Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(15)

I tried, but I was as stiff as a board when his mouth met mine again. He tasted like spearmint and cigarettes, but his hands were gentle as one held my chin and the other glided through my hair to the back of my head. Slowly, with the soft press of his lips on mine and the gentle exploration of their shape, my limbs loosened.

“Open,” he whispered, his voice threaded, rougher.

I did, expecting the invasion of his tongue, but the velvet feel of it only traced the inner edges of my mouth.

Out of all the things I’d expected to feel when he’d suggested this crazy idea, it wasn’t relaxed, and it certainly wasn’t the buzzing sensation currently warming my insides.

“This isn’t so bad,” I said when he pulled back, my voice a low exhalation.

“Good. Now repeat the same to me.” My eyes were about to spring open, but he growled. “Keep them closed. Don’t think, just do and feel.”

Drawing in a quick breath through my nose, I found his stubble-coated cheeks with my hands and lifted myself on my toes. I tried to do the same thing he did to me, but my tongue plunged deeper, meeting the warm softness of his. I licked it, stroking cautiously until I heard him hum, the sound vibrating up his throat and causing our lips to mash together.

His hands became firmer around my head, his tongue greedier, sweeping inside my mouth before my teeth found purchase on his plump bottom lip, and pulled.

He groaned, and it had me staggering back, my heart racing and my breath an unsteady, embarrassing sound.

Dash swallowed, then cleared his throat as he shifted on his feet. His eyes met mine, and I looked away, down to where my mint green toes were curling over the abrasive fabric of my rug.

Awkward. This was so awkward, and I prayed we hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

“So that’s how it’s done.” He grabbed the TV remote and plopped onto my bed. “Got any popcorn?”

I shook my head. “Wait, that’s um, it?”

He started flicking through Netflix. “Well, yeah. Not much else to it. We can practice again before your date if you want, but I’m fucking starving, and we need to re-watch the last season of GoT before the new one is out.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, remembering I’d promised him that weeks ago. Hungry myself, I stepped outside, then scowled at him from the doorway. “Don’t put your socks near my pillow.”

He grumbled but shifted and moved over to the other side of the bed.





Peggy



“Wear the blue dress. I haven’t seen you in a dress in so long.”

I flicked through my hangers, my finger traipsing over the rainbow kaleidoscope of tulle, satin, denim, and frills. My skirts. My favorites. My true loves.

“No offense, Mom, but when did you even get in here?” She must have snuck in while I was distracted.

“Oh, just a minute ago.”

“She’s right,” Daphne said. “You’re always in skirts and those god-awful boots.”

My hands landed on my hips, and I spun around to glare at her. “They’re not awful. Mind your manners.”

She licked her teeth, inspecting her nails. “Just saying. You have great ankles. You should show them off.”

“I can’t walk in heels. I’ll fall flat on my face.” Forgetting my mom was there, I tacked on, “I’ve already embarrassed myself enough in front of this guy.”

“What? When?”

“Shit.”

“Manners,” Daphne said with a curl to her glossed lips.

I flipped her off, then tugged the stupid royal blue dress off the hanger.

“At the party,” I said when Mom’s eyes kept bouncing back and forth between us.

“What happened?” She paused. “Oh, God. You came home early.” Panic struck her features, pinching at the fine lines around her eyes. “Why didn’t you talk to me?”

I pulled my extra-long men’s T-shirt off, then struggled into the constricting fabric of the dress. “It’s fine, really.”

Daphne laughed. “Really, it’s classic. She freaking sneezed in his face when he went to kiss her.”

“It wasn’t in his face,” I said, huffing.

Mom snorted, waving her hands in front of her eyes as she tried to keep from laughing. She failed, and I glared at her when she finally gave in and set it free.

“Sorry,” she wheezed, wiping beneath her eyes. “That’s terrible, Pegs, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve heard worse.”

“Like what?” I didn’t believe her, but I was desperate to.

Her lips pursed and so did Daphne’s as they both tried to think of something.

“Ugh.” I pulled at the skintight bodice that fanned into a flowing skirt at my hips. “I hate you both.”

“Is this sneeze why you’ve been moping around?” Mom asked. “I thought you had your period.”

“I did. Double whammy.” I moved to the mirror, inspecting my hair which I’d blown out, then grabbed some vanilla lip balm and smeared an extra layer on.

“Lord.” Mom fussed with the books on my nightstand, most of them Dash’s, and wound up the cords dangling from the controllers Dash and I had left out yesterday.

There’d been no more practice since earlier this week, and I was glad. I wasn’t exactly confident that I was an awesome kisser, but I did feel better knowing what to expect. Warmth. Lots of warmth. A little wetness and loss of breath. Remembering caused my cheeks to burn, so I snuffed the memory.