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“Personally, I’ve had it with this group.” He flashed an engaging smile that caused a strange swirling inside her. “But I would love to dance with you again,” he finished.
“Then, let’s dance. I’m not going back to the table.”
“We won’t go back. There are people dancing out on the patio leading to the football field. How about joining them?”
Under a bright moon, the dark terrace offered a more romantic setting, safely away from her table companions, yet quite tempting and exciting with her gorgeous companion.
“Good idea.”
“Would you like a drink?” he asked.
“No, I’m fine.”
He caught her hand, and they strolled through the open glass doors onto the paved patio they’d used a hundred times during their high school years for everything from watching a football game or hiding with a classmate for a stolen kiss.
Out here, the loud speakers transferred the music in softer tones, while the moonlight was bright enough to prevent tripping on a stone or a broken branch.
“Shall we?”
He opened his arms and she stepped closer, ready to enjoy the evening again. His hands entwined behind her back, and she laced her fingers at the base of his neck.
Hardly able to decipher the songs, she ignored the lyrics, focusing instead on the bearded cheek teasing her temple, the warm breath fanning her face, and the hard chest pressing against her soft flesh. They swayed to the edge of the patio. The fragrance of nearby roses wafted around them. She closed her eyes and recalled the first kiss she’d received out here during a football game.
She heard him chuckle and eased her head away. So much for romantic memories. “What’s so funny?”
“I remember kissing a few girls in this area.”
“A few?” She lifted an eyebrow and chuckled.
“I remember my first kiss. I was fifteen, and it was a fiasco. The girl cried, ‘You spoiled it all,’ and ran away. She isn’t here. I won’t say her name.”
“You haven’t forgotten.” Thank God, she hadn’t been his first, although…
“Forgotten? How could anyone forget his first kiss? My friend Mike insisted, ‘You have to do it every day until you learn to do it the right way.’ He even brought me a chocolate bar to suck on. “Imagine it’s a pair of lips and practice.’ I was an A student and understood the meaning of practice.”
She couldn’t help giggling. “Did you learn?”
“Not quickly enough. The next few kisses were even worse.”
Yes, they were. She remembered her own first kiss with Matt Winston…an absolute disaster.
“Apparently, I was too clumsy,” he continued his walk down memory lane. “There’ve been so many girls after my first failure. There was one… I can’t even remember who it was, but this girl screamed, ‘You bit me, you idiot,’ and she pushed me with all her strength. I fell into the rose garden and got pricked by thorns in my butt.”
“Oh no.”
Fortunately, the shadow of a tree hid the blush warming her face. She barely suppressed a nervous laugh.
“The pain was awful. Mom took me to the doctor to remove the thorns, and my father kept saying, ‘How on earth can you fall in a rose garden at your age?’”
Her fingers still laced behind his neck, Brenda laughed uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you got hurt…” She stopped short at her blunder and raised her head, peering at him.
“No way… Don’t tell me it was you?”
“It was my first kiss. I… I remember pushing the jerk who bit me.” She burst out laughing again. “Did you finally learn to kiss properly?”
“Yes, I did. And I got good at it.”
His deep blue eyes sparkled with amusement. His hands cupped her face, two fingers caressing her ear lobes, sending crazy tingles to her belly.
