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“Oh. Okay. Yeah. Me too. I have a meeting in the morning.”
Will and I find Tara and Kent talking at a table on the far side of the room, close to the entrance. She gives me the nod that all is good while simultaneously waggling her brows at the sight of Will. I give her a face that lets her know there is nothing going on between me and the handsome man at my side.
Kent also looks at me, standing here beside Will, curiously and a bit concerned. He must be wondering how his friend and Tara’s wound up sweaty from dancing. Itisquite the coincidence.
“Do you have a ride home? I can order you an Uber,” Will asks.
“My car is in the lot.”
“Mine too. I’ll walk you.”
Inside the bar, Will and I were practically glued at the hip from the moment he discovered me ordering my cocktail. Outside, it feels like he can’t get far enough away from me.
Did I do something wrong?Perhaps I came off too strong or made a face that freaked him out while we were dancing. Our faces werereallyclose. I would have kissed him if he had given me the impression that he wanted me to. He must have seen it on my face how badly I wanted to kiss him. I’m such a dork sometimes.
This is what happens when you haven’t dated someone new in sixteen years. You meet a handsome man and have three good dances, and suddenly, you think he wants to kiss you back. No one wants to kiss you, Melissa.
“Are you okay?” His deep voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Huh?”
“You were mumbling to yourself. Something about kisses?”
I slam my palm on my forehead. “I am such a lost cause!” I scurry toward my hatchback and take my keys out of my bag. “This is me. Thanks for walking me safely to the lot. Have a good night.” I open the door and hit myself with the door before opening it properly.
“Melissa.”
Embarrassed, I turn around to face him. He’s about five feet away. His hands are in his pockets as he leans back and looks down at the pavement. There’s a pause, as if he’s collecting his thoughts. I’m dying to fill the silence. It’s what I do best. Instead, I just stand here. Waiting for him to … something. When he looks up at me, his gaze steady, his thoughts gathered, I brace myself for what he’s about to say.
“You’re amazing. Beautiful. Cool.” He takes a breath. “A catch. A total upgrade.”
A catch.
A total upgrade.
Those are the words I said about Maisie last night.
“Good night, Melissa.”
He turns and starts walking to the other side of the parking lot. This gorgeous hero of a man, who is funny and clever and knows how to dance, just told me I was a total upgrade. It’s been a long time since I’ve desired someone. Nearly as long as I’ve felt worthy of such desire. Is it possible I’m not a throwaway? More than second best?
I might not have done this dating thing in years, but I know when a guy likes a girl. These bones still felt the tingle in my spine when his hand dropped a little too low on my hip and felt the way his heart was beating when my palm grazed his chest. I felt his breath on my skin, hot and ragged. And I saw desire in his eyes.
Tara says if a good man walks in, you go to him before someone else swoops in and takes him.
“Fuck it,” I say out loud.
Will must have heard me because he turns around just in time to see me close the distance.
I kiss him.
I wrap my hands around his neck and press my lips to his, taking his mouth in mine. A groan escapes his mouth, and I swallow it whole. His lips part, and his hot and greedy mouth takes over our kiss.
His tongue circles mine, and my hands rise to his hair, tugging and pulling as he grips my waist and pulls me in. Not only have I not kissed a man in a long time, but I also haven’t made out with someone in years, let alone in a parking lot, like teenagers in heat.
It’s a heady kiss, and it ends as abruptly as it started when he pulls away from me quickly and with a jerky push.
My hand rises to my swollen lips. “I ambushed you. I don’t know what got into me.”
