She blinks. Opens her mouth like she’s going to say something.
Then I see Garrett pushing through the crowd toward us, his expression determined.
No. Absolutely not. He doesn’t get to ruin this moment.
“Trust me?” I ask Juliette and I see her eyes widen but I don’t give her time to answer, I just tilt her face up and kiss her.
Her entire body goes still. For a second I think I’ve massively miscalculated, she’s going to shove me away and this whole thing’s going to blow up in my face.
Then she kisses me back.
Her hands find my chest, slide up to my shoulders, then around the back of my neck and I feel her nails dig into my hair. Her mouth opens under mine and suddenly this isn’t about Garrett or performing or any of the reasons I told myself it was okay to do this.
It’s just us.
Someone bumps into us hard and we break apart. She’s staring at me, lips swollen, chest heaving against mine.
I’ve kissed girls before. A lot of girls. None of them made me forget where I was.
“Is he still looking?” she asks breathlessly.
I don’t even check. Don’t care. “If I say no, do I have to stop kissing you?”
Her eyes search mine for a long moment. Then she pulls me back down and kisses me this time.
This one’s different. Deeper. She presses her entire body against mine, every line of her flush against me, and I back her up againstthe nearest wall because I need something solid or I’m going to forget we’re in public.
This is—fuck. Fuck, this is stupid. We’re so screwed.
I don’t care. I don’t care at all.
My hands slide down her sides, pulling her closer. She makes a sound against my mouth, not quite a moan but close, and it takes everything I have not to completely lose it right here.
Someone wolf-whistles nearby and reality crashes back in.
We break apart, both breathing hard. Her hands are still in my hair. Mine are still on her waist, and we’re just staring at each other like we’re trying to figure out what just happened.
She reaches up and wipes the corner of my mouth with her thumb, realizes what she did, laughs nervously. “Sorry, I—lipstick.”
“Don’t care.”
“That was—” she starts.
“Yeah.”
“We should?—”
“Probably.”
Neither of us moves.
Then Olivia appears, squealing. “Oh my god, you guys are so cute! I totally just got that on video!”
Juliette steps back like she’s been shocked. “You what?”
“Don’t worry, it’s super romantic.” Olivia’s already walking away, phone in hand.
Great. There’s video evidence now. Perfect.
