few seconds. “Okay, then kiss me.”
“I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?”
“Kiss me.”
“I’m not gonna keep kissing people to show that I didn’t kiss my sister. That proves even less than kissing Taylor did.”
“It proves you’re gay. Or bi, or whatever you claim you are. Or were. And then I’ll at least know you weren’t pretending to be gay so you could sleep with your sister without worrying about other girls hitting on you.”
“That theory makes no sense.”
“Makes sense to me. Now kiss me.” He said it loud enough that people passing by probably heard him, but he didn’t seem to care.
“You want me to kiss you in the middle of our college campus with people all around?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Because it’s weird, that’s why.” What the fuck was wrong with this guy? What heterosexual male athlete in their early twenties would be comfortable kissing another man, let alone in the presence of others?
“Maybe a little for me, but not for you. Unless you’re totally straight. Then we’d just be two dudes putting our mouths on each other for no reason.”
“We’re that either way!”
I struggled with the reality that I might actually have to kiss another guy. Though there were worse things, I supposed. Like having someone you consider your good friend think you made out with your sister.
I breathed in deeply, and without making eye contact, I asked, “Tongue?”
I was sure he’d say no.
“Whatever you feel like.”
Carter looked like he was preparing himself to face a firing squad and wanted to die with honor. He seemed composed and eerily calm considering what was about to happen. Though maybe he was trying to call my bluff and was banking on me backing out.
But I wouldn’t back out. If kissing Carter to prove I was bi would make him believe that the girl I’d kissed wasn’t Sophia, then the few seconds with my lips on his would be worth it. Carter would, no doubt, speak on our behalf, and he had influence over others. Girls wanted to be with him, and guys wanted to be him.
“Okay,” I said. “You’re sure about this?”
Carter glued his eyes shut. “Just do it.”
Not wanting to witness what was about to happen, I closed my eyes too. But as I inched closer to his face, having my eyes shut made the action feel more intimate. So I opened them wide.
My lips paused just before they reached his, and I was sure the two of us looked like middle school kids playing spin the bottle for the first time. This would be the least hot public display of affection anyone had ever witnessed. I was sure of it.
And as my lips finally met his, the comedy of the moment hit me. Our Poster Children for Awkward moment lasted way too long. I was hoping he’d pull away because he wasn’t expecting me to go through with it, but he didn’t move. And there we stayed, lips touching and our bodies still.
To avoid anything below my waist touching him, I contorted myself into a position where my ass was sticking out, which only made the situation stranger.
My arms hung loosely at my sides as I debated where to put them. Eventually, I placed them on Carter’s hips, sure that I looked like a twelve-year-old boy having his first dance with his crush.
If only a chaperone were here to tell us to break it up, because neither of us was pulling away. This was like a fucked-up version of the game Chicken where both teams lost. One of us was going to have to do something to end this.
A few more seconds passed…and then Carter’s lips parted unexpectedly, and the tip of his wet tongue touched my lips.
I couldn’t have moved faster if it had been a Komodo dragon that had licked me. I quickly wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my jacket.
“What the fuck was that?”
Carter looked pleased with himself. “That,” he said, “was me proving you’re definitely not attracted to men and therefore are attracted to your sister.”
It took me a minute or so, but I managed to calm myself down enough to respond. “I’m not attracted to my sister,” I said firmly.
“It’s cool, man,” Carter replied casually. “If anyone asks what I think happened between you guys, I’ll say nothing and that I knew you and Taylor had been talkin’ for a while. I love you and Soph. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Damn it.
Why did this moron have to be such a good fucking