Page 41 of Embracing the Beat
“You’re not stealing if I offer. And I have plenty.”
Between us, we make quick work of the sandwich and carrots. I set the yogurt aside for later.
“Dessert.” She upends the open bag of M&Ms, and the candies bounce across the napkin spread on the desk between us.
She grabs one, and I mimic the action, pinching my finger and thumb together and lifting the candy slowly to my mouth, popping it inside and letting the hard shell dissolve on my tongue.
“What are you doing?” she asks, picking up another one and popping it into her mouth as well.
I let the chocolate mostly finish before crunching it between my teeth.
“Savoring.” My attention is caught on her lips, the way they purse around the candy, my voice husky with the unasked question of what she would taste like if I kissed her now.
That plush pink cupid’s bow parts, her breath catching.
“S-savoring?”
Her question has me lifting my gaze to meet hers. Dark pupils nearly eclipse the blue, leaving only a small ring of color.
“Some things you eat fast. Get them out of the way. Other things are slower. More intentional. Tasted.” My eyes drift to her lips again in time to see her tongue peek out and drag a sheen of moisture across.
It would be so easy to lean forward the foot or so separating us. To graze her lips with mine. To partake.
“Mikey,” I whisper, despite recognizing the complications of kissing her again the way I want to.
“West.”
It’s only my name. Merely a breath between us. But enough to knock down every barrier I’ve been building all week. Lifting in my chair, I close the distance, my mouth a hair’s breadth away from hers, ready to savor her the way she was meant to be, fuck the consequences.
“Mr. Abbott—ohhh, sorry.”
Michaela and I jump apart, my attention shifting to the student in the doorway. Her cheeks are bright red with embarrassment. Relief courses through me that the universe gave me the interruption I needed when I no longer had the willpower to stay away from the greatest temptation I’ve ever faced.
“Hey, Sara, what can I do for you?”
“I, uh, I had a question on the homework assignment and was hoping to talk to you about it. I can come back though.” She starts to back away, intent on escaping the awkward situation.
“No, no, that’s okay. We were done having lunch.” I glance at the clock above my door. “And since lunch period is almost over, let’s talk about it.”
I turn to Mikey, who stands next to me, her hands gripping the keys to Kelly’s Volkswagen. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, you’re fine—I mean, it’s good. I should get going.” She gestures to the door, her movements exaggerated and flustered. “My appointment.”
Even after she leaves, I can’t put the almost-kiss in the back of my mind like everything else. It refuses to stay there, cropping up in moments when I think I’ve finally succeeded in putting Mikey firmly in the friend’s little sister box in my brain. Again.
I’m in big trouble. The thing is?
I’m finding it hard to care.
