Page 67 of Inked Heart
Chapter Seventeen
The First Kiss
Damien
If someone had asked me a week ago how I imagined my first real date with Quinn Thomas would go, I probably would have come up with something a lot more dramatic.
Candles, music, and maybe some kind of cinematic sunset moment.
Instead, we’re sitting at the end of a wooden dock with our feet dangling over the edge while she tries to convince a dragonfly to land on her hand.Which, honestly?Might be better.
“Stay still,” she whispers.
“I’m not moving.”
“You’re breathing,” she accuses.
“I need to do that,” I whisper in reply.
The dragonfly hovers for a second longer before zipping away across the lake and Quinn groans dramatically.
“How rude.”
“I warned you.”
“You sabotaged it.”
“I absolutely did not sabotage an insect.”
She nudges my shoulder.“You’re a terrible accomplice.”
I chuckle quietly.
The sun sits lower in the sky now, painting the lake in soft gold and orange light.The breeze coming off the water carries the faint scent of grass and wildflowers.It’s peaceful.
Too peaceful, maybe.Because the longer we sit here the more aware I become of how close she is.Her shoulder brushing mine.Her bare feet swinging lightly over the water.The soft sound of her breathing when she leans back against her hands.
My brain is trying very hard not to overthink it but that’s difficult when the girl you’ve liked for months is sitting two inches away looking like a summer day come to life.
“So,” she says after a moment.
“So.”
“You’ve been unusually quiet.”
“I’m enjoying the view.”
She glances toward the lake.“It is pretty.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
