by Tessa Teevan
“Sierra,” I whispered.
Her head lifted, her eyes wide with expectation. “Jeremy,” she breathed.
My name had never sounded sweeter. If I could record her saying it, I’d listen to it on repeat every night before I went to bed. Who needs the sound of a babbling brook when you have the girl of your dreams whispering your name with astounding affection?
I swallowed hard. “I have to tell you something.” I paused as her chest rose when she inhaled deeply. “I—”
Right when I was about to spill it, someone tapped on my shoulder. Once again, our moment was interrupted. My head fell to the crook of her shoulder, and her annoyed sigh filled my ear as she dropped her hands from my back. That made two of us.
When I looked back up, Danny Moyer was watching us curiously.
“Mind if I cut in?” he asked, a cocky grin forming on his face, which was begging to be punched.
I glanced from him to Sierra, whose eyes were pleading with mine. Pride because she didn’t want him swelled in me. If I had my way, she’d never want anyone else but me ever again.
“Yes,” I answered. “I do mind.” Without another word, I whirled her away from him.
“Thank you,” she said, flashing me a smile before wrinkling her nose in disgust. “He’s such an asshole. Now, you were saying?” she asked as she slid her hands up until she linked them around my neck.
I grinned down at her. “Yes, what was I saying?”
“Something about a sexy blonde in a super-hot, green dress?” she teased.
Just as I was about to respond, the last notes of the song played and the lights in the gym turned all the way up. Mr. Turoff was talking into the microphone, something about having a good night, being safe, blah blah blah. All I knew was I’d waited too long, and I couldn’t tell her at that moment.
I kissed her temple before pulling back and looking down at her. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
Her eyes searched mine. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
As I took her hand and led her out of the gym, I wished later was right then.
THE ENTIRE WAY TO Ryan’s beach house, I was on edge. Pins and needles. Jeremy had been moments away from telling me something that seemed so important, and right when he’d been about to say it, Danny had interrupted. I wished looks could kill, because I’d shot that jerk my most heated glare, hoping he’d spontaneously combust on the spot. And then Jeremy had told me that we’d talk later.
Later?
I had been two seconds away from freaking out and telling Jeremy that later was now and I couldn’t wait.
Really, Danny? You wanted to cut in? What an asshole. He’d dumped me before the dance and then expected me to save my last dance for him? No freaking way. If anything, I should’ve thanked him. His being a jerk had gotten Jeremy to ask me. A total win for me.
The house was pumping with music, and the sounds of partying echoed all around us as we walked inside. Jeremy’s firm grasp on my waist electrified all my senses. His lips found my ear, and I shivered at the sensation of his warm breath tickling my skin. I was so in love with that signature move.
“I promise, babe. We’ll talk later.”
Whoa.
Record. Scratch. Stop. Could we rewind? Or perhaps call “time” Zack Morris style? I needed to relive that moment all over again.
Babe.
It was a far cry from Sullivan, and I wanted to turn around and, in my best Meg Ryan move, tell him to take me to bed or lose me forever. Okay, so not quite that dramatic. We could start with maybe a kiss, but the sentiment was all the same. Instead, I nodded as disappointment filled me. I didn’t want to be around all of those people. I wanted to be alone with Jeremy.
Finally, someone—I’m pretty sure it was Chris—suggested Seven Minutes in Heaven. I rolled my eyes at the juvenile game. Weren’t we in high school? Still, I sat in the circle nonetheless. The pairings entered the closet then came back out with red cheeks. I never could tell if they were flushed with embarrassment or heat, but this game was pretty voyeuristic. The same could’ve been said for Spin the Bottle, but at least, in this one, you had some privacy.
I was lost in my thoughts when I heard my name being called. My eyes widened as I shook my head. “Oh, no, I’m not—”
But then the next name was called and my protests were silenced.
“Jeremy. You’re up, too.”
