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“It’s none of his business…”
“Because you are scared to tell him, scared to…”
“Shut up, Toby!” she yelled, her temper rising at every word he was saying because it all hit too close to home… much too close.
“Make me, Samantha!” he hollered back. “Or are you too scared to do that, too?”
She saw red.
Without thinking, she stepped forward, grabbed him by the shirt collar, and yanked him down to her, kissing him desperately – anything to stop him from saying anything else… and seized in place at the realization of what she’d done.
Both froze.
They stared at each other, eyes wide open in shock and their lips still touching, for a split second… only to feel Toby’s tense form soften perceptibly underneath her.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him as both closed their eyes, lost to this long-awaited moment. He kissed her tenderly, deepening the unexpected kiss between them, and Samantha felt her knees weaken at the way he did so.
This wasn’t some gangly, awkward, young teenager in the hallway at school sneaking a forbidden peck on the lips… and she wasn’t some frightened young girl, ready to bolt.
Toby was a man… and made her feel like a woman.
Samantha’s arms curled around his shoulders, drawing him closer to her, savoring the feelings budding to life within her and realizing just what a miracle this was. She’d been on a few pathetic attempts at dates – but it was hard when they were people she’d known for years, or they bluntly asked her about Toby.
He was always there – and everyone knew it.
“Samantha…” he breathed against her lips, just before kissing her again, his mouth slanting over hers, deepening the kiss… only to hear a car honking in the distance.
It was like throwing ice-cold water on a furious cat. Both jumped away from each other in an understanding of what was happening in the distance… and the impending doom that was barreling their way, unstoppable.
There was a vehicle surging down the road, laying on the horn, and she knew exactly who it was - and what was about to happen.
“Toby, get in the car…” she urged in almost a panic.
“N-Nope,” he replied, his voice wavered – and she looked at him in shock.
“My dad must have checked the cameras in the hangar and…”
“Doesn’t matter,” he replied steadfastly, spreading his feet and standing tall, as he looked at her. “This has been coming for a long time… and I’m not giving up. Are you?”
Samantha realized he was asking her point-blank if she was about to back down, because he was willing to deal with whatever was about to happen… including the beat-down. They had threatened him with one over the years. It hung over his head as a teenager and now as a man.
… And might actually happen tonight.
Now.
“No…” she admitted, realizing he was right and if they were ever going to have a shot at seeing what this was? This moment had to happen sooner or later. Putting it off meant denying that beautiful kiss… and anything else that could ever happen. “I’m not backing down.”
Toby smiled.
“That’s my girl,” he said tenderly, as her father’s truck skidded to a halt alarmingly close to where Toby stood.
“That’s enough,” Thumper snapped, opening the driver’s door and getting out of the vehicle. “Your date is over. Samantha, get in the truck. I’ve had enough of this foolishness.”
“Sir? We need to talk,” Toby began calmly.
“Sam! Car! Now!” her dad snapped, balling up his fist as he moved towards Toby. “Boy… I told you if you ever laid a hand on my daughter…”
“Sir, may I speak, please?” Toby began again, his voice steady even though Samantha knew he had to be quaking in his boots at her father’s irate expression.
