Breaking Stars - J. Sterling Page 0,56
smothering, so I played it cool. Well, as cool as a guy could be called when he raced through the screen door and practically sprinted into the house.
“Tatum, honey. Slow down,” Mama warned. “Where’s the fire?”
I glanced at Paige, but she turned away. The fire was in my pants, my hands, my chest. It was everywhere, but I wasn’t about to tell my mother that.
“No fire, just starving.” I stared at Paige, whose gaze had returned to mine as I licked my lips. She blushed and mouthed, Stop it.
“Well then, get over here and help me set out the food,” she asked, and I obliged.
Dinner was pure torture. Having to keep my distance from Paige when all I wanted to do was reach out and touch her…well, it damn near killed me. She sat across from me, her hair up in a sexy ponytail, and the width of the dinner table put her too far away from me.
I willed the wood to disappear into thin air so nothing separated us. This girl had me feeling so many things that I’d pushed aside for too long, I didn’t even mind it.
As soon as I’d swallowed my last bite of food, I tossed down my napkin and said, “I’m gonna take Paige over to my place to watch a movie. That okay?” Paige’s mouth fell open slightly, but Mama couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
“I don’t know what you’re asking me for. Paige is a grown woman,” Mama said gruffly, still trying not to smile.
I turned to Paige. “That okay with you?”
“Sure. You sure you don’t mind?” she turned to ask Mama.
“Of course not, dear. Why in heaven would I mind?”
“I feel like we’re ditching you,” Paige said with a frown, and I wanted to grab her and kiss her for being so damned sweet.
“Don’t be silly. You two go have fun. Don’t worry about me.” Mama waved us off before heading down the hall before we could say another word to her.
I leaned close to Paige and whispered, “I’ve thought about kissing you all day.” She bit her bottom lip and smiled, then I pulled her out of there as quick as I could.
The second we stepped onto the porch, I pressed my lips against hers. She tried to pull away and gestured toward the house, but the porch light was off and it was dark. I knew Mama couldn’t see us at all, not that that would have stopped me anyway. This girl had bewitched me, and I didn’t care who saw me kissing her. Even Mama.
“So, what do you want to watch?” Paige asked as she looked at the DVDs stacked on my shelf.
“I was kidding. We’re not watching anything.”
“Why not?” She turned around with a huff and crossed her arms over her chest.
“If you want to keep up the charade, then pick something out for us to not watch. I’m going to kiss you, Paige. I’m not going to watch a damn movie with you.”
“So we’re just going to spend the rest of the evening kissing each other? That’s your big plan for the night?” Her eyebrows pinched together, and I instantly wanted to fix whatever I’d said wrong.
“I hadn’t thought past the kissing.”
“Well, I have,” she said, and I couldn’t fight back the smile that spread across my face.
“Let me hear it.”
She grinned like a Cheshire cat before launching into my arms. “Just kidding. I can’t think about anything but kissing you either.” Her lips pressed against mine before they parted and her tongue slid inside.
I licked her bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth as I sucked on it gently. Kissing her was like free-falling off a cliff that had no end. I floated in a world filled with nibbling and licking and sensations I’d fought off even thinking about for the last few years.
My insides felt like they were on fire, suddenly awake after being numb. You’d think that my heart would be rusty, that it might need a few beats to get used to the idea of wanting someone after being closed for business for so long. But no, not my heart. It started beating to its own rhythm the second we saw her, instructing my body to feel, want, and need—three things I hadn’t experienced in years. This girl sitting right here called to me. I was a ship about to crash into oblivion on the rocky shore, and she was a beacon of fire, determined to save me with her light.