Kiss with Cherry Flavor (Grover Beach #4)

by Anna Katmore

  Kneeling in front of her, I unlaced her boots and slid them carefully off her feet, one at a time. Her socks went next. It wasn’t too troublesome to remove them without waking her. The hoodie provided a bit more of a problem, and it was then that I unintentionally woke her.

  Her eyes opened to tired slits. “Tony?” she murmured, but I doubted she really saw me.

  “Come on, baby,” I whispered as I scooped her up in my arms, carrying her around the bed and setting her gently down. Her head sank into the pillow. She had already drifted off again before I could drape the blanket over her body.

  I turned off the lights, then slipped under the comforter, too. In her sleep, Sam turned around and nestled against me. I breathed in the beautiful scent of her hair as I fell asleep with my girl in my arms.

  EPILOGUE

  I WOKE IN Tony’s arms. I always did on Saturday mornings. During the past four months he’d slept in my bed every weekend. Occasionally, I slept in his, too, but we both preferred to sleep in my room, because Carrie was a lot less nosy and inquisitive than Eileen Mitchell.

  Lifting my head from his chest, I looked at his gorgeous face. “Hi,” I said.

  Tony smiled. “Hi, yourself.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Far too late to have some fun in bed, if you want to look all shiny and nice when your parents arrive.”

  I tilted my head to glance at the clock on my nightstand. “Ten thirty? Shit! Why didn’t you wake me up? They’ll be here in half an hour.” Winding out of Tony’s protesting embrace, I grabbed a pair of cut-off jeans and a snug-fit blue tee and rushed to the bathroom, where I hurried through my morning routine.

  When I came out fifteen minutes later, Tony had made the bed, tidied up the floor, and got rid of our discarded clothes from last night. Dressed in black jeans and a white dress shirt, he stood in front of the mirror and tested which looked better: the top button open or closed.

  I sneaked up behind him. Standing on tiptoes, I leaned my chin on his shoulder and met his gaze in the mirror. “Are you nervous?”

  Tony scrunched up his face in a way that made me want to kiss him. “I’m going to meet General Henry Summers in a few minutes.” He turned and wrapped his arms around me. “Somehow, I feel like I should shave my head and borrow some of your army clothes.”

  I laughed out loud. “Oh no, Anthony Mitchell, you shouldn’t.” I ruffled the gorgeous, fair strands he’d combed to one side until they fell in their usual lovely way over his forehead again. Then I unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, giving him the chance to breathe and hopefully relax. “You worry too much. My parents are great. You’ll love them.”

  “I’m sure they are. I’m just worried they might not approve of me as their daughter’s boyfriend.”

  “Who could ever not approve of you?” Lifting to my toes again, I pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. Then I unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. “I can’t believe you picked a long-sleeved shirt. You’re not applying for a job with the government.”

  I was done with the first sleeve when the sound of a car rolling up the drive to Carrie’s house drifted in through the open windows. A rush of excitement gripped me by the nose. I beamed at Tony, then turned on my heel and darted out the door. Halfway down the hallway, I realized Tony wasn’t coming, so I skittered to a halt, trudged back, and dragged him with me this time.

  He was so reluctant, it felt like I was pulling a horse behind me. “Oh, come on, now,” I whined. “He’s not going to shoot you.”

  Tony took a deep breath, but he didn’t move any faster. At the landing in the middle of the stairway, I heard the familiar voices of my parents greeting Carrie, who’d met them outside. I couldn’t keep my excitement in check any longer. Releasing Tony’s hand, I skipped ahead and out the door. Down by the gate, my mom and dad stood next to Caroline, chatting, laughing, and shaking hands. My dad was in his usual uniform and my mom wore a striking yellow spring dress she must have gotten recently, her hair tied up in a high ponytail.

  “Dad! Mom!”

  They turned to me, their expressions changing from friendly to blissful. “Sammy!” both cried out, and my father spread his arms wide. I dashed toward him and flung my arms around his neck. He spun me around and around and around. I was on top of the world.

  He set me down so I could crush my mom in a hearty hug, too. It was so good to feel her again. To smell her familiar perfume. To hear her say, “Oh, my darling baby, I missed you so much.”

  When she released me after an eternity—and even that was far too soon for me—I turned around to check if Tony had finally made it outside, too. Shy like a lost child, he stood by the door. And heck, he’d closed that damn top button of his shirt again. I shook my head at him and giggled.

  Since he now had all eyes on him, he had no choice but to come over. Not as reluctantly as before, thank God, he walked toward us. Two safe feet away from my dad, he stopped and acknowledged him with a firm, “Sir.”

  I slipped to his side and whispered in his ear, “You’re such a coward, Anthony Mitchell.” Then I introduced him to my mom first. She reached out to shake his hand with both of hers; her way of thanking him for what he’d done for me last November, when I’d thought I had to fly back to Egypt.

  Tony loosened up a bit and gave her a warm smile. It vanished, however, the moment I introduced him to my father.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, General,” he said, articulating every word. I nearly peed my pants when he actually saluted.

  Dad laughed, too, and clapped him on the shoulder. “No need to be so formal, boy. My name’s Henry.”

  Obviously not yet convinced, Tony nodded. “Henry.”

  I looped my arms around his waist to give him a little confidence and smiled brightly up at him. Slowly, the muscles in his back and stomach relaxed underneath his skin.

  Carrie ushered us to the back of the house then, where she’d set up a table with a welcoming brunch. I was starving and tucked in while catching my parents up with what they’d missed of my life. There was so much to tell.

