by Anna Katmore
Kiss With Cherry Flavor
A grover beach team book
ANNA
KATMORE
GENRE: YA/CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
KISS WITH CHERRY FLAVOR
Fourth book in the
GROVER BEACH TEAM series
Copyright © 2014 by Anna Katmore
All cover art copyright © 2014 by Anna Katmore
Edited by Annie Cosby, www.AnnieCosby.com
All Rights Reserved
First Publication: September 2014
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
To all the wonderful girls out there,
who love my characters as much as I do.
Table of contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
TONY
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
TONY
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
TONY
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
TONY
EPILOGUE
PLAYLIST
CHAPTER 1
Ten minutes ago…
TONY MITCHELL WAS driving me insane!
Why wouldn’t he kiss me? Okay, if it wasn’t what he wanted, fine. I could deal with that. But then he should at least keep some distance. It had been the second time we’d gotten so close today, and still, he’d pulled back in the last possible instant. Was he thinking I didn’t care? That I had no feelings at all?
Behind me, the rain pounded on trees and bushes and squashed the many tiny flowers in this romantic little wood. Only an hour ago, in Caroline Jackson’s garden, he’d been gushing about this wood like it was his personal land of milk and honey and I’d asked Tony to show me the enchanting place that had inspired him to draw so much as a child. Now I wished we’d gone straight home instead. That way, there would have been less acting like he was going to kiss me and not going through with it.
I was on my way up to a narrow but high crack in the rock face that Tony had pointed out to me when the hard rain had set in. We could hide out there until the worst was over, but climbing wasn’t easy when the rain tried with everything in its power to wash me back down the sleek rocks. I sniffed and fought against the tears that still stung in my eyes from Tony’s latest rebuff. Was I hurt? That didn’t even scratch the truth. But I couldn’t show Tony how much he’d really gotten to me today.
Luckily, he was climbing away from me on his way down from the small ledge that we’d been standing on together a couple of minutes ago while marveling at the beautiful landscape. This afternoon, Tony had presented me with a paddock full of horses for live models, after I’d been struggling all week to draw a galloping horse from memory for my arts class. Now, my backpack with my finished drawing of Jostle, Mrs. Jackson’s stallion, was still down by the tree where Tony’s mountain bike also stood, exposed to the merciless rain. I’d worked so hard on that picture this afternoon. Then, surprised by the weather, I’d totally forgotten about it. But not Tony. He rushed down to save it so I didn’t have to start from scratch again.
In the meantime I fought my way up, using the tiny protrusions in the rock face to step on. Above me and a little to the left, I could see the narrow cave that Tony had sent me to. It didn’t look very comfortable, but it was enough to give us shelter from the rain. I took a deep breath and another step upward, then another breath and one more step, trying to keep focused and ignore the ache in my heart. It was crucial to get myself together again before Tony came back up. He wouldn’t get a chance to see how much the almost-kiss had shaken me. I could act nonchalant.
Or so I hoped.
But frankly, his game of nearness and distance was killing me. Why was it so hard for him to make up his mind? Kiss me—or not! Want me—or not! That wasn’t such a hard decision to make. An undeniable flame sizzled between us; he had to feel it too. Heck, he could have easily set the wood on fire with the hot look he’d given me just before he... Well, before he didn’t kiss me.
A deep sigh escaped me. Was I really making things up here? Maybe Tony hadn’t been interested in me from the beginning. I probably just wasn’t his type. Because, let’s face it, I wasn’t Lisa Matthews, his one and only love. I was merely Samantha Summers, Chloe Summers’ terrible cousin and the girl Tony called dwarf more often than my real name.
Now wasn’t this fantastic? Why did I ever start falling in love with a jackass like him? Just because he’d let me doze off on his shoulder at Lisa’s sleepover yesterday? Or because he hadn’t hesitated to drive me to Doc Hunter when I hurt my knee in the woods on our camping trip?
But the answer was no. Because I’d started to fall for Tony even before all that. It was the moment he pulled me out of the brook in the woods and gave me his sweatshirt to wear when mine was soaking wet. It was the first real act of friendship Tony had offered in the time I’d known him. Not much really, but to me it had meant a lot. And from there it had just gotten worse. I didn’t want to be in love with Tony, but after today, when he helped me out with the horses and acted so sweetly it gave me goosebumps, it was hard not to be.
All right, I might have been mistaken before. Focusing on my steps wasn’t preventing me from mulling over Tony Mitchell at all. And now I’d reached a dead end, too. I had to climb a little to the left and then down again to reach the cave. Squatting, I slid down and landed on my butt on the mossy, wet rock. It didn’t matter really, because my clothes were drenched already anyway. One last, big step forward and I stood under the cave’s protective shelter. Finally.
When I turned around, Tony was already coming up the same way. Of course, he was much faster and a skilled climber. In my defense, he was a head taller than I was and had much longer legs, too.
