“Sounds like you kind of have a crush on me, Jack Mann.”
Now’s my moment. Now’s the time. I’ve got to tell her.
“Actually, this is going to sound dumb…” I take a deep breath. “I actually had a crush on you in kindergarten.”
“What?” She nudges my hip with her good foot. She’s grinning.
“Yeah, well… I kind of had a crush on you… all through grade school.”
Her grin fades, ever so slightly. “You did?” She shifts and her ice pack falls off her ankle. She doesn’t notice, so I reach over and grab it, placing it back gingerly.
“Yeah.” I stare at the ceiling. This is either going to be the best thing I ever did in my life, or the worst. There’s no in between. “One time, I think it was first grade, or maybe second, you told Boyan Debnar he was a jerk who shouldn’t bully people.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, he was singing that damn Piggy Jack song in the cafeteria line. You told him he was a jerk and to stop it.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“I do. You were the first kid to stick up for me. Maybe the only kid.” I glance at Sora, who looks as if she wants to hug me. “Ever since then, anytime I saw you, it felt like my stomach was full of bees.”
“Is that why you drew one on my yearbook?”
I hadn’t put that together before. “Yeah, probably.”
She laughs but then grows serious. Her brown eyes focus on mine, and for a second, I feel like I can swim in them. “Does it still feel like it’s full of bees?”
“Yes. Big ones. Angry.” Humming loudly in my ears. Or maybe it’s the wine. No, I think, looking at Sora’s amazing brown eyes. It’s Sora. Definitely Sora. “So imagine how I feel when my grade-school crush walks into my grocery store.”
Sora laughs. “Eats all your tortes and then gets horribly embarrassed by her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. And then accuses you of theft. Yeah, I’m sure you wereveryglad to see me.”
“Actually, that day, I realized…” I take a deep breath. Fine. “It’s not just that Iused tohave a crush on you. I kind of… well… I still do.”
Now things get serious. Sora stares at me, without blinking. Is she going to tell me to go to hell? Have I overstepped?
But then, she moves slowly over to my side of the couch, crawling, almost like a sleek lioness on the prowl, looking like the sexiest damn predator I’ve ever seen.
“Maybe I have a crush, too,” she tells me, her voice low in her throat. She meets my gaze and then focuses her attention on my lips. And something in the air changes. It feels… more dangerous, suddenly. I can feel her breath on my face, smell her crème brûlée lip gloss.
And then she presses her lips to mine.
Twelve
SORA
I’m not saying I hate men. On the contrary, I love them too much.
—SOLO FEBRUARY CHALLENGE
So, Jack might be patient, but I am not. I’ve been called many things, but “reasonable” and “patient” and “mature” aren’t any of them. And that’s why I’m trying to eat Jack’s face off because he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever met. I may have impulse-control problems. Plus, I have just enough wine buzzing around in my brain to think it’s a damn fine idea. Because… this super-hot, super-sexy man tells me I’m beautiful and he’s had a crush on me? Since kindergarten?
And he noticed me back in December. What the hell? I’d been so busy being distracted by Mr. Wrong that I’d completely missed Mr. Right.
My tongue lashes his and all I can taste is him and wine and chocolate. It’s like an orgasm in my mouth. I’m lying on top ofhis hard body and his hands are roving down my curves, and I’m having the teenage make-out party of my life. And this is what I’ve been missing since February first. It’s like having that first bite of chocolate after starving oneself on a trendy diet. And now I know that the thing I’ve been depriving myself of is the very thing I need tolive.The very thing that makes life worth living.
I break away, gulping in air. I shouldn’t do this. I’ve been encouraging people all around the world to take a break from love for this month, and here I am, breaking my own rules.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he pants, hands firmly on my hips. “What about Solo—” But I hush him with a finger to his lips. I am not going to think about Solo February anymore tonight.
