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Veronica snapped her mouth shut and shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. Her fingers closed around her keys just as she and Gabe turned onto the narrow walk that led to her door.
She dropped the keys immediately, then snatched them off the ground before Gabe could reach down to help.
“Sorry,” she muttered, as if she needed to be sorry for dropping her own keys on her own walkway. Sorry, I was just thinking about sex statistics. The words pushed again at the back of her teeth. Did you know that a large percentage of women don’t experience pain when they lose their virginity? And anyway, I kind of already took care of that part, so you don’t have to worry.
No. She wasn’t going to say it. She wasn’t going to respond to awkwardness by being more awkward. Not with him. Not after last night. She’d used up all her quirky points already. She had to be normal, at least for a little while. She’d try being herself again on the third date. Or the fourth. If they got to that point.
Let him see the real you. Right. Get drunk, spill your deepest secrets, then let him tuck your drunk ass into bed while you weep over his handsomeness. Solid advice.
She shoved the key into her lock and unlocked it with a loud clack.
“Thank you,” she said, turning toward him so she could say goodbye like a normal person. “I had a great time.”
“I’m not going to ask to come in, Veronica. I only tuck girls in on first dates. On second dates I have a strict no-tucking rule.”
She couldn’t help but smile. He looked so serious. “Last night wasn’t a date.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Wow, you’re right. Tonight is our first date. I hope you’re ready for the tucking of your life, then.”
She leaned against her door, her laughter helping her forget what she’d even been so tense about in the first place. “You’re awful, Gabe.”
“Thank you,” he answered. He hadn’t cracked a smile, and now his gaze fell to her lips. “You’re cute, Veronica.”
“Huh,” she breathed, caught between humor and the unbelievable thought that he was about to kiss her.
“Really cute.” He moved slowly closer. “And I like you in flip-flops. Your toes are blue.”
She laughed a little, a huff of breath, and then he kissed her. His lips touched hers for only one soft moment at first, just a careful, tentative touch. Then another kiss, warmer this time, and waiting. She sighed, tipping her face up as his fingers touched her jaw.
Her heart tripped over itself then. The kiss was a world of sensation. The brush of his beard on her chin, the smell of his skin, her pulse pounding in her ears.
He lifted his mouth and looked down at her, watching her eyes as if he was searching for an answer. But he didn’t need to search. She was already breathing too quickly, already stunned and aroused. Both of his hands framed her face this time, and when his mouth touched hers again, she opened for him.
He still tasted sweet from the chocolate, but his mouth was hot against her. So hot. She rubbed her tongue against his, wanting more of that sweet warmth.
His body shifted closer to hers. Veronica let her hands rise. She let them touch his chest. Lightly at first, but as he kissed her more deeply, she moaned against his mouth and spread her fingers over his chest.
God, his tongue was slow against hers. A slow, steady stroke that sent a wave of shivery pleasure through her body. Her nipples went tight. Her fingers pressed harder into his chest. There was barely any give to him at all. He was...hard.
She made a noise in her throat at the thought, some instinctive sound of satisfied surprise.
Gabe slowed the kiss, ended it, lifted his mouth from hers. She wanted to pull him back down. She wanted more.
His teeth flashed in a smile. “I thought it’d be good to see if we had chemistry.”
She stared at his mouth, willing it to come closer again. “And?”
“And if you’re not sure, I should check again.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Good idea,” he whispered just before his lips fell to hers.
Their mouths were more urgent this time. Or maybe it was only her quickening the pace, because she slid a hand into the soft waves of his hair and urged him closer.
His hands moved from her shoulders to her back, and Veronica wished he were touching bare skin. She wished he’d slip his hands beneath the hem of her shirt. She wanted to feel the edges of his rough fingers on her naked back, and she wanted—needed—him to feel her heat. God, that would be so good. She pressed even closer to him, and his fingers dug faintly into her back as if he wanted her closer, too.
Triumph fizzed into her veins when he groaned into her mouth. To make a man like this groan. To make him desperate...
