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What?I almost asked, forgetting what we were even talking about in the first place.
My heart pounded in my ears, and then she cleared her throat, and I took a step back, feeling the space between us like a barrier I could never cross.
I inhaled a shaky breath, reminding myself I was pursuing Julie, not Penelope. At this rate, I was lucky P was even speaking to me. I had zero chance of dating her.
“Sure. Whatever you need to do,” I managed, my voice thick. “Go ahead.” I waved her on, and when she stepped away from me, I tipped my head skyward. I needed to get a hold of myself.
Though Penelope stepped away, I could still hear her whispers as she explained what she wanted to do. When she glanced back at me, I flashed an encouraging smile, then she turned back around and lowered her voice, murmuring the name Scarlett, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was lying to her dad about who she was with and why.
If that was the case, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Should I be offended? Concerned? Insulted? I wasn’t sure, but the last thing I was going to do was call her out. Selfishly, I wanted her to come with me. So when she turned back around, smiled, and asked if I was ready, all I did was nod.
Music blasted through the stadium. Strobing lights flashed, their multi-colors changing with the beat. Beside me, Penelope swayed with the music, arms in the air, lips moving along with the words. On stage, the lead guitarist stepped forward and picked out a solo that rivaled Jimi Hendrix. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I hooted and cheered along with the crowd, and when the last chord rang out and the familiar lyrics to “California Dreamer” echoed through the stadium, Penelope and I started to clap along with the beat.
She leaned in, shouting to be heard above the music, “They’re even better in person! I forgot how much.”
“Right?”
Body swaying, hands going, and voice raw from the last two hours of yelling and singing, we turned back toward the stage. The tang of sweat filled the thick air around us. Night had fallen long ago, and above our heads, the stars dotted a technicolor sky.
When the riff from “Dreamer” turned into the slow, smooth chorus of IRL’s first hit song, “No Stone Unturned,” the crowd roared. Beside me, Penelope dropped her arms, placing one palm against her chest as the gut-wrenching lyrics about love and loss wrapped around us.
The stage lights turned purple, casting an ethereal glow over Penelope’s face and all I could do was stare. Tonight, under the stage lights—dancing and singing when she thought no one was watching—was the most alive I’d ever seen her. And as I stared at her profile now, I realized this was the Penelope she hid away—the real her—the one few got to see. The one she’d only recently allowed me to see. And I wished she’d give me a chance as more than just friends. Because when I was around her, it wasn’t Julie I thought about or even Gabby. I didn’t care about being King or the Royals or labels or what anyone thought. All I wanted was to sink into her.
She glanced over at me, catching my eye, and my lips split into a smile because I might be unsure about my future, but there was one thing in this moment I was sure about. Her.
I leaned in. Spread my hand over the side of her face, cupping the edge of her jaw and tipping her face up to mine until our lips met. A moment passed as I breathed her in, catching the scent of her watermelon Chapstick before I shifted my mouth and tasted it.
Her hand reached out and gripped my t-shirt, and I paused to see where she’d take this, giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted it, when she hesitantly angled her head, pulling me even closer.
My pulse pounded in-beat with the drums on-stage, and I had no idea how much time passed from the first moment our lips met. All I knew was that I could stay there in that moment forever and be happy. All I could focus on was her velvet lips. The silky hair under my fingers. The dazzling heat of her skin. And the sound of her breathy sighs.
When the lyrics died and the last guitar chord rang out, she pulled away, blinking those nutbrown eyes at me as if trying to understand what just happened between us. Like she’d been drugged and needed a second to come down from the high. And I saw the moment she shut down.
Shutters closed over her eyes as she quickly turned back to the stage, clapping and cheering while the song ended and my heart thumped.
Chapter 21
TOPHER
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“Is it okay?” I asked, eyeing her food. After all, it was late. After 11:00 p.m.. For all we knew, it sat under the heat lamp for the last four hours, though I suspected her silence had more to do with the heated lip lock we shared during the concert than anything.
“Yeah. Why?” She glanced at me with big, expressive eyes.
“Just making sure.” Then I yawned and stretched my arms.
I should bring it up. The kiss. I knew I should, only I was a coward, which was new for me, so I was struggling to adjust.
“Tired?” she asked, and I answered with another yawn.
“What time did you get up?”
“I had to be at the pool before six. Got up around five.”
She blinked at me, her dark brows arching. “Is that every morning?”
“Most, yeah.”
