“Okay, here it is. Sister, he’s not going to leave you. If anyone ends this relationship, it’ll be you.”
“But Grace has told me he always goes from one girl to another. I can’t get my hopes up he’ll stay with me. What if I fall in love, and then he ends it? I have to guard my heart.”
Charlie struggled with her secret knowledge. How could she help her sister without betraying Spencer? “I talked to him, and I really believe he’s not a player anymore. Look how long he pursued you. A player would’ve moved on to someone who was less trouble.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Josh is a way worse player than Spencer, and you told me to give him a chance.”
“You’re right. He’s really bad. Well, if we ever catch either of these boys cheating, I say, No second chances.”
“Agreed,” said Charlie.
“Let’s go back down and kick them out so we can get some sleep.”
“Okay, but I’m still going to have to kiss Josh goodbye unless you can think of a way out of it.”
“Was it that bad?” teased Emily.
Charlie remembered the assault of his lips and her thudding heart, and she couldn’t help smiling. “I don’t know—I’m pretty sure I passed out from the shock of it.”
As the girls approached the apartment, they found two scowling boys standing outside. “You left us,” said Spencer.
“We’re sisters,” Emily reasoned. “We had to talk.”
“And we’ve decided it’s time for y’all to go home,” said Charlie. “It’s almost midnight, and I’ve got an early flight and y’all have to work in the morning.”
“You?
?re right,” said Spencer as he pulled Emily into his arms and held her close, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He held her a moment longer before she pulled out of his arms and slipped inside.
Charlie’s heart pounded as she watched Spencer walk toward the elevator, leaving her alone with Josh. She’d put it off all night. She could do this. It was only a kiss. She’d kissed three other guys before. None of them had made her feel dizzy like Josh did, but that was probably a matter of the circumstances. Josh had caught her by surprise, and she’d been angry at the time. Plus, he’d kissed her in Spencer’s living room, where anyone might have walked in and caught them. Now, in the apartment hallway so late at night, they weren’t likely to be disturbed. She took deep controlled breaths to slow her heart rate.
Josh pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. For several long minutes he held her, rubbing her back with his hands. She could feel his heart pounding against hers, even as his movements appeared calm and relaxed.
“You’ve done something to me—I don’t know what. You’ve cast a spell or something.” His voice was gravelly.
“Please, Josh. Don’t use your lines on me. They won’t work.”
His laugh was bitter. “I’ve never used lines like that—I’ve never had to. I don’t think I’ve ever even pretended to really like a girl. This is all new territory for me.”
“So you’ve only done the meaningless sex thing?”
“A lot of it,” he confessed, “But I’d take it all back if I could. I’m sure a guy like me is pretty offensive to a girl like you. I know I can change.”
“We’ll see, Josh. Seriously, let’s wait and see. Give yourself a week or two, and you’ll work me out of your system. I think I’m just an anomaly.”
“It feels more like cancer to me. I think you’ve metastasized, and I’ll never be able to get rid of you, even if I wanted to try.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. But don’t worry—I won’t get my feelings hurt when you realize this relationship is way more trouble than its worth.”
“You’re definitely a lot of trouble.” He cupped her cheeks with his hands and tilting her head back. “But like I said before, you’re worth it.”
He lowered his mouth to hers and touched their lips together, ever so lightly. Then he brushed his lips across hers and planted tiny kisses around her mouth. He continued to tease her lips until she found her own mouth surging toward his, seeking his warmth. But he held her at bay, gently stroking her lips with his own until they parted. He caught her lower lip between his, and she felt tingles radiating from her mouth down her spine.
When his tongue found hers, he groaned and pressed his mouth against hers more forcefully, his hands tangling in her hair. His breathing became ragged as his kiss raged against her senses. She felt the same dizzying sensation she’d felt the night before. Her knees became jelly, and she started to fall away, but one of his arms dropped down on her back and crushed her against him. All the air left the room, and she gasped for breath through her mouth. But he captured her lips again, and played with her sanity until it was gone. Time froze. She had no idea how long he kissed her. It could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes.
Suddenly his arms gripped her shoulders and pushed her away. She blinked her eyes, waking from a dream, as reality filtered back into her consciousness. Gazing at him through her lashes, she saw his face had a look of alarm, and he was breathing heavily.