Chapter 21
Austin
Of course I’d followed Leah to go find Jeremy.
I knew exactly why he was freaking out, even though a small part of me was celebrating seeing just how upset he was over the whole thing, it really had been years.
It was true that I had trust issues because of it.
There was no telling when the next potential guy would up and disappear, so I never gave them the chance to get that close.
Jeremy still seemed stressed when we made our way back to the living room, so I trailed behind him to keep an eye on him. Leah didn’t seem to notice. She entered the living room first then quickly spun to face the two of us, a wicked smirk spreading across her face.
I couldn’t figure out what the hell she was doing until she blocked both me and Jeremy from entering the room.
“Nope. I can’t let you do that until you follow the rules.”
My eyebrows shot up in confusion, looking around, trying to figure out what the hell she was talking about.
She cackled, but Jeremy seemed just as lost.
When Leah pointed up, Jeremy and I looked, eyes landing on the sprig of mistletoe that hung over the arched entryway.
My eyes widened before my gaze snapped back to my sister because this was a terrible idea.
There would be no way that Leah wouldn’t be able to tell something more wasn’t going on.
Mostly because I didn’t know if I could kiss the guy and keep it simple.
Any time my lips met his, all I wanted to do was consume him.
Jeremy appeared to be having the same mental struggle as he shifted from side to side, his hands wringing in front of him. That was the other thing I loved so much about him being a redhead: he blushed so damn easily.
“Come on,” Leah goaded. While she probably thought she was only being silly, she had no idea just how big of a deal this really was.
I sighed heavily, turning to face Jeremy more completely. He still didn’t look all that comfortable, and I wouldn’t make him do anything he wasn’t ready to do.
“We don’t have to—”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just a silly tradition, right?”
I nodded, even though the words stung a little.
Leah was playing with our feelings and fire.
Not that she knew it. This would be fine.
We could put on a damn show to make my sister happy, it would mean more later.
I held onto that. Because even though I’d only ever been with Jeremy in private, those moments had meant absolutely everything to me.
We leaned toward each other, all I could do was watch the way Jeremy kept licking his lips. My heart beat erratically because of the nerves. It wasn’t like we hadn’t kissed before, but my sister didn’t know that. I’d wanted to keep it that way for now.
At first we bumped foreheads, sending us both into a fit of giggles.
It was so stupid how nervous we were, like we hadn’t just had each other’s cocks down our throats within the last few days.
While I was used to being out and open with my sexuality, Jeremy wasn’t.
No one should ever feel pressured to out themselves before they are ready, but at least my family knew.
That wasn’t an issue. It was still a big step to actively do something with the same gender in front of an audience.
Then it happened.
Everything seemed to freeze in place around us as. But Jeremy and I? It was like slow motion, as we steadily drifted toward each other until our lips met.In that moment I was completely fucked because I was right. There was no hope of keeping this to a simple kiss. Not where he was involved.
My hands framed his face as our lips pressed together harder. I wanted our skin to fuse together, never separating. When my fingers sifted through his red hair, I jumped back when I heard Leah gasp.
“What the hell was that?”
I blinked at my sister, too dumbstruck by the fact that I’d just kissed Jeremy in front of her, even if it had been at her insistence.
“You told us to kiss...” My words died off as I looked between Leah and Jeremy.
She huffed. “I did, but I didn’t tell you to make out with the guy, what the fuck, Austin.”
She stormed off and then up the stairs, stomping the entire way. The walls rattled when she slammed her door to her room.
Jeremy stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. I was torn about what to do. He’d clearly already been freaking out after our conversation at dinner now there was this.
Realistically, the best plan of action was to come clean to Leah. I owed it to her not to keep hiding things. The problem was getting Jeremy on board with things and whether he was ready for it or not.
Turned out I didn’t need to stress over that all that much.
“We should—we should tell her.”
I stared wide-eyed at him. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.” Jeremy straightened, rolling his shoulders back looking so damn sure of himself. If he had the confidence to do it now, I wouldn’t try to stop him, but Leah was clearly back to being very upset. Nevermind that I’d just been thinking the same damn thing.
Mom came out of the kitchen, looking at Jeremy and I still standing in the doorway. We probably looked stupid still clutching each other, but neither of us had bothered to move until we came to a decision about what to do with Leah.
“What’s going on out here?” You knew the moment the lightbulb went off as she continued to stare at us. Her arms were crossed over her chest. “What did you do, Austin?”
I huffed, finally letting go of Jeremy. “I didn’t do anything. She dared us and then got mad when she didn’t like what she saw.”
Mom raised her eyebrows, I got where she was coming from. Leah’s hurt was fresh, and here I was kissing her ex right in front of her. The smart thing would have been to refuse. I obviously wasn’t very smart when it came to Jeremy Praytor.
I grabbed Jeremy’s hand, not missing the way my mother watched us as I dragged him behind me up the stairs.
The closer we got to Leah’s room, the tenser he grew.
Maybe he’d been all talk after all. It was a huge deal to tell her about our past. Not to mention what we’d been up to the last couple of days since their split.
Leah had a right to be mad. I’d hidden this from her, much like she’d hidden Jeremy from me. It didn’t make it right, and we weren’t the siblings who did vindictive crap like that to each other.
We stood outside the door for a moment, my hand still tightly clutched in Jeremy’s. I leaned in close because we needed to discuss what we were going to say. How much she needed to know outside of the fact that he was the guy who broke my heart three years ago.