7. Party Bus #2
The firm muscles of his biceps and forearms fill my gaze. I shut my eyes only for his cologne to replace them. It’s nothing heavy like most guys go for. There’s a light, clean scent mixed with a rich scent that’s probably all his own. “A horde? Really?”
“You didn’t answer my question. Are you offering to be one of them?” He leans even closer.
“No.”
“Then, no, I’m not interested in being molested by a horde of drunk women. Even if they’re beautiful.”
Why don’t I believe him? Because that smirk under the stubble is sexy enough to have Winnie stumbling over her feet. “There’s only one way I can protect you.”
“Really?” He doesn’t seem to believe me.
Would I believe myself?
Probably not. “Really. But you aren’t going to like the way I do it.”
“Try me.”
Why did they even come up with this Kissing Pact?
“What Kissing Pact?”
No.
No, I didn’t say that out loud, but obviously I did. “It’s nothing.”
“Oh, that’s definitely something.”
It is, but there’s no way I’m explaining it to you without dying of embarrassment. “Not that you need to know. Do you want me to help you or not, because I’m just as happy walking away and leaving you to the wolves…have you met Winnie?”
Every man in the bar that night saw Winnie. She’s a force of nature. One I don’t want to roll over and decimate me. “How can you protect me?”
So this hot biker guy has met her. “Don’t you guys have a bro code or something where if one of you kisses a girl, no one else can?”
He nods.
“Then all I need to do is kiss you, and you’re safe.”
“You’re going to kiss me?”
Why did those words make my knees weak? “Only if you want me to. Consent is a real thing, even for guys.”
“Hmm…you or the scary horde? That is a hard decision.”
Whatever. It was a stupid idea. I turn to walk away, and a hand snakes around my waist, twisting me around like some fancy dancer until I’m eye to eye with a total stranger.
“I choose you.”
WHAT?
“Please provide me with protection.”
“You think you’re funny.”
“I am. And you’re cute over there squirming. You didn’t expect me to say yes, did you?”
Expect? I had no idea I was even going to suggest it. “No.”
“You can always walk away and leave me to the wolves.” His lips tip up into a lopsided grin.
“They are very scary.”
He pulls me in even closer.
“There’s only one problem.” Other than the fact that I want to both kiss him and run away at the same time. There’s also his hand burning through the clothes at my waist…I should have an alien who sets fire to clothes just by touching them…That would be spicy.
“And problems make you laugh to yourself.”
How do I explain the inexplicable? “My grandmother gave me a rule once when I was a teenager, and I’ve lived by that rule my entire life.” That might be because the only boy I almost kissed turned out to be a jerk, but this guy doesn’t need to know that.
“Grandmothers can make some interesting rules.”
“She told me never to kiss a boy if I didn’t know his name.”
He slides his hand farther around my back and pulls me closer so that I can feel every breath he takes. “My friends call me Fly.”
“But that isn’t your real name.”
“It’s more real than any other name.”
There’s pain in his voice. His name is tied to a story. One he isn’t going to share with a random stranger.
“Is that good enough for your grandmother? Or shall I face the firing squad?”
Would it be? “No. She’d completely disapprove. But I don’t care. It’s nice to meet you, Fly.”
He tips his head to the side and stares at me for a long moment. “Are you going to tell me your name, or are you the type of girl to kiss and run?”
Hmm. “I think I might be.”
“Good to know.” His other hand moves to my face.
“We should probably get this done before my friends come looking for me.” Or I lose my nerve and run away. That’s sounding like a better idea with every second that passes.
“I’m ready to be saved when you are.”
“Make sure when you tell the tale of the kiss that saved your life, it gets bigger with each retelling.”
“Noted. By the time the story gets around, you’ll be a princess from a foreign land who came in search of her prince only to find me and save me with her kiss. I’ll make sure it’s a passionate one that would never be forgotten.”
“Maybe I should call you Prince Charming instead of Fly. But the only problem with that is I haven’t kissed enough toads yet.”
His rough laughter comes from deep down in his soul.
“Though, to be fair, I don’t want to risk the toads catching the fly first.” I push up onto my tiptoes and set my lips on his.
Fly has a sweet tooth. The scruff on his cheeks tickles mine.
But none of those things distract from the fact that the hand wrapped around my waist turned to a band of steel, locking me to him like I am the only lifeline keeping him from expiring.
The problem is, if he lets me go, I might be the one who’s unable to survive without him. How can one kiss make me feel desperately needy and wildly alive at the same time?
A woman doesn’t need to breathe if she’s being kissed like this, and she certainly doesn’t need to think about the fact that this kiss has gone way beyond the point of protection and into the stage where you begin to wonder if you ever want to come up for air ever again.
As his lips move away from mine, I know without a doubt that I didn’t.
“Do you think one is enough to fully ensure my safety?”
One will never be enough. “It will have to do. I need to go meet my friends.”
“Until we meet again.”
Who says stuff like that? And why can’t I wait until the next time?
There won’t be a next time. I’m not kissing that man again.
He takes the granola bar out of my fingers and bites a piece off of it.
Like the coward I am, I race away before I can turn around and kiss him again.
Most of the group is standing near the bus when I get there, completely out of breath.
“There you are. We were going to send out a rescue party. Is everything okay?” Dahlia stops and stares at me. “You kissed someone. You actually kissed someone. I was sure you were just going to ignore the whole Kissing Pact.”
I was. I should have. “Did anyone else do it?”
“Oh yeah.” Dahlia nods toward the others who are approaching us. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”