Chapter Seventeen
Istared at my bracelet, feeling grateful.
With summer in full swing, everything was buzzing with excitement, and I don’t know how I would’ve handled all the energy without my dampener.
I supposed it had its positives. The best part, though, was the variety of restaurants, because my pretzels hadn’t even made a dent.
My stomach was left completely unimpressed.
There were so many couples walking around, laughing. It was fun and comforting knowing we were out here living like others our age. At least for the moment. The problems of the world would have to wait for tomorrow.
Kevin’s hand intertwined with mine as we made our way along the busy sidewalk. Was it me, or were his hands sweaty? Finally, a sign that he was feeling somewhat nervous too.
“Sorry we had to miss the scenic stroll before dinner,” he said.
“It’s fine. At least we’re not late.”
“Nope. Just on time.”
“Where are we eating, anyway?” I asked.
“I figured steak was a good bet for you, but if you want something else, like pizza, you know I’m in.”
“I mean, you went through the trouble of making a reservation.” I exaggerated a sigh. “I guess I can force myself to eat steak.”
“Yeah, besides, you don’t want to mess with the hostess’s list, do you? It’s probably filled with neatly checked-off names of people who showed up.”
That caught me off guard. “You joke, but that just made me anxious. I need to help them keep the order.”
“That’s what I thought. Let’s go endure their delicious food.”
“If we must.” I grinned.
We sat by the window. Outside, the sun was hitting the water just right, and I could hear the waves crashing in the distance. I couldn’t ask for a better backdrop. “This view is honestly so beautiful.”
“I agree.”
I turned to look at him and found him staring at me. “Oh, my God! You’re so cheesy! Can you look at the sunset? It’s such a pretty view, and you’re gonna miss it.”
“I’m looking at the only view I need.”
Cue blush. Because why not? “Are you actually going to use your clichéd lines on me? Let’s not forget I’ve seen you in action. I know all your playboy moves.”
Before he could answer, the server brought us the bottle of wine he’d ordered. After she left, Kevin reached out to hold my hand. “Don’t do that. Don’t minimize our moment. I’ve never said that to any other woman. Not even when I was being influenced.”
“Sorry, but I have seen you charm the ladies many, many times.”
“You and I have to be able to trust each other. We have so much history, there’s no other way. I promise you I’m in this for the long run. Hundo P.”
“Honda what? The car?”
He shook his head. “I heard people at the club talking like that. It means a hundred percent. Hundo P.”
I laughed. “Oh, I like that.”
“I know you’re afraid of messing up the friendship, but we’re already here and we both know we can be great.”
“I feel like you came here prepared with what you were gonna say.”
“Didn’t you? I mean, we’re talking years of friendship here! We can’t just mess it up on the first date.”
“Damn, no! I’m winging it.” I laughed and picked up the menu. “I think she’s coming for our order. We’ll start from scratch when she leaves, in a hundo P kinda way.”
“I don’t think you’re using that correctly.”
“Yeah, I don’t think you are either. Maybe you should ask your other Alexa for clarification.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, I love me my Alexas. Have you seen how sleek the other one is, though?”
“This is like the wrong time to be named Alexa. Shoot me now.”
I was laughing when the server reached our table with appetizers, but as charming as Kevin was, my heart was way more invested in food at the moment.
We hit the boardwalk after dinner. The air was still warm, but the breeze took the edge off. The whole thing felt too good to be true. Actually, I felt that way about the entire night. I just couldn’t believe I was on a date with Kevin.
“As I was saying earlier, you do have to trust that—”
“You know you talk too much, right?” I said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close. All this talking, all this dancing around what we both wanted, I just couldn’t take it anymore. Sometimes a girl had to take matters into her own hands, especially since this kiss was years overdue.
The moment our lips met, everything else faded away. This kiss. Our first real kiss. It was such a slow exploding bloom. Awkward. Sweet. Real. Full of every thought, nerves, and everything we’d never found the words to say. It wasn’t perfect, but it was ours.
My fingers curled in his hair as our lips moved softly, deepening fast, trying to match the frantic beat of my heart.
I melted into the warmth of his lips as his body heat pressed against mine.
He held me so tightly, almost as if he was afraid that I’d let go.
But I wouldn’t. How could I? It was Kevin.
