He had a past, and yes, it wasn’t a great one, but that didn’t mean he was going to use her or hurt her. He wasn’t used to feeling this way.
Arriving at her home, he saw there were no cars in the driveway, meaning her parents weren’t home yet. He climbed out of his car and made his way to her front door. He knocked. As he did so, he couldn’t help but smile. He’d never gone to a girl’s door before. Damn, he’d never tried to date a girl before.
With Laylah, she was encouraging a whole lot of firsts for him.
Running fingers through his hair, he tried not to let the nerves get to him.
Seconds passed and finally the door opened.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
She hesitated for a second and then stood back, allowing him to enter.
He stepped inside her home and stared at her. It didn’t look like she’d been crying.
“I asked you to leave me alone,” she said.
“In my defense, I did.” He forced a laugh, but clearly, he wasn’t entertaining today. “And now I really want to talk to you.”
“You’re persistent, aren’t you?” she asked, closing the door behind him.
He went to touch his hair again, only to stop and drop his hand. “You didn’t immediately push me away.”
She folded her arms. “So?”
“The kiss. You didn’t push me away. A part of you must have liked it.”
Laylah shook her head. “Seriously, is that what you’re going to come up with? That some part of me should have liked it just because you’re you?”
“I know what I felt. You wanted me to kiss you.”
“Blue, I barely know you.”
“We’ve been going to the same school since kindergarten.”
“And that doesn’t actually mean I know you. This is ridiculous. I don’t know why you’re even here.”
He grabbed her arm, pulling her close. “I’m here because I felt your response and I know you want me, and badly, because it’s the same way I feel about you. I wanted that kiss. I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a long time, and I never thought I’d get the chance, but guess what, I finally did, and it was fucking glorious.”
“Blue?”
“What? You feel this. I know you do.” Her breaths had deepened. He refused to let her go.
She licked her lips, and he groaned. “Don’t do shit like that.”
“I … that was my first kiss, Blue,” she said.
He jerked back and she sighed. “See, you didn’t want to know that.” She brushed past him, and he stared at the space where she’d stood just moments ago.
“Wait a minute, that was your first kiss?” he asked, finally following her into the kitchen. He couldn’t believe it. There was no way that was her first kiss.
She opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. “Not all of us have a reputation for screwing the entire cheerleading squad.”
“Look, I will never touch any of them, ever again,” he said, putting his hand flat on the counter. “I was your first kiss.”
“The more you keep asking, the bigger the embarrassment, Blue. I don’t want to talk about this.” She unscrewed the bottle and took a large gulp.
He liked being her first. “Does that mean you’re a virgin?”
She spat out her water, quickly covering her mouth as she choked on some. “You can’t just randomly ask a girl that.”
“Why not? It’s a perfectly valid question.”
“It’s an unfair one.”
“Well, are you?”
“It’s none of your business.”
He wasn’t getting anywhere with her. “You know I’m not a virgin.”
“I know you’ve shacked up with half of the town.”
“Not half of them. Come on, tell me.”
She stared at him and finally shook her head. “Yes, fine. I’m a virgin, Blue. Most of my eighteen years have been spent hanging out with my friends, studying, and reading books. I’ve never had a boyfriend and kissing random strangers isn’t on my list of things to do before I grow up. You’re my first kiss, and the reason I slapped you was because…”
He waited.
Her answer seemed to stretch on.
“Even though I thought it was pretty great, I didn’t want my kiss to be in front of a bunch of our friends who will do nothing but point and gossip about it. I wanted my first to be … I don’t know, different.”
He closed the distance between them, which he seemed to be doing a great deal with her just lately. All he wanted was to be near her in any way that he could.
Cupping her face, he tilted her head back, pleased she didn’t try to fight him.
“Blue, you don’t have to do this.”
“I took your first kiss and I didn’t know it was your first time, otherwise, I would’ve done all of this differently. When it comes to you, I want everything to be perfect. You’re special, Laylah. You always will be. I’m sorry I messed it up, but allow me to make it all better now.”