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Man, I was losing my touch. It wasn’t like me not to notice every little thing. And this? It kinda seemed like a big thing.
I almost smiled then, imagining how wigged out Paisley would be when she learned of her brother’s surprise guest. Not just a girl he was bringing to meet his sister… Hiswife. Something told me her head would explode, and that definitely shouldn’t have caused me as much joy as it did.
But then Tyler popped a green Skittle in his mouth, telling Candy it was to celebrate their good luck, and it was like he’d dumped a bucket of ice-cold guilt-water over my head.
I nodded stiffly, ready to get away from him and the memories fogging up my mind. “Drive safe, y’all.”
11/
paisley
take it back now, y’all:
Better late than never.
The masked stranger’s words echoed in my mind as we stood inches apart on the balcony, the muffled sounds of the New Year’s Eve party drifting outside.
Sure, we’d missed that moment at the end of the midnight countdown, too lost in each other to care about the second that passed.
But did it really matter if our New Year’s kiss came a few heartbeats late? The tradition was about more than just timing—it was about the hope.
It was about possibilities and fresh starts. The by-this-time-next-year dreams, and the promise of leaving the past behind and embracing the future with open arms and an open heart.
As he leaned in closer, I felt the heat of his breath, and my pulse quickened in anticipation. This hadn’t been how I’d planned to ring in the new year, but somehow… it felt right.
Like it was meant to be.
But what if the buildup was better than the reality? What if we didn’t click, and?—
And then I stopped thinking.
His lips finally met mine, and just as I’d hoped it would, the rest of the world faded away. All that existed was the electric current passing between us as we lost ourselves in the kiss, and I nearly sighed with relief.
Or bliss, because wow, the man could kiss.
Sparks ignited from my head to my toes as I wrapped my arms around his neck, his lips moving over mine as he drew me closer. I’d been kissed before, but this... this was something else entirely.
He took his time, leisurely exploring my mouth as if committing every curve and dip to memory. There was no rush, no hurried frenzy. Just a slow burn that built until my hands automatically fisted in his shirt, needing an anchor to keep from floating away.
I knew I should probably pull back, slow things down. This was supposed to be nothing more than a bit of New Year’s fun.
But fun was the last word I’d use to describe this moment. This stranger was wrecking me with a single kiss, and I never wanted it to end.
I could try to play it off later, but deep down I knew I’d never forget it. The way his mouth felt against mine. The way everything inside me went haywire at his touch.
I was in trouble.
Maybe the best kind of trouble, and for once in my buttoned-up, workaholic life, I was more than happy to let myself get good and lost in it because the new year was full of possibilities, right?
But if this mysterious man was about to become one heck of a memorable chapter in my story, would I really be okay with leaving us on the world’s biggest cliffhanger?
The question hovered in my mind as our lips finally parted, the kiss ending far too soon for my liking.
I kept my eyes closed a moment longer, savoring the lingering tingles. When I finally looked up at him, I found his gaze just as heated as my own surely was, even with the mask obscuring half his face.
“That was...” I breathed out, unable to find a word that could adequately capture the magnitude of what I’d just experienced.
“Yeah,” he agreed, his voice a bit hoarse. “It was.”
