Page 23 of Fame & Chaos

God, she was beautiful.

Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders, the ends brushing against the swell of her breasts beneath her oversized shirt, and before I could stop myself, my eyes dropped lower. And inappropriate thoughts flooded my brain.

Thoughts I’d been trying to suppress for months.

“Caleb.” Her voice turned teasing. “My eyes are up here.”

I jerked my gaze back to her face instantly. “Right. Sorry.” She grinned. “You really like me like that?” I asked quietly, still half convinced I’d imagined this entire conversation.

“For ages,” she admitted. “I just didn’t think you felt the same.”

I barked out a stunned laugh. “Indi, I’ve wanted to kiss you since Annie’s fifth birthday party.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“That day after I chased you through the backyard?” I smiled softly at the memory. “When we fell onto the grass? I almost kissed you then.”

She stared at me in shock. “You did?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “I kissed your forehead instead because I got scared.”

The look she gave me after that nearly finished me off completely.

“Really?” she whispered.

“Uh-huh.”

She shifted closer again until our knees touched, and neither of us spoke for a few seconds. We just looked at each other. And all those years of friendship, late-night talks, almost moments, accidental touches, sleeping side-by-side after nightmares, and every feeling I’d buried came crashing to the surface at once.

My heart hammered painfully hard against my ribs.

“Caleb?”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t kiss me soon,” she whispered shakily, “I think I might lose my mind.”

“I wanted you to kiss me then too,” she admitted softly, and I grinned so hard my face actually hurt.

“Why didn’t you?”

I shook my head, laughing quietly under my breath. “I didn’t think you wanted me to.”

“Caleb,” she whispered, inching closer. “I’ve wanted you to kiss me for as long as I can remember.”

My heart slammed hard against my ribs. I leaned closer until our lips were barely brushing, her warm breath fanning across my mouth and making every nerve ending in my body spark to life.

“Well then,” I murmured. “I guess I’d better make up for lost time.”

I paused, giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted to. Instead, she closed the distance herself.

The second her lips touched mine, everything else disappeared.

The kiss started soft.

Tentative.

Like neither of us quite believed this was finally happening.