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He groaned as his tongue rolled over mine again, and his hands grew bolder in their exploration of my body. The sound of his strained voice finally made something in me snap awake—the grown-up part of me who wasn’t so young and dumb and enamored with a high school crush.
I managed to jerk back, even though every cell in my body hated me for doing so. My eyes widened as my fingertips gently pressed against my bottom lip, still in shock over what just happened.
“I’m sorry,” he offered quickly, looking just as stunned as I was. “I don’t know what came over me. I just…I couldn’t take it anymore.”
I was too confused to know what to say. Logically, I knew kissing Keith was nothing to write home about, or at least it shouldn’t have been. He kissed any hot woman who would have him. But the way it felt in my heart when he did it…There was nothing logical about that.
“I should go,” I blurted.
That was the safest possible course of action—to run. If I stood there any longer, it might happen again. Maybe that was what kept my feet glued into place. I stared down at them helplessly, willing them to move.
My cheeks turned hot and red as I suddenly remembered that I was standing there in nothing but my underwear. It hadn’t seemed out of the ordinary to me when I only intended to jump in the lake for a swim, but now? After that kiss? There was a pool of wetness in my panties, and it was startlingly clear that this was far from ordinary.
I jumped to snatch up my clothes and quickly put them back on despite my shaky hands, muttering as I went, “I have to check on Claire, and it’s been a long day.”
A long, blistering hot day that obviously left me not thinking clearly.
“Don’t run off,” he begged with big puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry, Lana. Let’s talk about this.”
“No, no!” I shrieked. “No need to talk about it. I just…I need to go.”
Before he could talk me out of it, I grabbed my bag and ran out the door. I didn’t even give my sweltering hot car time to cool off before I pulled out of the parking lot and drove off as fast as I could.
13
LANA
I felt a gush of relief as I burst into the house and collapsed back against the door. My chest heaved as I looked around the quiet, empty entryway. I felt safe from Keith, and whatever that whole mess was once I was back inside my childhood home. There was also the cool air conditioning, which did wonders all on its own.
I knew I had to tell Claire about this. I didn’t particularly want to, but this wasn’t the same as almost kissing him. It really happened this time, and the only thing I could do to calm the rising panic inside was confide in my best friend.
I raced into the living room, expecting to see her in the recliner, watching TV. But there was no sight of her there. Maybe she was reading a book? I ran down the hall, into the sunroom. My heart pounded faster with an even stronger rising wave of panic as I frantically searched. All of the bathroom doors were open, and the insides were empty. Finally, I came to her room and spotted a human-sized lump under the covers. She was tucked away there, sleeping soundly.
“Great,” I whispered to myself, trying to swallow down the volcano bubbling up inside of me.
I really didn’t want to keep my big secret bottled up any longer, but I had no choice. I couldn’t really blame Claire for it either. She had physical therapy earlier that afternoon, which always wore her out.
I turned with a sigh and gently closed her door behind me. Accepting that I would have to carry the burden of truth alone for a while longer, I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I pressed my glass against the lever on the fridge to get some ice, I was startled by the sound of a man’s voice. My hand jolted from the shock of it, sending ice cubes scattering across the floor. With my hand spread over my racing heart, I looked over to notice Chris sitting at the kitchen table.
“Jesus, you scared me. I didn’t see you there.”
His head bobbed with a smirk—the same cocky one he permanently had plastered on his face. “My apologies,” he said, but I knew he probably got a kick out of giving me a heart attack.
I bent over to pick up the ice cubes, but I had this weird sensation that I was being watched a little too closely. I glanced over my shoulder and could have sworn Chris was staring at my butt. He shifted in his chair and looked away. The heat had me imagining things, I decided. But just to be safe, I turned around so my butt was safe from his prying eyes.
“I thought you were going back to work after the appointment,” I said, still surprised he even bothered making himself available to take Claire to this one.
“I decided to take the rest of the day off. Claire is taking a nap,” he replied.
“Yeah, I saw that.”
An awkward silence fell between us, which wasn’t uncommon. When we weren’t bickering, I never knew what to say to him. And when I did think of something, I was always slightly paranoid that I’d accidentally let it slip that I truly hated him. However, the way I behaved towards him probably didn’t leave much room for doubt on that.
“There’s a six-pack of beer in the fridge,” he remarked. “Want to crack one open with me?”
My head swiveled with confusion, and a bit of nausea crept in. The only thing that sounded more unappealing than a beer after spending all day out in the heat was to have that beer with Chris, of all people.
“What?” was all I managed to say. It came out as a whisper as I cradled my throbbing head in my fingers.
