“What?” I rear my head back. He catches it in his palm and slides his hand down to the nape of my neck. His fingers weave in between my hair. “Why would you want to do that? You didn’t even want me there.”
The flash of the camera goes off momentarily blinding me. “I don’t know what gave you that idea. I wanted you there.”
“But you were mad when I ruined your party.”
“I was mad at all my so-called friends for laughing at you and making you upset.” His hand grips me tighter, pulling me an inch closer to him.
“So when you said‘I guess you can come if you want’while you and Nash were planning the party…”
Koa drops his head. “I never should have said that. I was trying hard to not be obvious in front of Nash. I went to bed praying every night that you would be there.”
“I see.”
“I don’t think you do. Not yet, but I’m going to show you. I’m going to show you everything if you’ll let me. Whoever this other guy is…”
“I’m not really thinking about him right now,” Iadmit.
“That’s good to hear.” He smirks, dropping his hand to my leg. “We only have a few photos left. We better make them count.”
“Are you going to smile this time?”
He shakes his head. “I’m going to kiss you this time.” He leans closer. Any oxygen left in the tiny booth is gone now.
“You’ve kissed me before,” I say, flicking my tongue over my lips.
“I’ve never kissed you the way I wanted to.” His breath tickles my nose.
“And how’s that?” I can barely form the words, it’s so hard to breathe.
“Like you’re mine.” Koa slowly leans toward my face. Closing my eyes, my heart races waiting for him to make contact.
When his mouth presses into mine, I’m practically levitating out of my seat. This isn’t like the kiss at Ray’s. That was a performance. It was collateral damage to get that creep to back off and leave me alone.
This kiss is a claiming. There is power behind it. His fingers push further into my hair, controlling the way I’m positioned as he alternates nipping at my lips. I don’t know which way is up or down anymore. All I know is I need to be closer to him.
It’s hard to move in this small space but I manage to slip one arm behind his back and the other around his neck.
A moan slips out of me when my breasts press against his chest. He swipes his tongue across the seam of my mouth and I’m lost completely in the taste of him.
The camera flashes and I pull away smiling. He doesn’t give me more than a millisecond to catch my breath before he’s back on me again. Our tongues tangle and explore each other’s mouths.
With every swipe of his tongue, he deepens the kiss. For years I’ve been holding on to old memories of what Ithoughtit felt like to be kissed by Koa Mahina.
My memories have failed me because I don’t remember his kisses feeling like this. This feels like he’s rewriting every misstep, every angry look, or hurtful word with the swipe of his tongue against mine.
Maybe that’s his super power. He has the ability to administer temporary amnesia with a single kiss. Slowly, I drag myself away from him. He groans, making me laugh.
“I wasn’t finished with you,” he says, pulling me closer and popping another kiss on my mouth.
Eyes squinted and brows furrowed, his gaze lingers on me. Examining the effect of our kiss. His mouth curves into a smug smile when his eyes land on my lips. He’s pleased with how swollen they are I’m sure.
When we were kids, occasionally Koa and I could talk across a room with various eye movements or head shakes. It was a skill we developed after we got in trouble one too many times.
Every time our parents would interrogate us we would blink once for yes and blink twice for no, making sure our stories matched up. There were also winks, eye rubs, yawns, and ear tugs.
I want to give him the signal that everything is okay, but I’m not certain it is. I wring my hands in my lap. It’s too quiet. There’s nothing but the sound of us breathing, the occasional person walking by, and all the thoughts running through my head.
“Sydney,” he says, breaking the silence.
