I Never Planned on You (I Never 1)

She covers her mouth after taking a second bite. “Well…are you going to taste it or what?” I nod and take a bite. Holy fucking shit, they do taste as delicious as they smell.

“Fuck yeah!” I shove the rest of my half in my mouth and reach out and pick Dani up. She yelps as I spin her around. When I set her down, she looks more nervous than ever.

“Sorry, I just got so excited that it didn’t turn out like shit. Guess I earned another lesson now with that lasagna, huh?”

She diverts her eyes and blushes, her cheeks now the rosiest shade of pink. As she looks down at the floor, I see there is a drop of icing left on her lips. “You got a little something right…” I drag my thumb across her bottom lip to get the icing at the same time as her tongue slides out to clean it off. The tip of her tongue grazes my thumb, and I am instantly aroused. Her eyes meet mine as she closes her lips around my thumb and sucks the spare icing that I had gotten. Her blue eyes darken like I have never seen them before. The way she’s looking at me, I would say she wants me to kiss her, but maybe I’m just reading the signs wrong. Once this happens, there is no going back.

I can feel her breathing change, and her eyes move from my eyes to my lips a few times. Okay, yes, she definitely wants me to kiss her. We could cut the sexual tension in the room with a knife. Should I? Is she ready for that? Fuck, why am I having an argument with myself instead of making a move?

She doesn’t move away as I place my hand on her hip to keep her steady.

“Tell me to stop,” I tell her as I slowly close the distance between us. She doesn’t say anything, so as I take her cheek in my hand and brush her soft skin, I say against her lips, “Dani, I’m gonna kiss you now. Tell me if you want me to stop.” Shit, please don’t tell me to stop. She wets her lips instead of saying no, so I gently press my lips to hers.

I can feel her hesitate at first as I kiss her, but then she kisses me back. As I lick her lips, she opens for me, and I explore her mouth with my tongue. She tastes sweet and I already know I won’t be able to get enough of her.

The kiss starts innocent but quickly becomes heated. I increase the pressure as her hands grip my hips, and walk her backward a few steps, my hands never leaving her body, until she’s leaning up against the island. I place my hands behind her thighs and lift her up onto it.

I spread her legs to stand between them while she sits on the counter. My hands slide up her thighs and come around to her ass and pull her toward me. As if on instinct, her legs wrap around me. Holy fuck, is this real?

I kiss her as if I’ll never get to kiss her again, and who knows, this might just be a moment of weakness and I will in fact never get to kiss her or touch her again. She suddenly pulls back, completely out of breath. Her eyes look different, but I can’t clearly make out what she might be thinking.

It’s not just sadness in her eyes…it’s something else.

Holy fucking shit! I must be dreaming. That was…that was…wow! I am at a loss for words. I go to open my mouth to speak but close it for the words haven’t come together yet as to what I want to say. Part of me wants to slap him for doing that, but more importantly, I think I want to do it again. I avoid looking in his eyes and hop off the counter. We are still only standing inches away from each other, and I am tempted to jump into his arms, wrap my legs around him, and beg him to take me to bed.

What was I thinking? I can’t do this again. People date and fall in love and then get their heart broken. It’s not like it happens on purpose—I mean, sometimes it does, but in my case it wasn’t.

The words finally hit my brain moments later and connect to my mouth. “I…I… Ummm…I should go.” I point toward my bedroom. “To bed. Early morning tomorrow and all.”

He’s just staring at me. I can’t read his expression. Maybe he regrets it or maybe he doesn’t—either way, I need to get out of here like now. Leaving the house would be too obvious, so retreating to my room will have to do even though he is just in the room next door.

Kyler nods. “Yeah, sure. I’ll finish cleaning everything up here and see you in the morning.”

I smile at him before turning to leave the kitchen, but stop when Kyler says, “Hey, Dani.” I turn around, and he closes the distance between us. I look up at him, getting lost in those chocolate eyes.

“I just wanted to say thanks for tonight and for asking me to go tomorrow.” Oh crap. Right. I asked him to go with us to brunch. Act cool, Dani. That kiss is messing with my head. It’s not like it was just a few hours ago that I had asked him. His eyes move back and forth between my eyes and lips. Is he going to kiss me again? Do I want him to kiss me again? He leans forward, and I close my eyes. He presses his lips to my forehead, lingering just a moment before he smiles. “Good night.”

I open my mouth to respond, but he has already turned around.

I take a deep breath, run to my room, and quietly close the door. I slide down to the floor and let out a slow breath. Would it be so bad to kiss him a

gain? To want to be in his arms?

Shaking those thoughts off, I pull my knees to my chest and lay my head on my elbows that are wrapped around my knees. Fuck, I’m in trouble because my mind is on overdrive thinking about Kyler Lawson, my brother’s best friend…again.

K yler offered to drive us to my parents’ this morning for brunch, which I was fine with. When I mentioned to Zach and Haylee this morning that I had invited Kyler to join us, they seemed a little confused and gave each other a weird look before shrugging it off. I think everyone expected me to fake sick and cancel last minute, not invite someone to join us. I promised myself that I needed to do this. I have to see my parents. It’s time.

But even though it’s time, it doesn’t mean I’m not terrified at the moment. Zach is sitting up front with Kyler, and Haylee joined me in the back. The giant Toyota Tundra that I saw in the driveway when I arrived, in fact, belongs to Kyler. For being a truck, the back seat is pretty spacious and comfortable. For most of the ride to my parents’ house, I keep to myself, looking out the window at the passing scenery, tuning the conversations between Zach and Haylee and Zach and Kyler in and out. Living outside the city shortens our drive back by about thirty minutes. There are times I look away from the window or up from my hands wrestling each other with nerves and my eyes meet Kyler’s in the rearview mirror. He doesn’t say anything, just looks away or gives me a brief smile.

I am completely lost in my thoughts of being back home, of seeing my parents and the Hankses for the first time in four years, to realize we have reached our exit on 50. Haylee reaches over as we turn into the driveway and squeezes my wrist, giving me a reassuring smile that lets me know it will all be okay. But will it? Kyler parks his truck in my parents’ driveway, and I take a deep breath, looking out the window at the house I grew up in. Now or never, I say over and over, knowing that never isn’t really an option, at least not for me. I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans and pull on the door handle to exit the vehicle.

Zach looks at me with concern as I walk around the truck to where everyone else stands.

I shake my head. “It’ll be fine. Let’s go.” I’m not sure if I say that more to reassure myself than anyone else.

In front of me, not only do I see the house that I grew up in, but I see all the memories surrounding my life with Emmett. Walking up the front steps, I see the porch swing where we made plans for the future, our future together.

Zach walks through the front door without ringing the doorbell. I’m still staring at the porch swing when Kyler touches my elbow and asks, “You coming?”