Page 18 of The P*ssy Next Door
Hayes shot her a warning look. “Jules...”
She held up her hands in mock surrender. “What? I'm just saying it's awfully convenient timing.” Her eyes sparkled with barely contained glee. “It's like fate or something.”
I barked out a laugh, even as my cheeks heated. Did she somehow know that my favorite romance trope was fated mates? Partly because it was so unreal. Total escapism. “I don't know about that.”
“Well I do,” she declared with all the confidence of a seventeen-year-old who thought she had the world figured out. Maybe she did. “You and Hayes, thrown together by circumstance, falling madly in love as you navigate the perils of small-town life...” She sighed dreamily. “It's like a romance novel come to life.”
“Okay, first of all, we don't live in a small town. Thornminster is an enormous suburb of a major metropolitan area. Not New York or LA, but we're big enough to have a bunch of pro sports teams.” Hayes stood abruptly, the tips of his ears flaming red. “We should let Willa get back to work.”
I bit my lip to hide my smile. He was even cuter when he was flustered. I added, “Because the coffee shop has so many customers right now.”
Jules winked at me as Hayes ushered her toward the door, grumbling under his breath. She twisted out of his grip to call over her shoulder, “I'll be seeing you around, Willa. Don't be a stranger.”
“Not if I see you first,” I returned with a grin.
Hayes came back and leaned against the counter, giving me such an adorably sincere look I maybe fell in love with him a teensy tiny bit. “I'm really happy you're staying, Willa.”
My fluttery bird heart stuttered in my chest. “Me too.”
Maybe I was.
It was madness. It was impulsive. And that was what made me kind of like the whole idea. And just to prove it to myself and Hayes, I jumped up on the counter and kissed him.
TWATWAFFLES
HAYES
Willa's kiss hit me like a linebacker, stealing my breath and making my head spin. For a moment, I forgot where I was, forgot my own name. There was only her. Her soft lips moving against mine, her fingers tangling in my hair, the sweet vanilla scent of her invading my senses.
Fireworks exploded behind my eyelids, a kaleidoscope of color and light that rivaled any touchdown celebration. I'd never been kissed before, and if anyone had told me this was what I was missing, I might have fucking figured out a way to fit girls into my rigid schedule.
This intensity, this bone-deep rightness made me feel like I'd finally found a missing piece of myself. No book or article by a dating coach or even a dating dude’s FlipFlop could have prepared me for this.
My hands found her waist, tugging her closer as I angled my head to taste more of her. She made a soft noise in the back of her throat that set my blood on fire. I could have happily drowned in her, let the rest of the world fade away until it was just us, just this perfect moment stretching into eternity.
“What the fuck?”
The angry shout jolted us apart, Willa nearly tumbling off the counter in her haste. I steadied her automatically, my gaze snapping to the seething figure in the doorway.
Xander Rosemount glared at us, his fists clenched at his sides, jaw tight with barely suppressed fury. “Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?”
Willa slid off the counter, putting herself between her twin and me. “Xan, calm down. We were just?—”
“Just what? Playing tonsil hockey in the middle of the café?” Xander took an aggressive step forward, his eyes never leaving my face. “Real classy, Kingman.”
I bristled at his tone, my own temper sparking to life. “Watch it, man. You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know you've got your hands all over my sister,” he snarled, trying to shoulder past Willa.
She held her ground, planting a hand on his chest. “I'm not a child, Xander. I can kiss whoever I want.”
He barked out a harsh laugh. “Oh, so you want this lying sack of shit? The same guy who ditched me—ditched our team—without a second thought?”
I frowned, a trickle of unease winding through my anger. “What are you talking about? I didn't ditch anyone.”
Xander sneered at me over Willa's head. “Right. Because getting drafted as a junior and running off to play pro, leaving the rest of us high and dry, that's totally not ditching us.”
My stomach sank as understanding dawned. I'd always known Xander was angry with me for going pro early, but I'd thought it was about the competition, about him wanting to be the first picked. I never considered that he might have felt... betrayed.