Blind Kiss(66)

Walking up to them, I noticed Masen froze while she kept dancing with her arms slung around his neck.

“Penny, let’s go,” I said.

“No.” She didn’t look at me when she said it.

“Penny, come on, I have something to show you.”

She stopped and turned with her hand on her hip. “Are you joking?”

“No, come outside with me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

We walked out of the bar and then I yanked her around the corner into a little alleyway. “Let’s go home. You’ve had a lot to drink.”

“I’m fine. I thought you had something to show me?”

“Yeah, that wall. Isn’t that mural cool?”

She turned to look. “I guess. What is it?”

“It’s a Will Ryan Band album cover.” The cover is a painting of his wife, Mia, I think.” It’s her back as she’s walking into a lake wearing a long flowing white dress. Some fan must have re-created it here.

“I love the Will Ryan Band.”

“I know.” I was staring at her as she looked up at me, questioningly. She still intrigued me so much. Her dark-chocolate eyes and chocolate hair. Beautiful.

“So is that it? That’s what you wanted to show me?”

“Just be quiet.” I gripped the back of her neck and kissed her. She opened to me immediately, like we kissed every day. I pulled away. Her eyes were open wide. We were both breathing hard.

“Again,” she said breathlessly. I pushed her against the wall and kissed her harder. Everything came back. All the youthful feelings, the blind kiss. It was happening all over again.

“You taste so good . . . you feel so good,” I said.

“Again,” she begged. I kissed her with even more force, our tongues twisting. One hand went to her bare back and the other moved from her neck to cup her breast over the sheer material of her dress. I felt her hardened nipple. “God,” she moaned, and crashed her lips back into mine.

I moved her hand over my beating heart and pulled her toward me, her body completely flush with mine.

Suddenly, she pushed my chest away, forcing me to stumble back. “What are you doing?!” she shouted.

“What?” I said.

“I’m still married, Gavin. What are you doing?”

I looked around, confused. “You kept saying again.”

She started crying.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I felt horrible. She looked so confused. “I’m sorry, P. Come here.”

“No. Why’d you do it?”

My chest started to hurt. “I . . . I did it because you were flirting with Masen. I hate-kissed you for being a flirt.”

“Hate-kissed? You’re insane. I feel so guilty now.”

“So do I. I’m still with Briel, too, you know.”

“Really?” she said, like it was the most preposterous thing she’d ever heard. Shaking her head, she turned and started to walk away. I grabbed her by the elbow, swung her around, and threw her over my shoulder.

“Stop! I have a dress on. Put me down!”

“No one’s looking! It’s after midnight. I’m taking you home.”


ONCE WE GOT to my apartment, I tossed her on the bed. “You can sleep here, you little tease. I’ll go torture myself on the tiny couch.”

“You can sleep in here, Gavin,” she said, without hesitation.

“Trust me, you’ll hate the couch; you can feel the springs poking you in the back while you sleep. I don’t want to listen to you bitch about it in the morning.”

Pulling her dress over her head and slipping under the covers in just her underwear, she said, “I mean, you can sleep in here with me. But we can’t fool around.”

I had seen her naked a million times, but never after I had just made out with her. The blood from my brain was traveling southbound.

Even after giving birth to a nine-pound baby, and the years she’d spent out of practice, Penny still had a dancer’s body, long and lean.

“Sleeping next to your mostly naked body wouldn’t be torture at all.”

“Suit yourself,” she mumbled. “Just grab me a T-shirt, please.”

I threw her a Pixies T-shirt from my closet and she pulled it on, jumped out of bed, and went to the bathroom.

When she was done, she announced, “It’s all yours. I used your toothbrush for old times’ sake.”

“Penny?”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I don’t want it to change anything. I fucked up by confusing you even more. I know you were just in the moment. You never would’ve wanted that if you weren’t all mixed up over Lance.”

“Gavin . . .” She reached up and put her hands on my stubbly jaw, running them up and down. Her eyes searched mine. “I was in the moment because I’ve never been kissed like that by anyone but you.” Her eyes welled up. “It’s too soon, and yes, too confusing. I don’t want anything to change between us, either. I’m afraid of what could happen to us. I love you, you’re my best friend, and I don’t want you to let this go to your already-giant head, but you know I’ve always been attracted to you. But I can’t do this right now.”