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She lifted her head, meeting his baby blues. Oh, she wanted to. Even though she’d decided she wasn’t worthy of dating guys so handsome, the desire was still strong.
“Do you want to?” he asked softly.
After another second of hesitation, she nodded. He cradled both sides of her face, not even flinching as his thumb brushed across her scarred skin. She closed her eyes and breathed in his peppermint smell. And then he dropped his lips to hers.
In terms of kissing, theirs only lasted a second. Soft, innocent, and tender. Fireworks exploded beneath the delicate skin of her lips. Even the deadened part of her mouth tingled.
Too soon, he backed away, still cradling her face. “Whoa,” he said softly. “You felt that, right?”
Just as Justin could be heard outside, her roommates peeked into the room. Just in time, Eric dropped his hands and opened the door wider to let his roommates in.
“Come on in, pokeys.”
Cameron came in first. Eric joined Aimee at her side, and Justin stood waiting for Holly in the doorway. Still dazed by the kiss and his words, Holly stood frozen in place.
“My turn for a kiss,” Justin said, pointing to the mistletoe. Before she could react, he bent down. She turned in time, and he brushed his lips against her good cheek instead of her lips. She giggled nervously and stepped away. “Thanks.”
“Wait, who else did you kiss?” Aimee asked from behind her.
She turned, and Eric gave a small shake of his head. Change the subject, got it. “Wow, that suit, Justin. You and Aimee match.”
Behind her, Eric and Cameron slapped high fives while Justin groaned. “You stink, Eric.”
“Wait, what did we miss?” Diane said, her mermaid-green dress swishing as she moved.
Wait a minute. Holly looked at Cameron and then everyone. Every woman in the room matched a man, except only one woman was matched to the right man.
Cameron slid an arm around Diane’s side, and she bit back a smile as he explained a bet Eric and Justin had made.
“Wait, so you thought I would be wearing pink, not blue?” Aimee asked Eric after it was thoroughly explained.
“Yep, and you are. And I thought Holly would wear either black or navy blue,” Eric said.
Good guesser. Holly wasn’t one for wild colors in public. Too much attention.
Aimee glanced at Holly’s dress, and for a second, Holly was sure Aimee was debating either ripping Holly’s dress off of her or exchanging her own dress for another one in her closet.
“Should I change?” Aimee asked Eric, looking up at him.
“Only if you want, but I think you look beautiful.” He smiled and rubbed her rosy cheeks with both hands.
Holly turned away, not wanting to watch. She slipped an arm through Justin’s and smiled up at him. “You look dashing. Shall we go?”
He laughed. “I didn’t know people spoke that way anymore.”
“They probably don’t, but tonight I’m doing a lot of things I’ve never done before.” When Justin covered her hand with his, she pushed thoughts of Eric away. Kissing surprised most people, so being shocked was normal. Maybe she should have let Justin kiss her. Then she would know the exploding-firework display had been more because of her years of drought and not because she’d just kissed an amazing man.
8
Eric
Instead of snagging a seat next to Holly and Justin, Aimee headed to the other end of the long table.
After Eric sat down and the menus had been passed out, he snuck a look at Holly, who was a straight shot from him, minus the massive hibachi grill between them. How was she not affected by their kiss? He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Her face was hidden behind her menu, and she hadn’t looked at him once since they’d left the apartment. He gave up and looked at the menu options.
“Do you want to share a meal?” Aimee asked, leaning over until her leg pressed against his. Nothing. He felt nothing in the seemingly long interaction.
