“I didn’t want you to know. Until it was too late.”
“It’s not too late. You’re right on time. Like always.” Kylee shifted until the last remaining inch between them was gone. She was nearly in his lap again. This was where his dream always began.
“Are we gonna do this or what?” she said.
“Quit bossing me, woman.”
“Then get to it already-”
Ron’s lips met hers. He landed softly, his bottom lip gliding across the smooth surface of her glossed lips. It may have been a gentle attack, but the impact was explosive. They both held still, barely breathing as the touch of their lips rocked them to their core.
Ron’s right hand left the back of the couch and cradled Kylee’s head. His left arm came up and boxed her in, wrapping her up inside the cage of his heart where he knew he’d never let her go.
He was certain that time passed as they held each other, explored each other slowly, and shared each other’s breath. But the only time Ron was aware of was the ten-year gulf that had been between them slowly recede away until they could reach each other again.
Yes, things had changed. They would continue to change. But the one thing that would remain the same was Ron’s certainty that Kylee Bauer was the woman of his dreams. Now she would be his in reality.
Chapter Fifteen
Kylee couldn’t stop pressing her fingers to her lips. Her top lip was swollen. Her bottom lip kept spreading wide into a grin.
She and Ron had spent the last few hours kissing. And then kissing some more. And then, for good measure, kissing a bit more.
He’d captur
e her bottom lip for a while and nibble on it. Kylee had let him, soaking in the sheer decadence of resting her head in the cradle of his palm while he explored her mouth. Then they’d break apart to catch their breath. They’d watch television. Inevitably, he’d turn and brush her lower lip, or she’d capture the side of his mouth, and it began all over again.
It had taken them three hours to watch the thirty-minute pilot episode of Saved by the Bell: The College Years because they had to keep rewinding to the place where they stopped watching and started kissing. It had taken another thirty minutes standing on the front stoop in the middle of the night saying goodbye.
At some point, one of the neighbors had flashed their porch lights at them like they were two randy teenagers. Ron had chuckled and pulled her closer. Kylee had giggled as she’d cuddled in the crook of his arms. She never wanted to leave his embrace, but eventually, he’d pulled away from her.
Ron looked different in the moonlight. He was the friend she’d turned to for most of her life. Now before her eyes, he’d transformed into the man she didn’t want to say goodnight to.
Life was so wild. Just a week ago, Kylee had sworn off men. Now she couldn’t wait to see where her relationship with Ron would go. The sun wouldn’t rise fast enough for a new day where she could see him again.
The sound of the doorbell had Kylee sitting bolt upright in her bed. She shoved her feet into slippers to avoid the cold floor. The bell rang again, mirroring the pounding of her heart. He’d come back.
The sun wasn’t anywhere close to rising. It seemed Ron was just as eager for their new life to begin as she was. She wasn’t ready to take her relationship with Ron to the next level. They’d just gotten on the ground floor. But she wouldn’t mind necking on the couch with him a little more.
Apparently, Ron was impatient to get back to it. He leaned on the doorbell letting it make an alarming sound that would wake up not only Molly but others in the neighborhood as well. It was very unlike him to be so impatient. But what did she know?
He’d changed so much over the years she’d been gone, but he was still very much the same. Except he didn’t have slicked back, brown hair. And he’d never worn a leather jacket a day in his life.
Peeking through the peephole, Kylee saw that it wasn’t Ron. It was Jason. He turned and those mischievous eyes glared at her through the one-way glass.
Kylee jerked her face back from the door. She folded her hands behind her back. She’d already opened a new door. She was happy with the scenery she found on the other side. She didn’t want to go back through the dark past by opening a door to let her ex back in.
But Jason didn’t let up on the buzzer. At this rate, he’d definitely wake Molly and the neighbors on the other side of town.
“What are you doing here?” Kylee demanded when she pulled the door open.
And there he was. Jason Romano. The bad boy on the bike who she’d road off into the sunset with and drove straight into a tornado. He was leaning against the doorframe, his dark hair falling into his dark eyes. Kylee had once gone gaga when he struck that pose. Now all she wanted to do was barf all over his leather jacket.
“About time,” Jason grumbled as he pushed his way in. “Where’s Molls?”
“Asleep. It’s one in the morning.”
Jason nodded. “I was hoping to see her. You know, spend some quality time. But if she’s sleeping, I’ll just wait until the morning.”