Gemini

I turned away in discomfort, moving my gaze down to the floor and felt his hand on my chin slowly directing me to look at him.

“Allison. What you saw was me and my EX-girlfriend, Karyn, attending a fundraiser a few days before I ended the relationship for good. I haven’t been with Karyn since the day after Thanksgiving.”

My heart pounded at his revelation.

“So, you…don’t have a girlfriend?” I felt so stupid having confronted him about something that I was apparently misinformed about.

“No. I don’t,” he said firmly.

Relief washed over me, when his intense look turned into a crooked grin.

I shook my head fast, placing my hands over my face. “Oh my gosh…I feel so stupid. I just assumed…I mean, what are the chances it was taken just before you broke up? I am sorry for prying.”

“Please…you had every right to ask. I just mauled your face…if I had a girlfriend, that would obviously make me a real jackass.” He laughed.

I laughed nervously, too, noticing that his ears had turned red as a result of my sudden confrontation.

Our signature awkward silence returned for about a minute and Cedric took my hand in his, rubbing it gently with his thumb, looking down deep in thought, until he was ready to speak.

“After that night that I drove you home, I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Allison. I did have a girlfriend then…Karyn and I were still dating at that time.”

A lump formed in my throat remembering my strong feelings that night, touching his hand as he wrote on mine. Hearing that he did have a girlfriend then upset me immensely. I couldn’t help being jealous of anyone that had him in more ways than me.

He continued, “The more days that passed, the more I couldn’t get you out of my head, Allison. Karyn and I…we weren’t meant to be together regardless of my feelings for you. Some stuff happened over Thanksgiving and I knew I needed to end it, sooner rather than later, so I did.”

I stared in silence at his beautiful face as he continued to speak.

“I went to the diner that following Monday hoping to ask you out. But you didn’t seem to want to talk to me. So, I decided not to.”

Oh. God. Shit…I was so rude to him that day. The whole thing was making total sense now. I sure had fucked that up.

“Allison, I was floored to see you at my sister’s. I was so happy, though, to have another chance to get to know you.” He beamed.

After he said that, I really wanted to open up to him. “Cedric…I felt it too in the car that night. When you came into the diner that Monday after Thanksgiving, I had just seen the photo in the newspaper and well…that’s why I was cold. I thought you had a girlfriend. I still thought you had a girlfriend up until you told me tonight, but for some reason—” I paused not knowing how to explain my sudden change of heart in that matter.

“So, wait, you kissed me thinking I had a girlfriend?” Cedric’s eyes turned dark again as he gave me a mischievous smile.

I felt flush and was sure my face was red. “I guess I did. But technically, you kissed me first.”

“You bad girl.”

“Cedric—”

“I’m just kidding, sweetheart,” Cedric said, squeezing my knee.

I shivered at his use of that term of endearment. We both laughed and he pulled me toward him and that turned into another round of passionate kissing.

I was on cloud nine after realizing that this man was available and had just confessed that he had been thinking about me, like I was thinking about him all of these weeks. I didn’t want to ruin this and if I continued to kiss him like this, it would certainly turn into more because I had very little willpower when it came to him.

So, I reluctantly pulled myself away from him.

“Cedric, I think we should take this slow,” my brain said, while my body swore at me, continuing to betray me, still rubbing against him.

He immediately stopped kissing me and placed his forehead on mine, closing his eyes. He said nothing, but I knew this meant he agreed if we kept kissing, there was no turning back. Our attraction was just too strong.

“I think I should go,” he said, still leaning against my forehead. “I don’t want to, but I need to.”

I instinctively looked down and