The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(32)
That was last week, though. I was fully prepared today. My emotions were reined in and I knew what to expect. I’d even read a couple of articles online on kissing in case my paltry experience wasn’t enough. There was tons of stuff on the Internet. Thank god I clicked off the monitor before Kimmy and Mom came in, or I would have had a lot of explaining to do.
I shifted my weight from my left foot to my right. “Are you sure this is a good spot?”
“Trust me. This is the best place for our performance. Everyone knows this is the prime spot to get some action. And since it’s behind the gym-room lockers, there’s barely any teachers around.”
“Hmm, I guess you would know.”
“You can bet your ass I would.” Evan slid down the locker until we were nearly eye to eye. “By the way, my mom wanted me to give you a basket of banana-apple muffins to bring home. Remember to get it from my trunk when I drop you off.”
“Oh yum.” I practically licked my lips at the thought. Every day, she gave Evan some new baked treat to bring me in case she didn’t come home in time to see us. I had already gained over four pounds in the past two days. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could have eaten it in the car.”
“Because I hate bananas. What if I tasted it during our kiss? I might throw up, and that would probably give people the wrong idea about you.”
I raised an eyebrow at his look of horror. “Oh please. You don’t see me complaining. I should have made you stop by the gas station so you could get some gum.”
“Oh, you definitely don’t have to worry. Carly gave me some. And I brushed extra long this morning for you.” His pearly smile almost made me believe him. He gave me a slow wink, and my stomach fluttered in response. “But seriously, are you ready to give the kissing performance of a lifetime? I don’t know how much experience you’ve had, but I have a reputation to maintain, so this has to look good. But then, you don’t need to worry,” he said as an afterthought.
“Why not?”
“Because you won’t need to act. I’m sure you’ll get too swept up in the moment to remember we’re just acting.” Evan let out a dramatic sigh. “I, however, will have to fake it the best I can.”
I knew what he was doing. He was trying to keep the mood light so I didn’t overthink this and get nervous. Too late. “Oh, just shut up and keep stretching.” I shoved the flash cards in my back pocket.
“No need. I’m done.” Evan straightened and motioned for me to come closer. I awkwardly placed both hands on his shoulders like we were ballroom dancing, and he smothered a laugh against his fist. “That’s good, but I think we might have to get a little closer than that. I mean, unless you plan to telepathically kiss me.”
“Ha-ha.” I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. In response, he looped both arms around my waist.
“Much, much better. All right, Operation Makeout is about to commence,” he whispered when his face was mere inches from mine. He brushed my bangs off my forehead and smirked. “Showtime.”
“God, Evan, did anyone ever tell you that you’re a master at turning a girl on?” I muttered right before his lips touched mine, making him laugh.
Despite all his big talk, Evan was holding back. His lips were against mine, but that was it. It was nice—much better than the handful of kisses I’d had before—but something was missing. Like he was afraid I would run away if he deepened the kiss. I was still tempted to run, but now that we were here, my perfectionist nature was demanding to take over. If we were doing this, then this better be the best display of kissing this school had ever seen.
Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer. His shoulders grew stiff beneath my forearms, but his lips pressed tightly against mine. I let out a soft sigh and touched the tip of my tongue against his. Evan sucked in a deep breath and hesitated for the barest of seconds before taking over. His mouth slanted open and over my own as his arms dropped down to my hips to hold me against his body, lifting me up. I had to tiptoe to stay on my feet. At least I think I did. I wasn’t really sure, since I could barely feel the ground. My legs had turned to jelly. Mush. Ice cream on a sunny, ninety-five-degree day.
Hmmm. This was more like it. The kiss was turning out pretty nice. Okay, if pretty nice meant awesome, blow-your-mind-out hot.
It was … god, like nothing I had ever imagined. I’d read about kisses like this in novels, but I never thought that it was possible. Nothing can make the world melt away and make you forget about everything and everyone except the person in front of you. The way he smelled. His muscles and warm skin pulsing beneath your fingertips. The softness of his hair as your fingers ran through it. And his lips, soft but impossibly hot without burning as they pressed against yours, opening and moving to massage, to kiss, to taste …
The first thought that popped in my head was that Evan wasn’t lying about his experience. In fact, he may have underplayed it. This was some damn kiss. And he didn’t lie about the brushing. He tasted nice and minty.
I don’t know how long the kiss was or how long it would have been if someone hadn’t bumped into Evan, making both of us stumble into the wall. My head would have smacked against the bulletin board if his hand hadn’t reached out to cradle it, blocking the impact.