This is the first time I’ve seen him since the weekend.
Since the kiss.
Oh, God.
If my hands were free, I’d burrow my face in my palms, but this way I’ll have to be content with gripping the tray so hard my knuckles turn white.
It felt surreal.
The kiss.
The whole night really.
As if he can feel my eyes on him, Emmett lifts his head and looks right at me. His smile falls as his intense gaze zeroes in on me, making my whole body shiver.
I’m not sure what to expect or how to act. We texted a little on Sunday, but he told me he had to help his dad on the ranch and catch up on some homework afterward, and we never really discussed what comes next.
“Girl,” Becky drawls quietly. “I can feel the heat all the way over here.”
“You and me both,” I agree, sucking my lower lip between my teeth.
“Wait.” Becky stops and turns to look at me. Her eyes are so wide I’m surprised they don’t fall out of her eye sockets. “Did I miss something?”
I look away, feeling my cheeks heat.
“Oh, my God! I did miss something!”
“Shh, not so loud.” I look around and already find some people giving us curious glances, Rose and her friends included. “And definitely not here.”
“What happened?” Becky whisper-yells. She grabs my upper arm, her fingers digging into my skin. “I want to know. Now.”
“Becky,” I groan, my head falling back.
“Don’t you Becky me. The suspense is killing me.” She gives me a little shake. “Now spill.”
“We kissed,” I admit, my voice barely a whisper. “Teeny-tiny kiss. That’s it.”
There was nothing teeny-tiny about that kiss. I can still feel Emmett’s mouth on mine. The warmth of his body, the feel of his hands as he cradled my face, and his citrusy scent surrounding me.
I dreamed about kissing him, but nothing even came close to the real deal, and now that he kissed me, I can’t stop obsessing about it.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Becky squeals excitedly. “I knew it. I just knew it.”
I shush her once again. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Say what you want, but I called it!”
Her grin is so wide you’d think she won the lottery.
My gaze darts over her shoulder to Emmett. He’s leaning back in his chair, still watching us.
Watching me.
Maybe I won the lottery after all.
I shake my head to clear my mind and turn my attention to Becky. “Just stop it. Let’s not make it a bigger deal than it has to be.” I walk around her. “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”
Becky falls in step with me. “Mm-hmm, hungry, right. So, that’s what the kids call it these days.”
I glare at her over my shoulder. “Stop it,” I hiss quietly as she just grins. “God, why are we even friends?”
“Because I’m irresistible, and you love me.” She blows me a kiss as she takes her seat between Miguel and Nico.
“What were you guys talking about for so long?” Nico asks between bites.
“Girl stuff.”
Becky looks at me across the table, her brows lifted. See?
“What kind of girl stuff?” He frowns.
“Dude, do you seriously want to know?” Miguel asks, his mouth full.
Shaking my head, I walk around to the only available chair left that has somehow turned into my space. Right next to Emmett.
Warmth spreads through my cheeks as I walk right past him. “Hey,” I say softly.
“Hey back.”
I put my tray on the table, and I’m just about to sit down when hands sneak around my waist. I inhale sharply, and before I can blink, I’m sitting in Emmett’s lap, my back pressed to his chest.
“Emmett!” I protest, giggling as his mouth lands on my neck.
“That’s no way to greet your bae.”
“Bae?” I laugh and look over my shoulder at him. “Are you serious?”
“You’re damn right I’m serious.” His eyes fall down to my lips, staying there for a moment longer than necessary before looking back up. “I’m always serious when it comes to you, don’t you already know that?”
My tongue darts out, sliding over my lower lip. I want to feel his mouth on mine so badly it hurts.
“I think I’m starting to realize that,” I whisper back so only he can hear me.
This time, Emmett leans down, his mouth pressing against mine.
“Oh good,” John says dryly. “Now they’re finally together, and we won’t need to look at them throwing each other longing glances across the table. Instead, we get to look at them make out. No biggie, guys, you just carry on.”
Emmett pulls back, breaking the kiss. “Shut up, John,” he says, not moving his eyes from me.
The rest of lunch passes as it does every day. Well, except the fact that Emmett doesn’t let me take my chair, insisting I stay where I am―in his lap. The guys talk football, and Becky tells me how her mom wants them to go and buy a dress for homecoming, which she refuses since she doesn’t have a date.
When we’re done, we take our stuff and get out. Emmett grabs my hand as we walk together to our next class.
“I was thinking…” His voice trails off as he looks around. Then he pulls us under the stairs and away from the rest of the people still lingering in the hallways.
“About?”
“How about you come to my place tomorrow?”
I tilt my head back to look at him. “What for?”
“So, I can make good on my promise.”
“What…” I remember our conversation at the pond. “Ah. I’m not sure if that’s…”
“It’d be just the two of us,” he rushes out before I can protest. “I have the afternoon off, and this will probably be our last chance to do it before it gets too cold to swim.”
“You just want to get me out of my clothes.”
He grins unapologetically. “And if that’s the case?”
“I’ll think about it.” I shove him a little and continue to the classroom, but Emmett just laughs and falls in step with me soon enough.
“Always trying to keep me on my toes.”
“Not sure what you’re talking about.”
Emmett pulls me into his side just as we enter the classroom. “No worries, I like a good challenge.”
Chapter Twenty-One
EMMETT
“Isn’t the pond in that direction?” Kate asks, looking out the window as we pass by the narrow dirt road, that indeed, leads to the pond.
I give it a quick glance but don’t bother slowing down. “Sure is.”
“Aren’t we going there?”
“We are, but first we have to leave the truck at the house and change.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks redden. “Change. Right. I didn’t think about that.”
“What did you think? That we’d go skinny dipping?” I ask, grinning. I can’t help myself; I have to tease her. I love seeing her react. Her cheeks turn pink, lips parting slightly as her eyes grow wide.