itself. It really should’ve been. “He’s so impulsive. There’s no telling what he’ll do.”
Shaking his head, Drew barked out a sharp laugh. “You’re right about that. I definitely didn’t expect him to kiss me in front of the library earlier.”
What the… “I’m sorry?” I said, my attention shifting from one subject to a much more interesting one. “Carter kissed you? Like kissed you kissed you?”
Drew nodded slowly, like the memory of it caused him some sort of lasting trauma. “If we’re being technical, I actually kissed him.”
“Can you rewind to the beginning, please?” I tried to picture a scenario where two completely straight men just decided to kiss each other in public, and I was stuck for ideas.
Drew settled back against the couch and put his feet on the coffee table. I envied how relaxed he seemed, all things considered. But then, he’d had time to process everything hours ago, and I was just hearing about all of it now.
“Carter came up to me and was teasing me about the good old days when no one knew I liked to make out with my sister. Then he started telling me that I was pretending to be gay so no girls hit on me.”
“So you kissed him to prove otherwise?”
“Well, I didn’t just do it. He kind of asked me to. It was like a dare, I guess.” Drew’s face transformed into a sort of unexpected pride. “I’m sure he thought I’d chicken out and he wouldn’t have to kiss me.”
“Soooo you kissed him to prove you weren’t lying about being gay, but then you told him the truth about everything anyway?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds crazy.”
“That’s because it is crazy. And so are you and Carter. Jesus, what did he do when you kissed him?”
“Nothing really. We both kind of just stood there with our lips on each other.” He shivered as he thought about it. “Eventually he slipped me the tongue, and I freaked out, which I’m sure was his plan. That convinced him even further that me being gay was a sham, and I couldn’t have him thinking I had a sister-fetish, so I just came clean.
“Of course, as soon as I did, he shouted that he knew it and applauded me for holding out so long despite his teasing me. Turns out he didn’t think I was actually making out with my sister, but he definitely thought I was making out with you. He’s brighter than he looks.”
“So you kissed a guy for nothing?”
“Basically,” he answered, smiling. And I couldn’t help but smile too when he said, “Would it help if I said you’re a way better kisser than Carter?”
“A little.” I wanted to hang on to my irritation, but my arousal from earlier was still thrumming through my body, and this was Drew. Staying angry at him was like staying angry at a puppy who just ate your flip-flop. “But it would help more if you reminded me what a good kisser you are.”
So he did.
Chapter Twenty-Two
S O P H I A
Volunteering at an animal shelter always sounded like a great idea. It conjured up images of frolicking around with cute puppies who smothered your face with kisses. The reality was far less glamorous.
“Why do we do this every year?” Gina asked. “It’s always a disaster.”
I had no adequate response as I rinsed the soap out of the coat of the terrier I’d been assigned to clean. Evidently Bethany and Emma didn’t either, since they also stayed silent. The dog looked at me for a second, and I would’ve sworn he smirked at me.
“Don’t do it,” I warned.
But he didn’t listen. He shook his entire body, spraying water everywhere. The shelter had rubber aprons for us to wear to protect our clothes, but I’d have needed a hazmat suit to be completely safe from the dog’s aggressive drying methods.
“Oh no. Your hair,” Emma said plaintively.
My arms were outstretched to either side as I dangled them in the air, letting droplets roll off me and onto the floor.
“Why don’t these rubber suits have sleeves? And hoods?”
“That can be your contribution to society,” Gina exclaimed. “You can make ones that cover your whole body.”
I gaped at her for a second, wondering if I should be offended that she thought so little of my offerings to humankind or touched she thought I had entrepreneurial potential.
In the end, I shook my head and grabbed a towel, though its purpose was slightly defunct by this point. I rubbed