My heart stopped. My eyes raced to meet his, but he was seemingly unaffected. He simply shrugged his shoulders, stood, and wiped his hands on his pants. Whoops, hollers, and catcalls all rang out as he helped me up and led me to the closet where Ryan had claimed all the magic was supposed to happen.
For the first minute or so, we didn’t even look at each other. We just sat on the floor, across from each other, our knees nearly—but not quite—touching. Then Jeremy cleared his throat, causing me to glance up. The seconds were ticking away, and the longer time passed in silence, the more worried I became. Why wasn’t he making a move? I mean, it wasn’t that I wanted our first kiss to be in a closet closed off from thirty other horny teenagers, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. And I was seriously close to begging.
“So,” he finally said, breaking the silence. His jaw was clenched and his brows were knitted together. “This is awkward.” His tone was teasing, and I knew I shouldn’t take offense, but I did.
My heart sank. The butterflies that had been flitting about in my belly since we’d first locked eyes in the living room suddenly ceased to move.
Awkward.
All night, I’d thought he was finally seeing me as more than Tod. More than Joey. More than his female best friend. Had I thought wrong? The idea of kissing me was awkward?
I laughed even though my heart was breaking. “Yeah, awkward.” I shoved off the floor. “Besides, who wants to have their first kiss in a closet with someone who doesn’t even like you?”
A sob was bubbling up. I had to get out of there.
“Sierra,” Jeremy whispered, but I couldn’t look at him. All I had to do was wait for the timer to go off and bolt from the closet, down the hall, and out the door. I’d sprint down the beach as fast as I could to get away from all of this…awkwardness.
Apparently, Jeremy had other plans.
He stood and crossed to me, placing his arms on the wall behind me, blocking me in. “I didn’t mean it’d be awkward kissing you. Just that it’d be awkward here in the closet…all those people listening on the other side.” He exhaled. “We don’t have to do this, you know. It’s just a game,” he told me, seemingly unaware of the way my heart was racing.
I wished he’d acknowledged, just once, the way things had been changing between us, especially since I’d gotten home from Ohio. I saw him differently. I had for a long time. Did he see me differently as well? Should I tell him how I felt? That my stomach always twisted into pretzel-like knots whenever he was around and how my heart missed him when he wasn’t?
“I want to,” I said abruptly.
His eyes widened slightly, and he nodded, bringing his head closer to mine. Suddenly, the space in the closet was restricting—as if the walls were closing in on us—but I didn’t dare try to move.
“I’ve never actually kissed a boy before,” I admitted as my heart hammered in my chest.
His breath tickled my lips as he exhaled a curse. Clearly, he was surprised at my admission. “Neither have I,” he responded, leaning in and closing the distance between us.
I’d like to say our mouths met with a fiery passion that had sparks flying all around us. That the air was electrified and swirling, locking us in a tornadic fury of lust and love.
But the truth is, when his lips met mine, I was laughing at his words, which caused our foreheads to bump together. Instead of slow, sweet, and achingly perfect, his lips kind of mashed against mine, drowning out my laughter. My body went rigid at the contact, and we just stood there, stock-still. The force of his kiss pressed my lips into my teeth, but I couldn’t move.
Our eyes were locked in place, and while his kiss might not have been magical, the affectionate look in his eyes certainly was.
My palms turned sweaty. Those butterflies once again took flight. My knees went weaker than ever.
It might not have been Hollywood perfect, but Jeremy’s lips were fused to mine, and at that moment, I knew nothing would ever come between us again.
So, Hollywood perfect? No.
But who needs Hollywood? It was Sierra Sullivan perfect, and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
Then, slowly, he gently pulled back until his lips were only a whisper on mine. A sudden surge of confidence burst within me, and as my eyes fluttered closed, I ran my hands up his chest and fisted his shirt. Then I leaned forward and kissed him back.
His arms wrapped around my waist as he drew me in close. I felt so small in his embrace, melting into his warmth and never wanting to leave it. He didn’t deepen the kiss. In fact, he gave me the reins. So I did exactly what I’d always wanted. I tasted him.