Unlike me, he didn’t drop to his butt to slide into the cave. Instead, he obviously intended to jump. In this narrow crack of a cave, I didn’t know where to step to get out of his way. Right behind me was a rock, so I quickly stepped onto it and pressed myself flat against the wall behind me to give him as much space as I could, so he wouldn’t land right on top of me.
When he leaped forward, I held my breath, because suddenly he was right in my face with his hands planted on either side of my head on the rock wall behind me. That’s how he stopped himself from squishing me like a blueberry. His nose was almost touching mine. Like I said, there was little to no space in this cave—hardly enough room for two.
Still, he could have at least given me a few more inches to breathe. Only, he didn’t seem to want that…
Thanks to the rock underneath me, my height for once matched Tony’s. Well, almost. Merely a few more centimeters, and we’d have been on eye level. It didn’t happen often, but whenever it did, the butterflies in my belly came out to play. And I already felt the first one tickling my insides. I wanted to crush it in my fist, but it was impossible, because it had brought too many of its friends and the tickling sensation in my stomach was getting worse by the second.
Mud stained Tony’s white, short-sleeved shirt, which now clung to his body like a seco
nd skin. From his blond hair rain dripped down on my face and one drop slid down my nose. I had no chance to wipe it off, because at that moment Tony dipped his head those last few centimeters and brushed the drop away with the tip of his own nose.
What the heck was he doing to me?
Was he starting this awful game again? Looking like he was going to kiss me and then pulling back? I should have run away that very instant and not looked back. Except, there was a rock wall behind me, Tony’s arms hemming me in, and his blue, blue eyes right in front of me. I was trapped, literally.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t the worst position I’d ever been in.
Tony’s breaths feathered against my skin. With my knees turned to rubber, I braced myself against his chest, so as not to tumble from the rock I was standing on. “You shouldn’t do this,” I said, my barely audible voice trembling. I was wet to the bone and shivering, and yet, I didn’t feel cold, not one little bit.
“Why not?” Annoyingly, Tony didn’t sound half as insecure and nervous as I did. And instead of pulling back that instant, like he’d done before when I’d thought he was going to kiss me, he obviously decided to tease me some more. Gently, he stroked the tip of his nose across the sensitive skin beneath my left eye. It felt so good, I couldn’t turn my head away.
“Because you don’t really want it,” I breathed helplessly against his cheek. My lips brushing against his warm, damp skin was my undoing, and I got the feeling that he really liked it.
“Do you want it?” he asked me.
No! Yes… No.
Tony’s lips moved behind my ear to kiss me there. My entire body began to shudder from the pleasure of it. My hands glided up over his firm chest and I slid my fingers under the straps of my backpack, which he was still carrying on his shoulders. Did I really want to kiss him?
Okay, maybe I did… But just a little bit.
“That doesn’t matter,” was what I told him.
“It matters to me.”
It did? Since when? “I can’t seem to figure out what’s going on inside your head.”
Tony shrugged one shoulder. “You don’t have to.” Because he was still nuzzling the side of my neck, I couldn’t see his face, but he sounded every bit mysterious – like he meant it. How was I supposed to ever make sense of this guy?
“See, that’s the problem. You’re confusing me. Everything you say seems to be at war with everything you do.” Really, I wanted to push him away from me, but for some reason, I did the exact opposite and used the straps of my backpack to pull him even closer. “This really is a bad idea.” And it totally was. Only, I didn’t care anymore. I pressed my cheek against his.
“You sound like you’ve never done anything stupid in your life,” Tony whispered and continued placing little kisses on the underside of my jaw.
I’d done lots of stupid things, all right. But none of them ever evoked this crazy butterfly feeling in my gut, which I knew at this very moment I’d never ever get rid of again.
“Not like this. I think it would change too much…for me.”
Tony’s muscles tensed for a split second. He knew I was right. And it might very well bring an abrupt end to our sizzling moment.
It would have been wise to wish for it. To hope this moment would end the same way as the almost-kiss before. But I couldn’t. Earlier in his aunt’s stables, I’d already been more than ready for a kiss. The entire afternoon together with him had just been too beautiful. The memory of him surprising me in my uncle’s gym where I’d been dancing surfaced in my mind. Thinking of the way he’d made me sit on the handlebar of his mountain bike and how he’d helped me down from the stallion after riding it—all these things made me want to kiss him even more. I really shouldn’t let him but, frankly, who could have resisted a guy who jogged a horse for twenty minutes so I could finish my drawing for my art class?
Tony touched his forehead to mine. Right then I forgot how to breathe. I closed my eyes but could still feel his gaze on my face. Like he was waiting for me to look at him. Eventually, I gathered all my bravery and opened my eyes again, locking gazes with him. His eyes gleamed with a determination that I hadn’t seen about him before. “You think too much, Bungee,” he told me in a soft voice.
In the next instant, his mouth was on mine. I didn’t want to give in, but I could do nothing to stop myself. My eyes closed, and I tilted my face just that last little bit to meet his gentle lips. Tony stroked the inside of my wrists with his thumbs, then pulled my hands away from him. His fingers laced through mine, he tightened his hold.
