Dear Heart, I Hate You

“Do you have any free time?”

“I do, actually. We have activities and presentations, but I don’t have to go to every single one. And all of our evenings are free. Why, Cal, what are you thinking?”

I’d sensed the wheels turning in his head and kept it light, asking my question in a teasing tone. I hoped he wanted to spend more time with me too.

Cal’s voice lowered a little, turning husky as he said, “I’d like to see you again.”

Heart, meet floor. Floor, meet my heart.

“That can maybe be arranged,” I said while I tried not to smile like an idiot.

“Maybe?” He leaned in close, his gaze pinned to mine. “Tell me what I have to do to convince you.”

“Kiss me,” I blurted before I could stop myself. I blamed my forwardness on his lips—they’d turned me stupid.

Without another word, he slipped his hand behind my neck and held me tight as his mouth drifted closer to mine.

Shit, was he really going to do it here, in front of his coworkers and my new friend from the conference? The words had just slipped from my mouth before I’d thought it through, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him if he was going to give me a kiss, even if we were in public.

When Cal’s lips touched mine, my brain stopped all rational thought. Those lips were so soft. And warm. Our mouths opened and his tongue brushed against my bottom lip, making me moan into him.

The sound of cheers and whoops broke through our haze, making us abruptly pull away from each other. If looks could kill, I would have murdered both Charles and Simeon on the spot for breaking up that epic first kiss

“So I win, right?” Cal said to me with a satisfied smirk.

Oh no, buddy, my fuzzy brain insisted. I think I’m the winner here.

“Yeah,” I said on a long breath. “You win.”

“You owe me, Cal,” Charles said from across the table.

Cal turned away to scowl at him. “Owe you for what? You’re lucky I don’t hit you for trying to ruin my kiss.”

“Simeon wanted to record that and post it online.”

“Do that and I really will hit you,” Cal growled out.

Simeon’s eyes grew wide as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. “I would never really do it.”

“That was hot,” Robin said, breaking the tension, and I laughed when I saw the look on her face. “Seriously. That was . . . whew.” She rolled her eyes and fanned herself with one hand.

My cheeks heated as embarrassment rushed through me. I didn’t normally put on a show with guys I’d just met, but Cal had me doing and feeling all sorts of things out of character for me tonight.

A chair squeaked across the floor as Cal pushed to his feet. With his hand extended toward me, he asked loud enough for everyone to hear, “Can I have your hand?”

“Yes?”

I gave him a confused look as I accepted his hand. Smiling, he tugged me to my feet.

It was the first time we’d stood since we met, and I realized that before now, I had no idea how tall Cal was. He stood more than a handful of inches above my five feet six inches; not over six feet tall, that I could tell, but he was close enough. Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if we were the same height at this point. My attraction for him had nothing to do with his ability to tower over me or not. Cal was all man, no matter his height.

“Dance with me?”

“Really?” I glanced back to see our tablemates all grinning at us, and then looked up at Cal. “Sure.”

He spun me around once, his hand firmly gripping mine as he twirled me twice more. Then he led me away from the table and before I knew it, we rounded a corner and disappeared from their view.

I had no idea where we were going, but part of me didn’t care. Cal had me all caught up in the adventure of it, and for once in my life, I went with it, enjoying the rush.