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Tabitha stuck her chin in the air, wanting to argue but with really no case to make. “Well, that’s why I have the Badass List. I’m working on it. Which brings us back to my question. I answered yours. Now you have to answer mine. About your dad. About the things you hide. Which you deflected again. You really are a master of the colored scarves.”
“You should see me with a set of rings.”
“Do you ever stop joking around?”
“Trust me. I give you guys the best version of me.” Then, without warning, he reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
A shiver ran over Tabitha’s spine. It occurred to her that this had been a two-way street. She had got a little peek at the depths of Hobbs. Might he have got the same from her?
“You’d better start figuring out how awesome you are before things get too far with Thaddeus, you know.” Hobbs’s tone was light, amused. “So he doesn’t take you for granted.”
“I’m not sure I want things to get far with Thaddeus.”
“Why not?” Hobbs’s voice softened. “Have you even kissed him yet?”
“I’m dreading kissing Thaddeus, if it ever comes to that.” There was no point in lying. “He’ll lean in, I’ll step on his feet or something, Trinity will bark, our lips will miss, like a bad high five...”
Hobbs’s smile spread slowly over his face, but it was different from his usual offering, the happy persona he gave to everyone in the room. This had a tinge of affection to it, a new sight, like seeing artwork from an entirely different angle. “Were you dreading kissing me, too? On your birthday? It didn’t seem like you were dreading it. If I thought that, I would’ve stopped.”
Tabitha stammered something that couldn’t count as yes or no. “I didn’t have time to dread it. It was so unexpected.”
“Another ringing endorsement,” Hobbs said. “If only I’d had time to dread it.”
“You’ve never said anything about that kiss, either.”
“What do you mean?” Hobbs was really close now, the personal space gone, his warmth reaching out and drawing her in like a gravitational pull.
“You said it wasn’t what you were expecting. You didn’t say why.”
His smile softened. “No. I didn’t.”
The room was so warm now. Tabitha imagined her body felt like the core of the earth. She hated that all Hobbs had to do was smile to get her to feel this way.
There was something about him, starting way back on the Fourth of July, when she’d pulled out of her panic attack and found his warm, strong hand gripping hers. He helped free something inside of her, with his cavalier attitude and bullish optimism, his strength and easy charm. It was like finding a companion on a dark, gloomy trail. You were still in the fog but you were no longer alone.
“Hey, if you’re really worried about kissing Thaddeus, I’m willing to help you out,” Hobbs said.
Tabitha felt sizzly all over. Was he serious? Or just trying to change the subject?
“Go ahead,” Hobbs continued. “Practice makes perfect. What was first? Oh, right. I lean in.” Hobbs reached out, slid an arm around her waist—a light, sensual touch—then bent his head down, closer to hers. “Now you’re supposed to step on my feet, according to your order of operations.”
Despite how ridiculous she felt, Tabitha’s body had its own ideas. The arm around her waist felt like it was burning straight through her, heating up her whole body. She slid one of her feet between his. The other went just outside of his left foot. She had socks on and Hobbs’s feet were bare. His toes felt cold against her sock.
“Wow. Not one stomp,” Hobbs said, his voice light, playful. “Now the dog is supposed to bark.” He glanced at the couch, where Trinity lay. Tabitha followed his gaze and saw that the pittie was fast asleep. Hobbs pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows likeGuess not?
Tabitha whispered a laugh and forced herself not to look away, to hold Hobbs’s gaze.
His smile fell. “Only one step left.” His voice dropped in timbre. “You gonna miss like a bad high five? Let’s see what ya got, Tabby.”
Tabitha hesitated, a lump forming in her throat. She wasn’t afraid she’d miss. She was afraid she wouldn’t.
“Try putting your hands somewhere,” Hobbs suggested. “Stir things up. Make your intentions known. Let me get excited about what’s coming next.”
Tabitha’s arms were currently hanging at her sides, limp and awkward. She reached out and rested her hands on either side of Hobbs’s bare waist. She lightly stroked his skin, still warm. Despite having just been massaging that same body, the contact felt different. Theintentionwas different, just as Hobbs had said.
“That’s it,” Hobbs whispered. He was so close now the waves of hair on his forehead brushed over hers. “I feel it now. What you want. Where you want things to go. Are you getting the same?”
Tabitha nodded, her ability to speak gone. The world was so thick and hot now. Every movement felt like slow motion. She tilted her head up and leaned in until the softness of Hobbs’s lips met hers. The contact stole one of her heartbeats, her chest a thudding mess. The arm around her waist drew her in, tight against Hobbs’s body, forcing their kiss to deepen. Tabitha slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, her lips parting to accept more of him, the desire to get deeper, tighter, hotter, compounding with every breath.
The smell of free lilacs had changed to something warmer, more layered, earthy, like lilacs in fresh soil.Lilacs in the moonlight.Hobbs’s hands trailed over Tabitha’s backside, smooth, testing, and rather than recoil she leaned into it, pressing harder against his body, enjoying the rigid feeling of his arousal. A rushed sigh of pleasure escaped Hobbs’s lips and the pressure of his hands increased, softly grinding her against him. Tabitha’s body no longer felt like hers. The tight, awkward uncertainty of her was gone and somebody new was blooming and melting against Hobbs, like a watercolor.
Hobbs pulled back slowly, withdrawing with obvious reluctance from their kiss. “Dang, Tabby,” he said. “Thaddeus is in trouble.”
Tabitha’s words came with short breath, beneath the thudding of her heart. “I don’t want to talk about Thaddeus. I don’t want to talk at all.”
Just as Hobbs’s lips parted, a question in his eyes, a woman’s voice rang out from the hallway.
“Chris? Is somebody here?”
