Kissing Her

“Mmm hmm,” she says, her eyes closing.

“But rest assured, you’ll be in my arms again very, very soon.”

Chapter Five

Bee

I rub my hand down my face as I try to clear the sleep out of my eyes. “Oh God.” Memories from last night hit me hard and fast and I fly up in bed and look around. I’m in my own bedroom and everything is as it was before.

Ragnar was real, wasn’t he? Did I dream him up? I wrack my mind trying to remember how I got home. Small flashes of him driving me home in my own car flick through my mind as I hop out of bed. I rush over to my window and push back the curtain to see my car is parked outside. My stomach drops when I see my parents’ car is parked there, too. When did they get home?

“Look who’s up.” I spin around to see Melina standing in my bedroom doorway. She’s already perfectly dressed and ready to go somewhere. “Mom and Dad came home early.” She narrows her eyes at me. “Did you tell them I went out with Brandon?” She’s asking a question, but her tone is accusing as she steps into my room and closes the door behind her.

“No, of course not.” I did tell Ragnar, though, and it felt good to lay out all the things I keep in my head to someone else. Oh God, I think I told him my life story. I want to die of embarrassment, but I bet I never see him again anyway. He probably got me out of his home as fast as possible.

She stands there for a moment and I think she’s going to leave, but her eyes roam over me. “What are you wearing?”

I look down and see I’m in a white button-up shirt that I know is not mine. Ragnar must have done it, but how the hell is it on me?

“I got it from the thrift store. I thought it would be comfy to sleep in.” The lie pops out of my mouth way too easily.

“This is expensive.” She reaches out her fingers to touch the material. “The thrift store?”

Thank God she doesn’t look at my face because I know I’m probably five colors of red right now. I can’t think of how I got this shirt on me to save my life. “You should let me have it. I’ll give it to Brandon.”

When it comes to clothes I normally don’t give a crap because Melina is the one who’s picky. I take what I can get to cover myself. It’s hard sometimes to find something that fits my chest and then it’s never flattering on my waist, so I don’t even try anymore. This shirt, however, I don’t want to give it up. It’s mine until Ragnar asks for it back. He likely will if it cost as much as my sister thinks it did, but I have no idea what a man’s shirt can cost.

“It would be too big for him.” I come up with the excuse thinking that Ragnar is a big man while Brandon is tall and lanky. Melina’s eyes snap up to mine.

“You’re not going to give it to me?” She sounds shocked.

“Can we talk about this later? It’s just a shirt.” I try to move past her, but she blocks my path. She’s more pissed that I’m not giving her what she wants than she is about the actual shirt. I know her.

“If it’s just a shirt, then why won’t you give it to me?” She stomps her foot.

“Melina,” our mom calls, saving me.

“We’ll talk about this later,” she hisses before stomping from my room.

I let out a long sigh of relief before going over to my dresser to find something to wear after my shower. I want to get changed and hide the shirt. Maybe she’ll forget about it. Heck, maybe I’ll remember how I got the thing to begin with.

I grab a towel from the hallway closet and go back through the night before in my mind. I smile, remembering how much fun I had. I went on and on, talking to Ragnar, who smiled and listened. I wasn’t used to talking so much, but he looked as though he enjoyed listening to me, so I kept on going. I had this need to please him and it wasn’t like when I do things to make my parents and Melina happy. I do that to get them to leave me alone or make life easier. This need to please Ragnar feels different—bone deep.

I step out of the shower and towel off. I freeze when I remember he said we’re seeing each other tonight. Did he really mean that? I agreed at the time, but I thought my parents would still be gone. It would be easy to slip out if they weren’t here, and I’m sure Melina has plans of her own. It looks as though both plans are ruined now. I get dressed and try to come up with an idea of how I can sneak out.