Kiss Me at Midnight(14)
Author: Diane Alberts

She pressed her lips together. “Was it really so bad for you here, even after school? People grow up and change. I would think most of them would’ve done that. We have.”

He parked in front of The Candy Kitchen , then turned to her. “I wouldn’t know. I left and only come back for holidays.” He adjusted opened his door. “And I tend to avoid people I used to know when I’m here.”

“Then why did you tap on my shoulder?”

He closed the door and walked around the front of the truck, opening her door for her and offering his hand. “The truth?”

She slipped her hand into his and rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Why would I ask if I wanted a lie?”

“You can’t be mad at me, though.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, spit it out already, Pierce.”

“Fine.” He grinned. “I didn’t know it was you.”

“What?” She stopped walking, glaring up at him. “You mean you had no idea who I was, but wanted to buy me a drink anyway?”

“What can I say? You looked good from behind, too.” He entwined his fingers with hers, pulled her up against his body. “And also, you reminded me of you. I liked that.”

Her heart sped up at his words, but she ducked her head to hide her reaction from him. She didn’t even really know why it made her happy to hear he’d picked a girl out at a bar that reminded him of her…but it did. “Wow. Okay, then.”

“You can’t hold it against me,” he said, nudging her with his elbow. “You were there for the same reason I was. To find someone to bring home.”

“Well, if we’re being honest…” She bit her lip. “I might have heard you could be showing up at the bar,” she said in a rush. “So that might have made me come out last night.”

He stopped walking, his gaze latching with hers. The moonlight highlighted his face, and she ached to trace his sharp cheekbones with her thumbs. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” She lifted a shoulder, trying to play off the whole thing. “It’s nothing, really. I think we both wanted to get closure, you know? We didn’t have that before. But now we do.”

He dropped her hand, and for a second, she was hurt. But then he threw his arm around her shoulder and hugged her close, leading her further down the boardwalk. “You’re a special girl. You know that, right?”

Her cheeks heated up, but she snorted. “Of course I do. I mean, look at me. I’m the whole package, baby.”

“And so humble, too.”

She curtsied. “The humblest.”

“Shit.” He laughed and dragged a hand through his hair. When they reached Grotto’s Pizza , he stopped in front of the closed doors and stared at them, a far off look in his eyes. “It’s so weird being back here, walking down the boardwalk with you again. Talk about a f**king time capsule.”

“Yeah, but back then, we hadn’t seen each other naked.”

He grinned. “Oh, but I wished I had. Believe me.”

“You should have gotten the nerve to kiss me. I would’ve kissed you back.” She shrugged. “I might have even let you get to second base, if you were a good enough kisser.”

“Back then?” He rolled his eyes. “Doubtful. But then again, I didn’t turn men g*y with my dead fish lips, either.”

She gasped and punched his arm. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you that, you brat. I’ll kick your ass for that one.”

“All right, all right.” He laughed and backed away from her, his arms in the air. “That was a low blow, even for me. I’ll allow one punch, but no more.”

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “One more, to the gut. You owe me that.”

“I already let you hit me once.”

She took a step closer and punched her hand. “It wasn’t enough. I need a good shot.”

“It’s not my fault you totally blew your shot,” he said, his brow up. He took a big step back. “I shouldn’t be punished because you forgot how to punch me properly.”

“That’s it.”

She lunged forward, trying to grab him, but he ended up swinging her into his arms and over his shoulder. She hadn’t even seen him move, he’d been that fast.

“Now who’s lost her touch?” he taunted, slapping her ass with an open palm. “I might suck at bowling, but I obviously win at this.”

She squeezed her thighs together. That slap…ugh. It did bad things to her control.

“Fine. You win.” He fondled her butt one more time, then slowly lowered her to her feet, letting her body slide over his the whole way. When she was on solid ground, she smiled up at him. “But you forgot one thing.”

“Oh?” He cocked a brow. “What would that be?”

She sucker punched him, laughing when he doubled over. It hadn’t been a hard hit, but he’d always been overly dramatic when it came to stuff like this. “It’s not over till someone gets hurt.”

He leaned against the wall of Grotto’s, clutching his stomach. “Well, then, I think we’re good.”

“Oh, stop being such a baby,” she said, grinning. “Want me to kiss it with my dead fish lips and make it better?”

He peeked out of one eye. “That might help me.”

She crept closer, running her hands up his chest. “Hmm. Let’s see.”

She kissed his shoulder, then the spot directly over his nipple. When she ran her hands over his abs, caressing him under his sweater, he hissed and dropped his head back against the wall. “Shit, that feels good.”

“I know.” She pressed her body against his, rising up on tiptoe. “Believe me, I know.”

She kissed him, wrapping her arms behind his neck and pulling him down lower. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her so gently she almost couldn’t feel it, and slanted his head to deepen the kiss.

By the time she pulled back, she had forgotten they were outside on the boardwalk in the first place. It wasn’t until a gust of wind whipped her hair that she realized how cold it was getting. She stepped back and wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “You ready to head back to the truck? I’m freezing out here.”

“Sure thing.” He grinned and grabbed her hand, leading her back the way they’d come. “Know what? You’d like California.”

She glanced up at him, her heart skipping a beat. “What?”