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My body shudders. I inhale a slow breath, willing my heartbeat to please just… slow… down. But there’s still a hitch in my breath when I tell him I really like him, too. And I think he lets out an exhale of relief at my words. Which doesn’t make any sense at all, because how could he have any doubts? The boy who has every girl in school falling for him. I was really just a temporary outlier.
I’m a full Sebastian Murdoch convert now.
He turns his head, and I feel his warm lips against my cheek… his barely there stubble against my neck… his body shifting against mine, hands gently gripping my waist and turning me until we’re facing each other. He blinks, searching my eyes so earnestly, as if I’m the cool, confident one and he’s the one looking for validation. And it feels like a gift: this tiny, vulnerable sliver of his otherwise larger-than-life personality.
The light from the aquarium reflects across his face in ripples of deep blues and violets; making the whites of his eyes seem brighter and his irises almost golden. His teeth graze his full lower lip, and the corners of his eyes crinkle into the tiniest, most intimate sort of smile.
And then he’s ducking his head, leaning in… slowly, his eyes still searching mine, asking silently if this is okay—that he’s brushing his lips against mine… tracing the seam of my own lips with his tongue… and then kissing me. Like I’m something precious and desirable and so much more than just a girl who memorizes facts, and gets straight A’s, and shies away from crowds and chaos. And even though deep down, I always knew this, he just seals his own confirmation of it with his lips against mine. And I press my confirmation against his, that he is more than just a boy who throws a football like a boss, and entertains, and draws trouble with just a flash of his dimpled smile.
He slides one hand up the length of my spine, his fingers splaying as he reaches the nape of my neck, cupping my head to deepen the kiss. He lets out a low groan as we breathe each other in and warmth blossoms in my chest… my stomach… lower. And I’m vaguely aware that I should probably be nervous right now. Definitely feel unsure. Only I’m anything but. I am nothing but sure about how much I want this, and how much I like being around this boy, and the way his lips feel against mine right now.
How much I want to feel them against more than just my lips.
His mouth is soft for someone who feels so hard everywhere else: the planes of his back, his broad shoulders, the muscles of his arms that bunch and flex beneath the tips of my fingers as I explore his body with my hands—running them up his back the way he did with me; threading my fingers through the silky wisps that brush against his neck, pulling him closer, because I feel almost desperate with how badly I don’t want this kiss to end.
Because I never thought a kiss would feel likethis.
Eventually, Sebastian pulls away. Slowly… Reluctantly. He presses another gentle kiss against my lower lip before taking an almost stumbled step back. He slides his hand down my neck and trails it along the length of my arm, sending goosebumps across my skin.
His mouth tips up into the most devilishcat-who-ate-the-canarysmile. And somewhere in the back of my head, I wonder if my lips look as pink and swollen and delicious as his do right now.
He brings his other hand up to rub against the back of his neck… glances around, still grinning, then meets my eyes. “Okay…” He exhales. “Holy shit.”
I let out my own breathy laugh. “Yeah.”
“That was… the best kiss I’ve ever had. You really are an over-achiever with everything you do, huh?”
Now I’m the one who’s grinning. He basically just said I’m an awesome kisser. Which—wow. I don’t know what to say.
His eyes narrow slightly, and he cocks his head, one eyebrow arched playfully. “Was that your first kiss, Caroline Heinz?”
I nod, feeling suddenly shy. Although I have no idea why. It’s a little late to be bashful, after the kiss we just shared.
He smiles. “C’mere.” He pulls me against him again, only this time he wraps his arms around me; squeezes me in the world’s coziest hug.
Because of course Sebastian Murdoch would be the world’s best hugger, too.
He rests his chin lightly against the top of my head. “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassednow,NG,” he says. “Not after you just knocked every first kiss in the history of first kisses out of the park.”
God, I like this boy.
I laugh into his chest and his hoodie feels soft against my cheek. “I did kind of nail it.”
“Damn straight,” he agrees. And then he makes this kind of low rumbling noise deep in his throat. “Although… I’m gonna need you to kiss me again when we get back in the car.” I hear the smile through his words. “Just to be sure it wasn’t a onetime fluke.”
“You mean, like beginner’s luck.”
“Exactly.”
He rubs his hands down my arms and laces his fingers with mine, pulling back and angling his head to look right into my eyes. “You good?”
I like how he does this: checks in with me during moments where he knows I might feel insecure or embarrassed. “I’m great.” I smile. “You?”
“Are you kidding me? I’m on top of the fucking world! I just kissed a beautiful girl who—No, wait. Even better than that: I just kissed the coolest nerd in all of Sandy Haven. Possibly the entire country.” He quirks an eyebrow and adds, “Surrounded by swarms of pink jellyfish.”
“Did you know a group of jellyfish is called a bloom?”
“Funny thing.” He grins. “I actuallydidknow that.”