My knees turned weak again. My head spun wilder than a carousel. But inwardly I raged. It felt so beautiful for me, while for Tony…this was only a game. After his last rebuff only minutes ago, it was clear the kiss didn’t mean half as much to him as it did to me. I was going to be the loser in this gamble. Because I had put my heart on the line.
But he wouldn’t stop kissing me.
His tongue stroked a seductive path along my bottom lip, then he easily worked my mouth open, our lips moving together in a soft rhythm. So effortlessly, he had me giving it all.
Our tongues touched, slid against each other. It lit my body with a flaming tingle that centered at the base of my belly.
And then, it was over. Just like that. Tony pulled away. Utter shock gleamed in his eyes, like he’d come to his senses, and I got what I deserved for being so stupid. My heart fell and fell until I could have stomped on it with my feet. Or Anthony Mitchell—because he was actually doing so right now.
There you go, Sam. Happy now?
Tony released my hands and raked his fingers through his wet hair, turning toward the forest and then back to me. “Ah, Sam…listen—”
“No,” I cut him off, almost in a panic. “Just—don’t—say anything.” I didn’t want to hear his apologies or excuses for a moment that was so beautiful. It wasn’t his fault alone. I should have known better. After all, it was Lisa he wanted. Not me.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to push back my hurt before it overcame me. Then I shrugged and even smiled. “We kissed. It doesn’t have to happen again. It’s all right.”
Tony hesitated. He didn’t show any of my forced nonchalance. But eventually he nodded.
I stepped off the rock, leaving the comfort zone of Tony’s eye level, and walked out into the rain that had lightened to a drizzle in the past couple of minutes. Climbing down the rock face, I looked up at him between watching my steps. “Just don’t go back to being an asshole,” I said with a warning note in my voice.
A sly smile appeared on his face. Finally. “Can I call you tiny?”
Refusing to flip him the bird, I stuck my tongue out at him instead. “If you want me to kick your shins, go ahead!”
My feet touched the ground, and Tony was down two seconds after me. We walked to his bike, but instead of mounting it, he looked both ways along the path, deliberating. “Are you cold?” he asked me. “If you want, we can go back to Carrie’s house and wait until the rain stops.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I am. A little. But I’d rather go home now.”
After a curt nod, Tony wheeled his mountain bike in the opposite direction from which we’d come, and when we left the woods and returned to a paved street, he had me sit on his handlebar like before. With the wind and the rain gushing at my face and bare arms, I was freezing. But the cold also numbed my mind, and I was glad I couldn’t start thinking about what had happened back in the forest. Later, when I’d be alone in my room, would be soon enough.
Tony helped me down in front of my aunt’s house and handed me the backpack, but before I could walk inside, he grabbed my hand and held me back. Surprised, I spun around.
For a brief moment, Tony looked strangely forlorn. Then he cleared his throat, tightening his grip around my wrist a little more as if he expected me to wrestle free and run off.
“Look, I know you said it’s cool, but I’m…” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. You’re a nice girl. And I kin
da like hanging out with you.”
I kept my expression blank. “But…”
His answer took a while to come. “But I’m just not doing the girlfriend thing right now.”
“Yeah, I figured that out.” For him, it was either Lisa or nobody. “And I told you, it’s okay. I’m not looking for a boyfriend.” Or so I would tell myself for the rest of the day. And in the end, maybe I’d believe it too.
Giving him a tight little smile, I pulled my hand away from his. “See you tomorrow at lunch?”
“Sure.” He looked away.
I turned and hurried inside, out of the rain and away from the boy who’d broken my heart this afternoon. As soon as the door banged shut, I slumped against it and ugly, fat tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Sam, is that you?” my aunt shouted from the kitchen a couple of seconds before she appeared in the doorway.
It was too late to dry my tears. Pam rushed to me and cupped my face with her warm palms. “Darling, what happened? You’re wet to the bone, and why are you crying?”
“We got caught in the rain,” I choked out, then sank into my aunt’s caring embrace, sobbing into her shoulder. “And he kissed me.”
“Who? Tony?”
Nodding, I looked up. And it was just my luck that Chloe was standing behind Pamela, her face full of horror. She didn’t stay long enough to hear the end of the story, but whirled around and dashed upstairs. A moment later, the thunder of her door slamming echoed through the house.
Pam looked over her shoulder, oblivious to what was going on. Then she held me tighter against her chest and caressed my hair. “If he kissed you, why are you feeling miserable?”
“Because he didn’t want to,” I told her truthfully. “I don’t know why he did it. But he said he didn’t want me to be his girlfriend. He’s still in love with a friend of mine. Has been his entire life.”
“Oh, Sammy. He must feel something for you if he kissed you. Maybe he just needs a little more time to understand what he really wants.” Stroking my bangs out of my face, she gave me an encouraging look. “Who’s the other girl?”