His lips were soft and sweet, with remnants of vanilla from the Pepsi he’d been drinking. A soft moan bubbled up from within me, causing my cheeks to heat with embarrassment. No. That wasn’t embarrassment. That was arousal.
“Jeremy,” left my lips in a whisper as I pulled back from him.
My eyes fluttered open to find him gazing down at me. His eyes were dancing with delight, which caused my heart to smile.
“Sierra,” he replied.
We both released simultaneous sighs and beamed at each other.
I’d thought our relationship had shifted earlier.
But that moment in the living room had nothing on this one.
Who would’ve thought that kissing my best friend would have felt so right?
And who would’ve thought that I couldn’t wait to do it again?
I couldn’t believe it was finally happening. A moment I felt like I’d been waiting all my life for. A moment that could’ve continued for the rest of my life. A moment, an amazing one, I would never, ever forget.
Kissing Sierra Sullivan was like a dream come true. If I could win the lottery, get Michael Jordan’s autograph, and kiss the girl of my dreams whenever I wanted to, that was what it would feel like. Hell, this felt even better than that. I didn’t need the lottery or the autograph. I already felt like I had everything thanks to the girl in my arms.
She was my best friend. She was my lifeline. She was everything to me, and now that I was holding her in my arms, I realized I wanted everything with her.
But how did I tell her? What if, for some reason, I’d read this all wrong and she didn’t feel the same?
Was that even possible?
All too soon, there was a knock on the door.
“Time’s up,” Chris called from just outside the door. His eyes lit up when we stepped out into a room with even more hoots and hollers than there had been before we’d gone into the closet.
No one but Chris knew how I felt about Sierra, but I was starting to wonder if it was written all over my face. As Chris gave me a pat on the back, he gave me a look. I knew that look. He was daring me.
As if that weren’t enough, he leaned in closer. “Come out of the closet, Banks. You’ll feel better. I promise.” He paused for effect. “I. Dare. Ya.”
See? I knew my male best friend.
But Sierra was frowning. “Does he mean…” she trailed off, shaking her head.
Chris folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow in my direction. I placed my hand on the small of Sierra’s back and pushed her forward, flipping him off in the process.
This was the first time he’d done this. Our dares usually kept girls off-limits, but he was apparently tired of me not-so-secretively pining for my best friend.
Hello. I was Jeremy Banks and there was not a dare I could turn down.
Which is how I found myself, moments later, taking Sierra’s hand and guiding her outside Ryan’s beach house and onto the sand. We walked in companionable silence until we were a good distance away.
“All joking aside…that was a first for me, too,” I admitted, pulling on the neck of my shirt. God, had that thing tightened up since the dance?
Her nose wrinkled in disbelief, and she playfully hit my shoulder with hers, rocking me to the side before she plopped down in the sand and pulled me beside her. “You’re a hot-shot baseball player. A star on the football field. I see the way all the girls look at you in the hallway at school, Jeremy. There’s no way,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re sixteen years old and never been kissed? I don’t buy it.”
I sighed and squeezed her hand while releasing an exaggerated sigh. “Just call me Josie Grossie,” I told her.
That made her to laugh. I knew she was remembering the day we’d watched that movie together. She’d lamented that she’d end up just like Drew Barrymore’s character. I’d wished I’d had the balls to change that for her, but I hadn’t. Now that I had, I wanted to keep kissing her over and over again.
“It’s true, Sierra. After all, these lips are sacred, and for as long as I can remember, there’s only been one girl I’ve ever wanted to kiss.”
Her jaw clenched tight and her eyes dulled with a pained expression, taking me aback. Her voice was small as her fingers played in the sand. “Who?”
Was she seriously asking me that? Who? It hadn’t dawned on me that she’d think there was someone else I wanted to be with, but I guess that was my fault. I needed to remedy that, and do it quick.
Now or never, Banks. Now or never. I tenderly lifted her chin until our eyes met.
