He kissed her.
He did it right this time. Her lips were like warm honey, and he wanted to taste more of it. She stiffened a little when his mouth first found hers, but soon she relaxed and leaned into him. James pulled back, smiling at her and licking his lips before kissing her again. He dipped his tongue into her mouth, and oh gosh, she was wonderful. She stretched up, leaning into him, opening, clinging to him, giving him permission. For several slow rhythmic heartbeats, James kissed her properly. It was an open-mouthed kiss, but it was full of tenderness and restraint. James nearly shook with the effort of being gentle. He kissed her deeply, but he still held back. He was in love with Laney King. He was mad that Michael had been at her house, but even that seemed insignificant now.
It was on to other things. He wanted to claim her with his kiss—he wanted her to know she was his. He kissed her for a few more seconds of barely restrained passion before he made himself pull back.
Laney opened her eyes, blinking at him and taking a deep breath.
"Are you okay?" he said.
She smiled. "Yes," she whispered. Her eyes widened playfully. "I think so. Am I even alive right now?"
James leaned down and kissed her again, his mouth putting a quick stamp of a kiss on hers.
It was official—her kiss was necessary to him now. He felt urgent and impatient about it, like he needed to make sure he would always have this connection with her. They were both smiling when he pulled back.
"I can't take it," he said. "I'm going to worry about you. I hate him coming around like this. I have to know you're okay."
"I'm spending the night at Mom's, remember? You could follow me over there, but I'm fine."
"I mean period. Not just tonight. Like tomorrow, and the next night. What if he comes back?"
"Michael's harmless," she said.
"He didn't look harmless."
She gave him a little smile. "You had a gun in your back pocket just in case."
James reached behind him, taking the pistol out and placing it carefully on the counter next to them. He was happy it wasn't more of a confrontation, but the whole thing bugged him. Sitting in someone's car and telling them it smelled like them was just weird. He was annoyed by it, but Laney served as a good distraction. She wrapped her arms around his mid-section, holding onto him, burying her face in his chest. In small, soft, slow fluid motions, she rubbed her cheek lovingly against his chest, doting over him with much the same motion as a cat would make. Only it was Laney, and he felt like he wanted to burst from seeing her touch and love on him like that. He wanted her the very first time he saw her, and now, here she was, wanting him back. She really did want him. She wasn't being halfhearted or reluctant about it. She took pleasure in holding onto him and it made him feel like he could do something absolutely crazy like pick her up and spin her on his finger like a basketball. James wished they were married. He wished they could do the things married couples did.
"Come on, get your clothes, I'll follow you to your mom's," he said at the thought. He stepped back and let her go even though he wanted to do just the opposite.
"I have to feed Jimmy," she said, moving toward the kitchen. "Three flakes, like Evelyn told me."
Laney quickly fed the fish and gathered her things to go to her mom's.
James had planned on telling her goodnight in the driveway, but she invited him inside. Her dad, Nathaniel, was still up, sitting in the living room and watching television when they arrived. He stood up when they came in the door.
"Oh, hey, James."
"Hello, Mister King."
"Merry Christmas," Nathaniel said.
"Merry Christmas to you, too," James replied as they came inside. Laney kicked off her shoes at the door and then crossed the room with her things, stopping to give her dad a sideways hug with her hands full.
"Merry Christmas. You didn't have to wait up."
"Where did you guys go?"
"Jessica's. I won a Bible and James won a goldfish."
"A live goldfish?" Nathaniel looked around as if searching for it.
"We already dropped it off at my house," Laney said.
"Yeah, and Michael Elliott was over there," James said.
Laney glanced at James, smiling that he cared enough to announce it to her dad.
"Where was he?" Nathaniel asked, looking at Laney. "At your house?"
"Yes sir, he said he heard James was in town. He tried to tell me that James—" She cut off, shaking her head like it wasn't even worth repeating. "He tried to say it was James's fault that he cheated. It doesn't even matter. He left. It was no big deal. We just told him to leave."
They talked to Nathaniel for another minute before he excused himself and went into the bedroom. He and Nancy were both still awake, but it was quiet out in the living room. Laney moved around, getting things situated how she wanted them. One of the things she brought from her house was a small wrapped gift, and she went over to the Christmas tree and stashed it underneath.
"That's for you," she said.
She moved quickly, adjusting some pillows before turning on the television again and jogging back to where James was standing.
"You got me something?" James asked.
She nodded. "Yes. You don't get to open it until tomorrow, but it's something you'll like. I'm going to make us some hot chocolate," she added.
Laney was nervous and happy, and she was bouncing and scampering around like a little fairy. She turned and headed toward the kitchen, leaving James standing there.
"I'm coming with you," he said. He followed her and they went into the kitchen.
Laney put water in the kettle and scooped the right amount of cocoa into two mugs. James was leaning against the counter, and Laney went to stand beside him, close enough that her arm brushed against his. She was flirting, and it made his chest feel tight. He didn't want to go back to his life without her. He very much wanted to burn the ships.
"You'll love my hot chocolate," she said.
"I thought it was hard to get hot chocolate wrong," he said, teasing her and flirting back.
She shrugged. "Mine's still the best," she said. "It's the right proportions of the ingredients. And the right temperature."
"I'm sure I'll love it," he said.
Laney spent the next few minutes preparing their drinks. James watched her, thinking he wanted her to do this exact thing every year—make him a cup of hot chocolate on Christmas Eve for the rest of eternity. He wanted her to give him history lessons and laugh at his jokes.
Laney sat their mugs on the counter and stood beside him—close enough that she was nudging up next to him. She reached out and took a sip of her hot chocolate before setting it back on the counter. She continued moving, turning while tucking herself underneath his left arm. Laney positioned herself gloriously near his chest and came to a stop standing next to him, staring up at him. She gazed at him like she was in love, and James took a deep breath as he stared down at her.
Laney leaned up and put her sweet lips to his. She tasted like hot chocolate. James had just finished chewing a piece of peppermint gum, and the faint taste of those flavors mingling… it was intoxicating. Maybe it wasn't the taste, though. Maybe it was just Laney who was intoxicating.