  Before I even realized it, noon had passed, and it was time to get ready to go to my new home. I said goodbye to Carrie with a long hug. She invited me to come back and visit her and Jostle whenever I liked. “He’ll sure miss your daily rides through the woods.”

  Tony had loaded my suitcase into the trunk of his new car, a shiny black VW Polo, in the meantime, and now he held the door open for me. As I stepped in, I suddenly remembered that I’d forgotten something.

  “My hoodie’s still in the bathroom. I’ll be back in a second,” I shouted as I darted back to the house and upstairs.

  I rushed around the corner, grabbed the sweatshirt, and hurried back to the door. But then I couldn’t bring myself to leave. The windows were still open and they tempted me to throw one last look out to the paddock, where the horses grazed their lazy days away. A wonderful scent of fresh grass and hay wafted up to me. I breathed in deeply.

  If my cousin hadn’t been so ugly to me last fall, I would have never gotten the chance to live here. That probably justified the saying that every cloud has a silver lining.

  Chloe had recovered from her crash quickly, and the guys had even let her stay on the soccer team…after my and Tony’s intercession. Susan had shaken her head at me, but deep down she’d known it was the right thing to do. It took as long as Christmas to come, but my cousin finally decided to apologize to me. At that time, I was happy to accept. It helped a lot that she’d finally lost interest in Tony, and I could relax again when he was at practice.

  Pamela and I had made it a habit to meet once or twice a week and chat…about school, friends, home, Tony, drawing. Whatever. There was always something for us to talk about. And with Jack—well, I couldn’t say that I’d grown really fond of him after he’d thrown me out of his house. But it was nice to hear that he always asked Pamela how I was doing after our meetings.

  Things were all right the way they we
re. I had become a really happy girl in a really beautiful town, with awesome friends and a gorgeous boyfriend who worshipped me.

  As I resurfaced from my reverie and turned around with a deep sigh, I noticed said boyfriend leaning in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest.

  “You’re going to miss this place, aren’t you?” Tony said, his voice soft and understanding. He pushed away from the door, walked toward me, and stroked his hands down my hair, my neck, my shoulders, and my arms. Then he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight.

  I tilted my chin up, trying to smile at him. But I failed. My heart ached a little at the thought of leaving. “I can’t believe the four months are already over and I have to go now. I have so many beautiful memories of this room.” When my glance fell on the one pillow that Tony had forgotten to fluff up this morning, the first night that he’d slept here with me resurfaced in my mind. “And, one way or another, they’re all connected to you,” I breathed, looking into his eyes again.

  “We’ll make new memories in your new home,” Tony said softly, brushing my bangs off my forehead.

  I leaned into his palm. This time I managed a smile. One that I always reserved for him.

  Tony leaned down to kiss me. Not passionately or ravenously. He kissed me like the best memories still lay ahead of us.

  Then he pulled back, took my hand, laced his fingers through mine, and walked out with me. As I closed the door, it no longer felt like I was leaving something behind. It merely felt like closing the first chapter of a very long story.

  THE END

  PLAYLIST

  Nicki Minaj – Starships

  (The Grover Beach Theme song)

  Macklemore – And We Danced

  (Realizing she’s the wrong girl to fall in love with, but impossible to resist)

  Bon Jovi – Always

  (A kiss in his bedroom)

  Awolnation – Sail

  (Tony gets his hoodie back; there’s something in the pockets)

  Zach Sobiech – Clouds

  (Sam tending to Tony in the restroom)

  Birdy – People Help The People

  (Stabbed in the back)

  Ed Sheeran – Lego House

  (A world breaks apart)

  The Script – I’m Yours

  (Every story needs a happy ending)

  Taryn Southern & Julia Price – cover of Royals by Lorde

  (The Grover Beach clique hanging out on a random Sunday afternoon)

  Get a sneak peek into the next book in the Grover Beach Team series!

  Dating Trouble

  When bookworm Susan Miller hurts her leg playing soccer, she has no idea it could be the start of her very own love story—a story specked with trouble.

  Trapped on the sidelines watching her friends practice for the winter season, all her anger is directed at the player the team captain replaced her with. And yet, her replacement has the sweetest smile she’s ever seen.

  Against all odds, the guy charms her into a date. But when Susan sees him at school the next day, he acts as if he’s never seen her before and even makes fun of her in front of his friends. Worse, he’s very obviously trying to hook up with another girl.

  Embarrassed and hurt, Susan decides to forget about this moron. Not too difficult of a job—until she runs into him again. She is already confused enough because, without his friends, he’s completely different. And then, on top of it all, she starts to see double.

  At this point, I want to shout out my gratitude to a few people.

  To all my great readers for never letting me down. Your messages, your encouragement, and your friendship mean the world to me.

  To my one and only and absolutely awesome critique partner, Georgia Lyn Hunter. I really hope we can meet one day, Lyn.

  To my wonderful family for bearing with me in good and in bad times. I know it’s not easy to live with a writer. Honestly, I do know.

  And special thanks to Melanie Scheitza for helping me come up with a cool anthem for the Grover Beach Bay Sharks. You rock!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ANNA KATMORE prefers blue to green, spring to winter, and writing to almost anything else. It helps her escape from a boring world to something with actual adventure and romance, she says. Even when she’s not crafting a new story, you’ll see her lounging with a book in some quiet spot. She was 17 when she left Vienna to live in the quiet countryside of Austria, and from there she loves to plan trips with her family to anywhere in the world. Two of her favorite places? Disneyland and the deep dungeons of her creative mind.

  For more information, please visit her website at www.annakatmore.com