Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,25

I spoke again. I breathed a sigh, smiling.

"Sooo, that was my dad," I said.

"Yeah," Drew agreed. "Was he upset?"

"No, they were probably just worried. He knew about that message you left me at the store today, and he didn't tell me about it, so I'm sure he figured everything out and got worried." I smiled broadly at him. "I was tempted to tell Dad it was a fake date because I knew that would ease his mind, but it would've taken too long to explain and I know you need to go."

I waved with my keys in my hand as I walked away. Drew smiled and waved at me too, but I could tell he was a little disappointed, like he wanted to say something else. I figured he didn't know what to think about my dad driving up on us.

I put one foot in front of the other, going to my car, ignoring the fact that I had gotten all stirred up inside thinking that he might kiss me. Dad's appearance had broken the trance I was in, but my body still felt that yearning sensation like our goodbye was missing something.

I should have just done it. I should've just kissed him after my dad drove away. Drew would've been fine with that, I knew he would have by the way he was looking at me. He would've kissed me back.

But it was too late to worry about it now. I had already been kissed once this evening, which was more than I expected and more than had happened in years.

I smiled at the thought of the scene on the dancefloor. I was daydreaming about it as I put my car in drive.

I was just about to pull away when I heard Drew honk his horn. I wasn't expecting the loud noise, and it startled me. I stared in my rearview mirror, wondering if I should stop or if he was just honking to say goodbye. I had to squint into the reflection of his headlights, but I saw his driver's door open.

So, I put my car in park and got out to go meet him. I was in a swimmy, dreamlike state, giddy and full of butterflies as I approached him. I was pulled to him like there was a gravitational force between us.

I just knew he was getting out of the truck to kiss me. We both knew this opportunity was too good to pass up. How many times in life could you blame a reckless kiss on a fake date scenario? This never happened. We should take advantage of it. We obviously had to. He had honked and gotten out of his truck, after all.

I walked toward him, feeling excited, expectant.

"Your lantern," he said, smiling as he walked toward me.

It took a second for me to register what he was saying, and by that time, my momentum had carried me to where he was standing. We stopped with only a couple of feet between us. The light was at his back, so his face was in a shadow. I blinked up at him. "Thanks," I said, feeling utterly let down but trying not to show it.

"Or I guess it might be Mac's," he said, lifting the lantern.

"Yeah, yeah," I said nervously. I reached out and took the lantern from him, trying not to notice that our fingers touched in the transaction. "Thank you," I said. "I'm glad you caught me. He would have been looking for this."

"Lucy."

"Yeah?"

He reached out for me, and I was so ready for it to happen that I went toward him. He put his arms loosely around me, hesitating from only inches away, staring.

My. Heart. Was. Pounding.

I swallowed and blinked up at him, and the next thing I knew, he ducked and kissed me.

Drew Klein, the Senator's son, was kissing me right here with nobody watching. It was a closed-mouth kiss, but it was tender, and he held it there long enough that his lips molded to mine.

Drew was amazing.

I hadn't kissed a man in a long time, and even then, it had not been this good. He kissed me slowly, carefully, like he wanted me to enjoy it.

He kissed me five or six times, administering light, gut-tingling kisses that had me experiencing waves of endorphins. My body was electrified. He had a hold of my arms, but I didn't even notice until he used his grip on me to push me back a little and break the kiss.

"Oh, Lu, girl, one