I lean toward her as she rises up on her tiptoes, and together we close the gap between us. Our lips meet, and they sort of cling together. We both hold still, as if we’re stunned. She moves first, or maybe I do. But someone nudges someone else, and suddenly we’re exploring. Slowly. Carefully. Like we’re savoring a delicious bite of chocolate cake, letting the flavor infuse every one of our senses before we swallow it away. I realize somewhere in the back of my mind that we could have settled on a quick peck. It would have fulfilled the dare. But I wanted more, and amazingly, so did Poppy.
Still, we’re both tentative. A question and an answer with each pull and press. A wave of desire for this woman is rising up in me, filling my lungs until I’m sure I’ll suffocate.
Poppy takes her hands, which have been resting primly on my chest, and laces them behind my neck. She tugs me closer, deepening the kiss, and the dam in my chest breaks. I move my hands to her hips and hoist her up. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I slowly walk her backward to the rock wall. The kiss goes from basic chocolate cake to molten lava cake in no time at all, and I cannot get enough of the feel of her body pressed against mine. The way her lips simultaneously give and take, both following me and guiding me.
My hands are tied up with holding her steady—a job I’m taking very seriously because I do not want to break this kiss for anything. She’s using her freedom to explore my body to the fullest. Her hands dip down and rub over my shoulders. She stops to squeeze my biceps and then lets her fingers skim down along my sides. When they hit my belt line, she drags them back up, the hem of my shirt rising with the movement. For a second, her fingers are on my bare skin, and it might be my undoing. I growl, and she smiles against my mouth, innocently completing the path of her hands, bringing them back up to my neck where she starts to play with the hair at the nape. Every part of me that she’s touched is singed, and her soft, gentle caress is driving me crazy in the best possible way.
This is Poppy. And it’s like everything I knew and loved about this woman has been brought into acute focus. A dialed-in telescope on a breathtaking star.
The way she lives so fully is mirrored in the way she’s kissing me for all she’s worth. Poppy doesn’t hold back her feelings. She’s bold and vibrant and sparkling. All the time. For everyone. But right now, this is for me. Me. I’ve never been more grateful or more overwhelmed and in awe of a person—of a moment—before in my life. I don’t want to hold anything back from her either.
A firework explodes, and it takes me a moment to realize it was launched off behind me and the crackle and pop didn’t come from between Poppy and me.
Slowly, we pull back, the kissing cocoon we’ve woven around ourselves breaking open.
Poppy and I stare at each other for a long moment. I’m still holding her off the ground, and I can’t help it. I kiss the column of her neck before I set her on her own two feet.
She reaches up to touch her swollen lips as I use the pad of my thumb to brush a strand of hair off her forehead.
She keeps looking at me with those wide, doe eyes. “Wow, Big. I mean, wow. What was that?”
I chuckle, running a hand through my hair. “That was…”
“It was good, right? Good for you?”
I look at her, and…wait, is she still nervous? Can she possibly think that that wasn’t everything I have ever wanted in my life rolled up in one five-minute kiss?
I reach for her hand and squeeze it. “Boo. It was good.”
She nods, as if coming out of a daze. “But a terrible idea.” She blinks. “I’m leaving soon, and we’re friends.”
I can’t help it. I shake my head. “We’re not friends. Notjustfriends, Poppy.”
I use her whole name to show her I’m serious, and it does the trick.
Her eyes go wide. “B-but you don’t date anyone.” She pauses. “Right?”
“True. I haven’t dated anyone.” I make sure I’m looking at her when I say what I want to say next. “But you're not anyone, and I’d date you. In a heartbeat.”
“Big.”
I hold up my finger and press it against her lips. She closes her eyes and trembles at my touch.
“Stay.” The word comes out of my mouth like a prayer.
Her eyes pop open. “What?”
“Stay. Here. In Cashmere Cove.”
“I can’t.”
“You can.” I’m not sure where this is coming from—maybe it was her admission that she wanted to kiss me—but all of a sudden I can’t help but try to convince Poppy to stick around. It’s her own fault. She went and made me believe that I deserve to be happy. I’ll be happy if I’m with her. “I know it’s weird with Holland, and I know you might think your sisters need you,” I admit, “but I need you too, and I’m asking you to stay. For you. And me. Because we’re so much more than friends.”
She’s nibbling her lip, her eyes searching mine.
“You don’t have to say anything tonight,” I rush to say.
After a minute, she whispers, “I’ll think about it, okay?”
