissing.”
“What about—”
Olivia groans. “Gage,” she says, elongating the name so that it’s four syllables instead of its usual one. “We’re not going to write out a list of dos and don’ts. Let’s make sure we’re spending our time together talking rather than making out.”
“Fine,” I grumble, but I still think I’m going to need more to go on. There are an awful lot of possibilities that can include talking, but don’t go as far as making out.
At the same time, I don’t want to give Olivia the impression that I’m more interested in her lips than anything else. I’m interested in all of her, and her lips happen to be a part of that. I also would never do anything she wasn’t completely comfortable with.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I’m on board with both of your conditions.”
She pats my arm, letting her hand linger. “If it’s any consolation, I think that second condition will be as difficult for me as it will be for you.”
Knowing that does help, actually. I smirk and lean closer to her, pressing my lips to her temple in the most sensual way I can manage.
I’ll need to do my part of the work to build that good emotional foundation Olivia’s talking about. And fast.
After we finish eating, I stack our trays and gather the trash to throw away. When I return from the garbage cans on the other side of the porch, Olivia looks thoughtful.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Have you told Annie about us yet?” she asks.
