Operation Prom Date (Tactics in Flirting, #1)(47)

The entire time Dad grumbled about how fast he could’ve flown there, while I gripped the handle over the window thinking we practically were flying.

No rainstorm stood in my way; no significant amount of miles. Nope, the only thing in my way now was me, and I wasn’t about to fail a mission now.

I had to do something to fix how awkward I’d been at the end of that date, and I needed to do it now, before I lost my nerve.

Even if it was drastic.

Even if it tested every boundary.

I scrolled through my contacts, found the one I was looking for, and called the number. “Can you meet me at the lake?” I asked as soon as he picked up.

“I’ll be right there.”





Chapter Twenty-Eight


Cooper


I paced the dock near my house, the wood creaking underneath my feet. The stars shone brightly through the cloudless sky, but I couldn’t concentrate on constellations right now.

Headlights cut through the dark, growing brighter and brighter, and I lifted a hand to shield my eyes. Dust swirled around the SUV as it came to a stop, and then Kate climbed out.

My heart caught, and it took every ounce of my willpower to not run over to her. After all, there could be a hundred reasons she needed to meet, and most likely none of them were the one I wanted. The one where she realized she was as crazy about me as I was her, and we could forget Pecker and the Operation and everyone else.

“I know it’s late,” she said as she approached. Dark gray eye shadow covered her lids, she had on pale pink lipstick, and her lacy white top exposed one shoulder, adding to the sweet yet not-that-sweet look that drove me crazy.

“It’s okay.”

She twisted one of her curls around her finger, frantic energy radiating off her in waves. “Did I wake you up? You sounded like I might’ve woken you up.”

I put my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Kate. I’m here now. What’s going on?”

“It’s really embarrassing, and now I’m rethinking it, and…” She glanced away. “It’s going to sound crazy…” She bit her lip, and my eyes focused there. “But then again…”

Her jitteriness transferred to me, stretching my nerves tight. I lifted one hand from her shoulder and cupped her chin, twisting her face back toward mine. “You know I’m here for you—no matter what it is. But I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“Tonight Mick took me to the movies. Then afterward, we were in his car, and… I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this…”

Ice coursed through my veins. If she talked about hooking up with Pecker, I was going to break something. His face might be a nice thing to start with.

“The last few times I’ve hung out with Mick, I’ve been sure that he’s going to kiss me… He leans in, and our lips will be so close to touching…”

Torture. Salt-on-an-open wound, burning, slicing torture.

“And I just freeze,” she said. “He senses it, because how could he not, and then things get awkward. Tonight I, like, slam kissed him. Even though our lips technically touched, it wasn’t even really a kiss. I freaked and bolted out of his truck as fast as I could.” That crinkle showed up in her forehead and her lips pressed into a tight line. “I think I blew it. I don’t think he’ll ever talk to me again—not unless I make the next move, and it’s got to be big.”

I sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Oh-kay.”

“Part of the problem is I get all psyched out because I start thinking about how many girls he’s kissed, and I only ever kissed one other boy, and it was horrible.”

“You’ve only kissed one guy?” I blurted out without thinking, but seriously, how could only one guy have kissed her? I’d wanted to kiss her from pretty much the first moment we started hanging out together.

“Yes, but focus on the right part. It was horrible. Not anything like the movies or TV shows, and I was so disappointed my first kiss was so dreadful. And I thought it was him—like he was all open mouth, fish lips coming at me. But lately, I wonder if it wasn’t me. Maybe I suck at kissing.”

Oxygen rushed into my lungs, but no air came out, they just inflated and inflated, to the point of being painful. As hard as I tried not to look at her lips again, my traitorous eyes dipped, and longing lanced my heart.

“See?” She curled her arms around herself. “You’re not saying anything, which means you know I’m right.”

“That’s not why I’m not saying anything. I don’t know what to say, but I know that you don’t suck at kissing.”

“How could you know that?”

“I just do,” I said, and I accidentally leaned closer, like her lips were magnetic and calling for me to test them out.

“I almost looked up tips the other night, but even the thought of it is mortifying…” Her cheeks blushed an adorable pink. “There is one other option I thought of.” She swallowed hard and looped a finger through her necklace, sending that hypnotizing charm in the center of it swinging back and forth. “I thought maybe, if I had someone teach me…? Someone I trusted…?”

Her words clicked into place. The way she looked at me, with a mix of pleading and worry, solidified it. She wanted me to teach her to kiss.