His lips, his arms, his taste . . . him. He was my everything.
I heard someone laughing behind me, and I was reminded we were in the middle of the boardwalk.
Not many people were there, but I felt self-conscious just the same.
I pulled back slowly, leaving just the taste of him lingering on my tongue.
He kept his arms around me as I rested my head on his shoulder.
It was something I had done countless times, but this time it held much more meaning.
He kissed the top of my head and let go of me slightly. “You’re going to break my bones if you hug me any tighter.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I need to hug you because you’re actually here. In one piece.”
We stood there, holding onto each other, for a few minutes before he broke the silence once again.
“I’m not really complaining.” He tilted his head to look at me. “But is that a surprise for some reason?”
“Yes! I was so scared you wouldn’t make it out of the building that day. Then I was too busy merging the two Ryans and didn’t have time to fully appreciate that you were okay.”
“Well, not two Ryans. You were always the same person. You just had a little glitch with your memory there for a bit.”
“No, I still feel like I’m split into two. The Ryan who is in total control of every aspect of her life and the other one.”
“The Ryan who is full-on chaos.”
“That sounds about right.” I shrugged. “My new powers are so intense, I wanted to give in to them fully until I remembered everything. Then, after that, I wanted to hold back.”
“Well, that’s not an issue currently, since we can’t even use them. But we’re here now. Everything on the table. You and me.”
“Yes. But I have to admit, I was avoiding acknowledging my feelings for you. Is that bad?”
“Nah. It’s okay, Ry.” He took my hand and led us to a bench where we could sit. “You’ve been through a lot. And we have even more to deal with very soon.”
“I’ve kept all this inside me for so long. Giving in to you now . . . I don’t know if I can go back.”
He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and kept me close. “I don’t want you to. I don’t want us to ever go back.”
“Funny. It feels like it was just yesterday that you saw me as just one of the guys.”
“Speaking of, I’m still having a hard time dealing with Chris being older and more mature than us.”
“Well, more mature than you. He and I are probably on the same level.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that.” He laughed. “But you two are also the opposite now! He’s cautious and wants to hide. You’re embracing your newly found wildness and want to cause total chaos in this world.”
“Someone’s gotta do it.”
“But forget that tonight.” He lifted my chin with one hand as he leaned in closer. “I want to concentrate on us.”
I felt like I was a silly teenager hiding in the back of the movie theater, making out with my boyfriend.
I didn’t want it to stop, but it was getting late and we had to get back home before everyone worried.
As much as they’d want us to have our night, things weren’t really safe for us.
After all, there was always the balcony for some privacy.
As we walked back to the house, he started saying something a couple of times, then stopped. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, whatever it is you want to say, you need to spill it.”
“I don’t know how you’ll take it.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“I had a very realistic dream about us once. I was dating Gabby at the time, and it was the moment I started to notice how much I liked you.”
“Hmmm, what kind of dream?”
“I think you know what kind of dream. You wouldn’t happen to own a sexy little white lingerie set, would you? ’Cause that would be nice . . . at some point.”
“White, huh? Somehow, I’d have figured you’d want red.”
“Sure. Red is always welcome. You can’t ever go wrong with black. But after that dream, I’d say white is an amazing choice on those curves of yours.”
“Hey, so aren’t you, like, assuming a lot right now? We barely had our first date tonight, and you’re talking about lingerie?”
“Sorry. I got lost in the memory of that dream, and in the spirit of being honest, I thought I’d share.”
“It’s okay. I do have to tell you, though . . . that wasn’t a dream.”
“Wait, what?”
“You should see your face.” I laughed as we reached the house. “Hey, if you want. At some point. We can recreate it. In all the colors of lingerie you can think of.”
“You’re killing me!” He stopped and turned me around. “But I’ll hold you to it. All the colors, right?”
“We’ll see,” I said as he gently pressed me against the door before going into the house.
He leaned in and gave me a long, soft kiss as his hands rested on my hips. He pushed my hair aside as he moved on to my neck and alongside my shoulder and collarbone. The trace of his lips along my skin caused my body to tremble.
If anyone had told me I’d be making out with Kevin Pierce and giggling like a teen, hoping Annie and Nick didn’t hear us, I’d have laughed in their face.