“You.”
And that’s when I leaned in close, capturing her lips with mine. This time, the kiss was deeper, harder, and I gently coaxed her body down until she was flat on her back in the sand. My hand came to the hem of the shirt she’d changed into. Her skin was cool beneath my warm hand. I forced my lips from hers, my chest heaving as I panted. My eyes bored down into hers.
“That wasn’t a fluke back there, Sierra. I’ve wanted to kiss you for ages. I want to kiss you for ages. I want to start kissing you and I never want to stop.”
“Do you really mean it, Jeremy?” she asked, sounding a bit unsure.
“I don’t want to dance around this anymore. Kiss and then have everything be awkward while we try to make each other jealous when all we want is each other. I’ll pine for you if you make me. I’ll fight dirty if I have to. But, God…please don’t make me. You’re my best friend, Sierra. But my feelings for you run so much deeper than that. Tell me…tell me you feel this, too.”
She gulped. “Umm, yeah, Jeremy. I feel it, too,” she whispered, her hips arching up as my very hard erection pushed against her.
Instead of flushing with embarrassment, I did the only thing I could do. I smiled. Because, in so many words, she had just given me my answer.
“I thought so,” I responded and leaned down, taking her lips with mine, this time not stopping until I tasted her tongue.
Sierra Sullivan. My best friend. My first kiss. If I had my way, my first and last everything. And all that came between.
BY MONDAY MORNING, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait for Jeremy and me to walk into the school hand in hand. Sneaking kisses between classes. My arm wrapped around his waist as we walked the halls. I could already hear the shocked gasps, the whispers. The “what does he see in her?” comments from the girls who wished they could snag Jeremy Banks.
But, when we pulled into the parking lot and he leaned across the console to give me a kiss, no one noticed. When we entwined our fingers and said our good mornings to our classmates, not a single eyebrow rose.
Apparently, everyone else had expected this to happen. It had been a matter of when.
“Heck yes!” Ryan shouted when he saw us. He did a stupid fist bump then held his hand out to Chris. “Pay up, buddy.”
“Pay up?” I asked.
He opened his binder and removed a sheet of paper. Names and dates were listed down th
e page, and he pointed to his. “The Jeremy-Sierra school pool. I guessed sometime during football season. Chris had his money on Christmas. Jace had you guys pegged for the end of summer.” He shook his head. “He clearly had too much faith in you, Banks.”
Jace walked up to us and shrugged. “What can I say? I didn’t realize he’d be so slow to tell Sierra he dug her.”
I rolled my eyes even though my heart was doing a happy dance. “How much money are we talking?” My eyes widened when they told me. “Three hundred dollars?!”
Ryan grinned. “Yep, and it’s all mine. Thanks for being a slowpoke, Banks,” he said, slapping him on the shoulder. “And now that you’re off the market, I’m going to go introduce myself to your sister.”
He took off before I could protest.
Jeremy cocked an eyebrow. “This is not going to end well.”
I nodded. “Let’s go save Lexi.”
“Coming Jace?” he asked, but Jace shook his head and took off in the other direction. Jeremy frowned at me. “That was weird.”
I gazed after Jace’s retreating figure. “Weird, indeed.”
That was it. Our big coming-out. No one had cared—except for Ryan, of course. And Lexi, because she complained for three weeks about Ryan calling her Little Lexi, which then turned into Sexy Lexi. She avoided going down the sophomore hallway whenever she could. It wasn’t until baseball season that she finally started to come out of her shell.
“Sierra Sullivan, you have been holding out on me.”
I glanced up from my magazine. My sister was trying to glare at me. But she was struggling because she was also smiling from ear to ear.
I sat up and closed the magazine. “I have?” I asked, having no clue what she was talking about.
But she was in her Diamond Girls shirt, so she must’ve just gotten home from the away game I’d had to miss thanks to an English paper I’d had to finish. That meant Jeremy would be home, too. But first things first.
