Page 86 of This Bitter Sweet Temptation
Hey, yeah, sorry for kissing you, Holden Hardass. I didn’t mean it.
Okay, Nile. I forgive you for falling onto my tongue. Let’s never talk about it again.
See? Awful.
I dig my fingers into my temples.
“Headache?” Holden inhales like it takes all his concentration to remain calm.
“Just a little,” I say. “Nothing too major.”
We lapse back into silence.
Part of me wants to scream at him, to tell him it’s not all my fault. He certainly didn’t feel tortured when we crashed together.
Deep down, he wanted it as bad as I did, so why should I take a hundred percent of the blame?
Only, it won’t do any good pointing fingers.
It won’t erase what happened.
Plus, it’s clear as day he doesn’t want to dwell on it. I don’t even know ifIwant to mention it again.
A girl’s ego can only take so much before she has to shut up and live it down.
The only thing that could possibly make this more embarrassing would be if he hadn’t kissed me back. If he’d pushed me away with pure disgust for daring to touch him.
But he didn’t.
Holden kissed me back like he meant to.
Like he wanted me.
Like he’s been craving me for years and all I had to do was open the gate and unleash a charging bull.
And Ididunleash him, no lie.
Who knows if the kiss was the real mistake. Maybe we shouldn’t have gone to The Met.
If we hadn’t, that adorably awkward pseudo-date stuck in my head wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have gone to sleep curled up in his arms.
I wouldn’t have let myself fly too close to the sun.
“You need aspirin?” he asks, his voice like gravel.
“I’m fine.”
“If you’re not feeling good, tell me.”
Yes, Holden. I’m feeling something because I accidentally kissed you and now you barely look at me. Is there a pill for that?
I stare at him until I can’t.
He nods stiffly and lets it go.
Small relief,I lie.
But when we get to the airport and head into the lounge, waiting for our jet, he scares up a bottle of water and a little travel aspirin pack.
