The words fall heavy between us, and she clears her throat. “Not that I see you like a brother. Just an example.”
It lands deeper than I want to admit. I try to laugh, but it falls flat. “The guys don’t know it, but I had my housekeeper drop me off here in her car so no one will know I come from money. She’s the only kind soul in my house.”
Her thumb rubs over my knuckles. “They wouldn’t think less of you if you told them. But thank you for feeling comfortable enough to share it with me. I won’t say anything.”
I shift to face her more. “I could ask my dad to sponsor you. For next summer. He enjoys throwing money around. It’ll inflate his ego, so he’ll do it.”
Her brown eyes widen.
I clear my throat. “It wouldn’t be charity or anything like that,” I add. “You matter to me, Kie. I want to make sure we can come here for as long as possible, without your dad having to work hard.”
I shrug. My dad’s money is old money. He hasn’t ever had to work for it. Just maintain it.”
She stays quiet for a beat. “I’m not sure I could accept that. It’s a lot. But, thank you. For even thinking about it.”
The quiet settles between us, but it’s comfortable.
How do I move in to kiss her? What if she doesn’t want to kiss me? I have no idea how to go about this. I glance at her, then look away.
Frankie catches it.“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I drag a hand down my face. “I’ve never kissed anyone. I was trying to be smooth about it, but I think I already screwed up the moment.”
She shifts closer. “You didn’t screw it up.”
Her hand lets go of mine and moves to my knee.She leans in.
I meet her halfway.
My pulse kicks up so loud it drowns out the cicadas. Her fingers trail along my cheek, then under my ear. As her lips brush over mine, that’s all it takes to melt my hesitation and I press into her more. Our lips move together.
We find rhythm as one of us presses forward, the other pulls back, and soon it becomes easy to tell what my next move should be. Her lips part and I can taste the sugar still on her tongue.
The others had said kissing her was otherworldly, but now I get it. If I didn’t need air, there’s no way I would be stopping. Pulling back, I break the kiss and lean my forehead into hers as I keep my eyes closed and savor this moment. This is the best night of my life.
We alternate between kissing and taking small breaks until her phone vibrates in her back pocket. She pulls it out. It’s an alarm going off to let us know it’s midnight.
My throat feels tight as I clear it. “We should probably head back. Or we won’t be able to smoke everyone else during morning runs.”
She laughs. “I do love winning, not that a bunch of tired teenagers are trying to beat our group. Still nice to get the lead.”
I put her snacks back in my bag, and we climb down. I go last. She uses her flashlight to light the path. We keep an ear out for counselors who may be up still, but it’s doubtful. They already counted us for our cabins, so they have no reason to be looking for wayward campers. At least not for us.
Her fingers link with mine again as we walk, and all too soon we stand in front of her cabin. I reach into my bag and pull out her snacks, handing them over to her. Cradling her chin between my finger and thumb, I lean down to kiss her again.
She stands on her toes to press her lips more into me. After a second, we pull apart and she smiles as she places her hand on the knob. “Night, Lo. I’ll see you and the others in the morning.”
I can’t help but lick my lips. I must be grinning like a punch-drunk fool. “Night, Kie. See you in the morning.”
Frankie disappears into the dark cabin. I’m so glad I asked her out tonight. It was everything I hoped it would be.
Hopefully Wes’s mom was able to come through with sending us the gift we got her. We’ll see if he gets it in tomorrow’s mail.
Present Day…
My eyes open from a dream about the first time we kissed. I would trade all of my inheritance if I could have another chance to makeout with her like we did over that next week leading up to the dance. Any chance we got, one of us was kissing her. It was the best week of my life.
It takes me a second to realize why I’m awake. My instincts are on full-alert.
