Breathe Me (A 'Me' Novel) by Jeri Williams Page B

waited for me to scramble out of my seat.
    As I passed him, my body lightly brushed up against his, sending chills over my entire body. He must not have felt it because he didn’t react like I did, with a parting of my lips in surprise. He didn’t say a word to me as we walked out the door and up the next few blocks.
    I stopped him from going any farther when we were close to my neighborhood. This was it. I could almost feel what he was going to say: “Look, Harley, you’re a good-looking chick and all, but no ass is worth this much work. Look me up when you have less…issues. I’m out.” I had been mentally preparing my “it’s cool” look the entire way so that I wouldn’t show how devastated I was going to be. It was inevitable, him crushing me. I had started to like him. It was just as well.
    “My house is up the road from here,” I said. “I’m okay the rest of the way.” I thought about beating him to the punch and giving him the “I can’t date people who shop at the store” line, when he grabbed me by my face and kissed, in his words earlier, the shit out of me. It was what I imagined being kissed the shit out of felt like. His mouth was warm on my cold one, molding to fit. I had read enough to know what I was supposed to do, move my head in the opposite direction of his, part my lips a bit, and then…he completely dominated me. I’d always had this image of what my first kiss would be like. When I was younger, it was always something so sweet and innocent, a small peck on the lips that would make my heart skip a beat and my foot pop up like in those old movies. Then, as I got older, those images turned a little more R-rated, lips crushing mine laced with slippery tongues and curses of adoration. Hands moving to places, gripping and groping, fireworks exploding behind closed eyelids, the works.
    I was in no way prepared for this kiss, though.
    His hands were firm but gentle around my face as he tilted it slightly upward and moved his thumb in between our lips, slightly parting mine. His tongue slipped inside, and it was all over mine, moving back and forth as it tried to share a space that was already occupied. This was not like the books said it would be. I mean, it was, but it was so much more. Sure, the slippery tongues and fireworks were there, but there was also this feeling that if I didn’t get enough, if he didn’t kiss me more, give me more, I might explode, ignite. It made my body feel alive. This was what I had been waiting for. The explosion.
    Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to take any more of this amazing pressure that was starting to build, he slowed his tongue, then sucked on the bottom of my lip and released me.
    “Whoa.” I hadn’t intended for that to be audible, but it was.
    He chuckled and gave me what could only be a cocky stare before saying, “Yeah, I’ll be getting more of that. Bet.”
    I didn’t even have time to do anything but watch his back as he walked away whistling. The goofy-ass smile on my face couldn’t be helped as I turned and walked home.
    My first kiss.
    It wasn’t inadequate or awkward or sloppy as I’d read and heard about other people’s first kisses. It was intense, amazing, and hot, and I knew that I would compare all future kisses to it. If I ever got the chance.
    I was blissfully unaware of my surroundings when I walked into my house, forgetting that I was supposed to come back in through the window. I could say that I blamed Deklan, but it was me and my forgetfully stupid self. The first thing I heard was moaning, followed by, “Yeah, woman, suck me harder,” and I instantly knew two things: one, I’d walked in on what I thought was the most demoralizing thing a woman could do with a man, and two, this was going to be bad.
    The bad part was that the asshole she was pleasing looked directly at me and with a flick of his tongue asked if I wanted some, too. I grimaced and tried to quickly make it to my room before…
    “The