“What? Do I have mustard on my face?” She wipes the back of her hand against her pouty lips. Her embarrassment, combined with her looks and her innocence, causes a chain reaction, and the urge to kiss her consumes me. Leaning closer, I hover a few inches from her mouth.
“You’re gorgeous, Charlie,” I whisper.
“And you’re being ridiculous again,” she replies just as quietly, though I don’t miss the way her eyes drop to my mouth before holding my stare. She’s practically begging me to kiss her, and I’d hate to keep her waiting.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“How do you know I’m cool with PDA?” she returns in a sassy tone. Her head inches back slightly in a game of cat and mouse that only encourages me to keep chasing her.
“Call it a hunch,” I murmur, my hand itching to grab her head and pin her in place.
“You should’ve just bribed the cameraman to zero in on us during the kiss cam.”
I almost laugh but restrain myself before closing the distance by another inch. “You shouldn’t assume I need an excuse to kiss you and that I don’t have the balls to do it when I want.”
“Oh, so this is a balls thing? Is that it?” she teases.
“No, it’s an I want you thing. And I don’t care if there’s an audience to witness it.”
She rolls her eyes. “I should’ve known you were into voyeurism.”
“Voyeurism is when you like watching people. I believe the term you’re looking for is an exhibitionist. And I don’t give a shit if anyone is watching. All I want is you.”
Her lids flutter closed for a split second before she peeks up at me through her thick, dark lashes. “Right now?”
“Hell, yes,” I growl, leaving only a breath between us. Hell, I can practically taste the beer on her breath. “Tell me I can kiss you.”
“And if I don’t?” she counters, her tongue slipping between those pouty lips before retreating back into her mouth.
I nearly groan. “Then I’ll be the gentleman you deserve and back away. But I think we both know that isn’t what you want.”
Swallowing thickly, she drops her eyes back to my mouth. “And how do you know what I want?”
“Because I know you better than anyone.” Unable to control myself, my hand slides up her arm, and I cup her cheek, but I don’t close the distance between us. I need her to admit she wants me as much as I want her first.
“Tell me,” I push.
Closing her eyes, she whispers, “I want you.”
She barely gets the three words out before my mouth clashes with hers. While one hand holds her in place, the other finds her bare knee and squeezes it. She feels like silk.
“Want to know a secret?” I whisper against the shell of her ear after releasing her lips from mine.
“What’s that?”
“Do you remember that night right before graduation when we went to the movies and caught that couple getting handsy in the back row?”
She nods. “And I was pissed at you for making out with another girl in front of me?”
“Yeah.”
“What about it?”
“That was the first night I thought of you in a way other than my best friend. I dreamt we were in the back row doing what that couple was. I dreamt you were the one gasping my name and squirming from my touch. I dreamt you were the one with your hand around my swollen cock, squeezing the head before I came in your palm. I woke up with the hardest morning wood I’d ever experienced, and it took a twenty-minute shower to get rid of it. But even then, I couldn’t get you out of my head. I told myself it was just because you were there that night. I didn’t want to admit it was because I wanted you for something more than a best friend. But now that I’m here, I can’t stop imagining it.”
Her breathing is staggered as I glance down at her and see her eyes shining with need, along with a glimpse of her cleavage playing peek-a-boo beneath her jean jacket and sexy black dress. It’s as if I’ve cast a spell on her, and she can’t figure out how to snap out of it.
Tough shit, Charlie. You’ve cast a spell on me too.