She nods, her face impassive. But I can see her pulse fluttering at her throat.
“I recognized you. But it wasn’t just like remembering a word I’d forgotten. When I saw your face, I knew I’d met you. And I also knew I’d liked you. I wasn’t ambivalent. I thought—there she is. And…” I thread our fingers together. “It might kill me if I’d forgotten even one of the kisses that I’d ever shared with you.”
“Rickie,” she breathes.
“Yeah?” I move a little closer.
She looks away. “I’m trying to give up men.”
“Yeah? How’s that working out?” I ask. Then I reach up and brush my thumb lightly across her cheek.
And when her eyes turn to me again, they’re blazing. So I lean in to kiss her, and not gently this time. I’ve been craving the press of her mouth against mine. Pulling her close to me, I feel all lit up inside.
Daphne shivers into our kiss, and her smooth hands land in my hair. Her mouth softens beneath mine. And then her body softens, too. All at once. Like an offering.
Holy fuck. I kiss her deeply, my tongue stroking her top lip until she opens for me. And I swear to Christ I hear an angel choir as we slide into each other’s arms. I don’t deserve a second chance with her. But this is it. She and I are happening. I just want to lose myself right here on the front seat of Dylan’s truck.
But I can’t. I make a desperate, unhappy groan as I wrench myself away from the hottest kiss of my life.
Daphne blinks up at me, cheeks flushed, pupils blown. I stunned us both. And it takes all my willpower not to dive right back in.
My phone is ringing. And more importantly, we’re sitting in a busy parking lot at the ice cream place. Whatever we’ve started will have to wait.
Daphne gets out of the truck and slams the door. Either she really wants ice cream, or she wants a moment to compose herself. My money is on the latter. Daphne isn’t comfortable losing her cool. She prefers to have her emotions well under control.
I get it. I’m not the same, but I do understand.
Needing a few deep breaths myself, I grab my phone and my wallet and slowly extract myself from the vehicle. She’s staring up at the signboard with unseeing eyes.
My phone chirps again.
“Who’s calling you?” she asks.
I slip a hand into hers, and her fingers thread between mine, as if we’ve held hands a million times before. “I’m not sure. It’s…” I pull out the phone with my free hand. “Your brother.” I swipe to answer. “Hello?”
“Rickie! Come to the Goat!” he says. I can hear a crowd of people in the background.
“Where?” I ask.
“The Mountain Goat! It’s a bar. Is Daphne with you? She knows where it is.”
“We’re in line for ice cream. I thought you guys went to the movies?” The line moves forward, and I follow the gentle tug of Daphne’s hand.
“That was the plan,” Dylan says. “But then you didn’t bring the truck home in time, so I got Griffin to drop us here for dinner. I told him you’d pick us up later.”
Daphne snorts, so I know she’s hearing the whole conversation.
“You could have taken my car,” I point out.
“Nah, I need my truck at the movies,” he says. “It’s more comfortable, if you know what I mean. So get over here. We’ve got a table.”
“Okay, man. After we get ice cream, we’ll come to the Mountain Goat and pick you up.” So I guess my nondate is going to be cut short, even though I’m still buzzing from Daphne’s kiss.
“Come in when you get here,” Dylan says. “It’s two-for-one beers and we’ll play some darts.”
I glance at Daphne, who shrugs. She’s got her armor back on, even if she’s still holding my hand.
“Sure, man,” I say. “We’ll see you soon.”
Daphne removes her hand from mine, and the line advances again.
Eighteen
Daphne
The cold lemon sorbet was just what I needed to cool off the hormone surge caused by Rickie’s kisses. I lick the sharp, sweet cone all the way to the Mountain Goat, calling out the directions as they arise.
Rickie’s ice cream is slowly melting in a cup. And when the truck comes to rest in the gravel parking lot of the Goat, I hand it to him.
He spoons up a scoop of chocolate and smiles at me. “You feel like playing darts?”