Daddy Crush - Adriana Anders

1

Just One Kiss

Jerusha

I’m about to have my first kiss and I feel absolutely nothing. No excitement, no flutters, not even a glimmer of curiosity.

It’s me. I’m sure of it, after more than a dozen dates. My fault, my problem. Me.

I twist out of my date’s clammy hold and step away, putting my back to my front door. “Um, Jed, I think maybe—”

There’s no time to avoid his swoop. My mouth’s still open when we collide in a messy mix of teeth (mine) and tongue (his). I don’t even think before shoving him off.

“Yuck!” I swipe a sleeve over the mess he’s made of my face.

“You didn’t like that?”

“I don’t think I’m ready for—”

“What? Come on. Just a kiss.”

“Seriously, I’m not—”

“Hey. I walked you home. At least invite me in.” He pauses for a second before going on. “Come on, babe. Let me in. We’ll see where this—”

“She said no.” The low, rough voice comes out of nowhere and I can tell it frightens my date. Relief floods me to the tips of my extremities.

“Excuse me?” Jed turns to peer into the dark.

Quick, decisive footsteps scuff down a set of wooden stairs, over a few feet of sidewalk, then up onto my porch. It’s Karl, my neighbor. Like every other time I’ve seen him, something flops around in my belly, heavy and hot. So maybe it’s not all me. Maybe I’ve been dating the wrong guys.

Maybe I should date Karl.

“Take off.” Karl’s tone leaves no room for argument.

“What?”

“She doesn’t want to invite you in. She doesn’t want you to touch her. Get out of here.”

My date’s chest puffs out before he fully takes my neighbor in. I can tell the second he realizes just how outclassed he is because he deflates, like a balloon. “Whatever, man.”

I know it’s not right, but something dark inside me wishes he wouldn’t back down. I picture Karl’s thick, ink-darkened hands grabbing Jed’s lapels, imagine the way his back muscles would ripple if he threw him out into the street.

Here I go again, thinking ridiculous Karl thoughts at the worst possible moment. It happens every time he shows up. My insides get tense and achy and I want things I’d never thought to wish for. Right now, I’m out of breath, sick to my stomach, and so hot I want to shed my coat.

“Later, babe.” Jed’s clearly not looking for a fight. And that’s fine. It’s good. A fight would be an awful end to the evening. He flicks me a look, lifting his chin in a way that is supposed to be macho, but looks childish.

“Well, no,” I reply. “Not later. I don’t think…”

He’s already gone, crunching down the leaf-strewn street toward the university.

“It’s an expression,” Karl tells me with a smirk. A second later, his lips tighten into a frown and one dark eyebrow lifts. “Unless you want to see him again? You want me to call him back? Did I butt in when I shouldn’t have?”

I shake my head, remembering the feel of Jed’s slobber on my face and the fear that he wouldn’t back down. I should go inside and wash him off, but I can’t go anywhere while Karl’s standing here. “Definitely not. Thank you, Karl.”

“Another bad one, huh?”

“Wasn’t great.” My breath puffs out between us. It’s cold, I notice, though I’m clammy-hot from my proximity to this man.

“You let this one walk you home?”

“I thought…” What did I think, exactly? That it wasn’t too bad? That he wasn’t a total jerk? I can’t tell Karl what’s running through my head because even I, in all my innocence, know that this line of thinking is pathetic: He didn’t gross me out, so I let him walk me home. “I don’t know. I was hopeful, I guess.”

“Prick doesn’t know how to kiss a woman goodnight.” Karl shifts like he’s about to leave and I can’t let that happen. Everything I’ve been looking for in a man is right here. He’s twice my age, fine, but that shouldn’t matter. He’s single—I think—and the way he makes me feel is like nothing I’ve experienced.

“Night, Jerusha.” He turns to go, whistling low for Squid, who slides silently from the shadows of my porch. I’ve never seen a dog quite so quiet as this one. So stealthy, I hadn’t seen him arrive.

“Wait.”

Karl stops and looks at me, far enough out of my porch light’s glow that his eyes are two dark holes in his wide, slavic face. There’s the beginning of a beard on his chin and