Page 98 of Let's Kiss and Tell

“Oh, uh,” I nervously laugh. “It’s just Jonah. I’m helping him with something.”

Jonah:

Yeah, idk. It’s a vibe. I can’t explain it.

Jonah:

If you two hook up just please be careful.

Lucy:

We’re not hooking up.

Annoyed, I shove my phone in my purse on the floor mat. Jonah means well and is only trying to look out for me, but I’m more than capable of making my own decisions and knowing what I should and shouldn’t be careful of.

There are too many factors in the way of just letting Marsh and me develop whatever this kind of relationship is the way it was meant to be. Maybe we’re meant to just be friends, or co-workers, or friends with benefits. But with this story, this wedding, and everyone’s voice in my ear telling me what to do and not to do, there’s no way I’ll ever know for sure.

I decide to clear out the noise and just trust myself, and trust Marsh.

Before twelve-thirtyp.m.,we pull into a gorgeous gravel driveway. It leads to a midcentury home tucked behind the trees in Los Gatos. The exterior is a black shiplap and there are beautiful bright wood accents surrounding it. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but knowing that Marsh’s brother is an architect, this all makes sense.

“This is stunning,” I say, admiring the home against the bright blue sky.

There are only two cars in the driveway, meaning we’re one of the first ones to arrive, which makes me feel a little nervous. I was expecting to sort of blend in with the crowd, but now there’s no hiding.

“Hey.” Marsh turns the car off and looks at me. He takes off his sunglasses and tucks them into the front of his shirt. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yeah, of course,” I lie.

“Because I can always drop you off at the hotel and come back—”

“Do you not want me to come?” I ask.

“No, of course I want you to come.” He looks at the house in front of us. “I just, I don’t know, it was one thing to talk about all of this and now that we’re here…it’s real. And I don’t want to put you in a situation where you’re uncomfortable.”

This is unfamiliar to me. Someone wanting to put my feelings ahead of theirs. Having someone anticipate and notice my slightest doubts and having that mean something to them. What’s also new is my noticing that maybe Marsh isn’t saying this for my sake, but that maybehe’snervous. Maybe he doesn’t always have to look out for me. Maybe I can look out for him too.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” I say, my anxiousness dissipating. “I mean, I’m a little nervous. Meeting anyone’s family, regardless of the situation, is still a big deal. But I promise I want to be here. I want to be here for you.”

One corner of Marsh’s mouth curls into a smirk that I find undeniably sexy. “Okay,” he says. “Thank you.”

“Now, can I say something?” I ask. “Before we go inside?”

“Anything.”

“What was that? Outside the gas station.”

Marsh frowns, confused. “A kiss?”

“Yeah, but like, what the hell?”

His eyes then go wide and he moves back, defensively. “Wait, Lucy, you asked—no,demanded—that I kiss you.”

“It’s not the fact that you kissed me,” I counter. “It’s thewayyou kissed me. Is that how you kiss?”

“I mean, considering that’s how I kissed you…yes,” Marsh says like I asked the most obvious question.

“Well, knock it off,” I say. “You can’t kiss me like that in front of your family.”