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“Stop.”
“Why? So you can keep staring at me like I’m some kind of alien species?”
Jesse took my hands in his. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look at you that way, but … Isabelle, you’re so freakin’ cute. I don’t understand how nobody has ever kissed you before.”
I didn’t know whether to be annoyed with him for saying it, and making my embarrassment worse, or throw myself into his arms for being so sweet. So I didn’t move.
“We can slow down if you want,” he said. “There’s no pressure.”
It’s just a kiss, it’s not a big deal!
But it was a big deal. I’d waited this long for my first kiss, and the longer I waited, the more of a big deal it had become. Why hadn’t I got it over with during a game of Spin The Bottle when I was thirteen like everyone else?
“Let’s just go home,” Jesse said, squeezing my hands. “We’ll eat, and hang out with your family and we can go out again another time.”
“No,” I said. He didn’t move, I think he was afraid he might scare me away again. It was a valid concern. As sure as I was that I wanted to kiss him – God, I wanted to kiss him – I didn’t know if I trusted myself not to flip out again.
“You’re making me nervous,” he said.
“Me?” I laughed. “How?”
“I just … this is a big thing. You have a million expectations of how this should be, and I don’t want to ruin them.”
Silly me. I hadn’t even considered that Jesse was under pressure too. But if he was a rubbish kisser, how would I know? It’s not like I had anything to compare it to.
“Could we try again now, please?” I asked. “I’m ready.”
His fear helped calm my own, and this time I reached for him. His waist was firm. Lean, but muscly and I couldn’t help but wonder how he’d look with his shirt off. I imagined a perfect six pack underneath his blue t-shirt, and I allowed myself an internal swoon at the idea.
Calm down! You haven’t even kissed yet, and you’re already undressing him in your mind!
“Are you sure?” he asked, looking down at me with concern in his green eyes.
I nodded, even though my heart was banging so hard I thought it might leap right out of my chest.
Jesse smiled, and this time when he leaned in, I didn’t run away. My eyes closed, and as his lips lightly touched mine, everything else faded away. I couldn’t hear the cars, or feel the cold. I only felt him, warming me with his kiss.
Chapter Seven – A Teddy Bear Disguised As A Player
Jesse
Lunch at the Mills’ house was … a little weird to say the least. Going out with Isabelle wasn’t just a big deal for us, it seemed to change the dynamic of the whole family. Georgia could barely hold in her excitement, and I just knew she couldn’t wait to drag Isabelle up to her room to discuss what happened. Janet and Andrew didn’t say or do anything to indicate how they felt about me and Isabelle, but I was sure if it was a problem they would have made it known earlier. Hunter was my biggest concern. He clearly had something to say, but I hoped for the sake of keeping the peace, he’d hold on to it until lunch was finished. Disrupting the family meal to discuss the death stare he kept throwing at me was not something I wanted to do.
After we ate, and I’d helped Janet with the washing up – because I’m polite, not because I’m a kiss-ass – Hunter hauled me upstairs, and into his bedroom.
Not for the first time, I wondered why he was given the masculine black and white room instead of the girly pink one, but I didn’t think my thoughts on interior design were what he wanted to hear.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, as he closed the door. “Isabelle? Really?”
I didn’t know how to respond. What did he want from me? Was I meant to ask permission to date his cousin?
“When I told you not to hit on Georgia, I didn’t mean you should hit on Izzy instead!”
“Take it easy,” I said, as he squared up to me like we were about to have a fight. I knew he was protective of his family, but he’d never got up in my face before.
“Jesse, you can’t mess around with her. She’s a good girl.”
I took a step back from him. “Hey, who do you think you’re talking to? I don’t know who you hang out with at home now, but this is me. The guy who just got dicked over by a two-faced psychopath. I’m not messing around with Isabelle. I like her.”
