Page 90 of Kickoff

“Cheering on you.”

“Why?”

“Because, like I said, it’s lonely in the middle without you. And life is much more enjoyable when you’re around.”

She pushed my chest in a teasing manner, her hand lingering on my hoodie-covered torso for a few seconds. “Drama queen.”

I shrugged. “Please deliver me from my loneliness, Mel.” She melted a little more against me. My hands found her waist, and I contoured the length of her jaw with my lips. She shuddered but didn’t push me away.

Her voice sounded rougher when she spoke again. “Yeah, I’ll meet you there.”

“Well, what are you waiting for then?” Her breath caught in her lungs. I loved that she reacted to my presence as much as I reacted to hers.

She closed her eyes, and I fought with myself not to kiss her. Recalling her words from the other night, I disappeared before she opened them back, hiding in the same spot as before.

“Mase? Where are you?” She lifted her eyelids and blinked, her gaze roaming around, but not spotting me.

My heart thundered in my chest, and I cupped it with a hand to calm its storm. I was so screwed. I had been seconds away from sweeping her off her feet and kissing her senseless.

Before I retreated to the middle of the maze again, I heard her low whisper. “Get a grip over yourself, Mel. It’s just a corn maze. You can beat it.”

Standing on a big rock, I spied on my girl as she turned left and right instead of left again. “I’m right here, waiting for you.”

She glanced around, but I squatted so she wouldn’t notice me. “Gosh, you’re impossible, cocky man. Where are you?” Her soft laughter dissolved as a group of teenagers walked past her.

“Focus, Mel. You can do this. Listen to my voice. Feel my energy.”

Shutting her eyes, she relaxed her shoulders and inhaled deeply, all gracious, just like she did on meet days when she stepped on the block.

I closed my eyes too, listening to the same things she did. Birds chirping. Breeze against the corn crops. Giggling. A man speaking in a loud voice. A baby crying.

Melinda stepped forward, and minutes later came face to face with me, sitting on a hay bale, smirking with a I’m proud of you, but I still finished first expression. “You made it, Shepard.”

“I made it,” she echoed. “Seriously, how long have you been here?”

I shrugged. “Fifteen minutes, give or take.”

“Are Paige and Craig still somewhere doing who knows what?”

“I guess. I went to look for them again but couldn’t find them this time around.”

She moved between my open legs, her hands resting on the top of my thighs. “Huh. What should we do? Wait for them?”

I cradled her cheek and smoothed her bottom lip with my thumb. The world fell away, and we lost ourselves in each other for an endless minute. “Nah. I’ll text them. Hungry?”

Her attention drifted to my mouth. My breath stuck in my lungs, and my cells vibrated in anticipation of what she might or might not do when we were standing this close to each other. For the umpteenth time today, I wondered if she was thinking about kissing me too.

I grabbed her hand and drew the lines of her palm with a finger. Melinda said nothing, erasing the gap between us and pressing her forehead to the crook of my neck. She exhaled loudly, and I curled a hand around the back of her head, brushing her hair. I could tell she was scared of something, but unless she opened up to me, we were stuck in this push-and-pull relationship endlessly.

“When you’re ready to tell me, I’ll be here, okay? No matter what it is. I won’t go away. I’m not scared that easily.”

She planted a kiss on my cheek, and I pretty much dissolved inside. Melinda Shepard held so much power over me, and I didn’t think she knew just how much. “Thanks.”

“Let’s go and eat something. I’m starving.”

As if I’d shocked her, she jumped back and grinned. “Geez, Mase, you’re always hungry.”

I winked. “Only for mouth-watering stuff, though.” I licked my lips, and she backhanded my chest. I grinned bigger. “Don’t make me wait. Come, feed me.”