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Our first kiss?Though he tried to keep his expression neutral, he couldn’t believe how easily the words had rolled off her lips.
He shrugged. “Why not? If nothing happens when we kiss, then your mother is right. On the other hand, if there’s any sizzle between us, her rule about dating a friend might need a little updating.”
“Sizzle?” Prim laid a hand on his shoulder, chuckling breathlessly. “Did you just say sizzle?”
“I did.” He bent his head closer to hers to test the waters. “Last chance to back out of our little social experiment.”
She watched his mouth hover over hers, eyes wide open. “Let the experiment begin, Deputy Whitaker.”
He had no willpower to deny such a sweet challenge. His mouth touched hers in the tenderest of kisses.
Her lips were warm from her laughter and a thousand unspoken verbal barbs she would be sure to send his way in the coming days. They were also softly accepting and generously giving as they moved against his.
His thoughts disintegrated into chaos as she kissed him back. The rest of the world disappeared. There was only Prim with her fingers cupping his shoulder and her mouth cherishing his.
He never wanted to stop kissing her, but he did. He was feeling too much and didn’t want to alarm her with the intensity of it. “Well?” He was surprised by how winded he sounded. “What do you think?”
She blinked rapidly.
That’s when he realized her hazel eyes were swimming with tears.
“Prim.” His heart clenched with agony. “I’m?—”
“Don’t you dare apologize for kissing me,” she choked. Her eyes glinted fiercely through her tears.
He shook his head in confusion. “The only thing I’m sorry about is making you cry.” He hadn’t dated much. His job didn’t leave much time for stuff like that. Of the few girls he’d kissed, however, she was the first one he’d reduced to tears.
“Oh!” She reached up to dab the edges of her eyes. “I didn’t realize I was…” She lowered her hands to her lap, looking dumbfounded. “We kissed, Shep,” she whispered.
“Yep.” He hadn’t realized it was going to mess with her head like that.
“I, um…” She seemed at a loss for words.
“It was that bad, huh?” Her response to his kiss was killing him.
She gaped at him. “You thought it was bad?”
“What? No!” He gave her an incredulous look. “Not for me!”
“Whew! Because there’s no way I was the only one who felt all of…that!” She tucked a strand of hair behind an ear, still looking completely gobsmacked.
The blood rushed back to his heart. “So, it was good for you, too?”
She chuckled. Or sobbed. He wasn’t sure which. The sound that came out of her could have passed for either. “More like overwhelming.”
“You alright?” He reached for her hand and was relieved when she didn’t pull away.
“That’s debatable.” She gave another chuckle that he was sure qualified as a chuckle this time. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands. “I don’t want to stop being friends,” she blurted. “Like I said earlier, I don’t want to lose you.” She glanced away from him, “I?—”
“Prim.” He squeezed her hand to draw her gaze back to his. “You’re not going to lose me. Promise!” He couldn’t believe she was freaking out so badly over a single kiss.
“Okay.” She sounded uncertain and vulnerable — nothing like her normal mouthy self.
Tiva approached their table with their bowls of chili. Prim yanked her hand from his like it was on fire.
“Thanks, Tiva.” Instead of meeting the woman’s gaze, Prim stared blindly into her bowl.
Tiva gave Prim a concerned look. “Bon appetite!” Her voice was bright, almost too bright. It was if she, too, sensed something was off balance between them.
