Unmaking Hunter Kennedy (46 page)

They kissed and kissed and kissed and kissed until the room spun farther out of focus.

Until he stepped quickly away, turning his back. “God. I’m sorry,” he said, as he ran his hand through his hair. He did not turn back. “I totally lost control.”

His breathing was as rough as hers.

Vere was glad he wasn’t looking at her, because the sudden loss of contact and the absolute explosions going off in her mind made her topple backwards onto the length of the couch.

Classic
.

I do not even care.

I’ll never care about anything again...I will just lie here forever not caring.

She swung her legs around straight and lay there flat on her back and stared, still disoriented, at the slow turning ceiling fan. She heard his voice as though it was coming from far away.

“Vere. Did I knock you over? Shit. I’m so sorry! Did I scare you or anything?”

“Sorry for what?” she breathed out dreamily, returning to real consciousness. “Kissing is awesome! And of course you didn’t scare me. How could you?”

He came around to the front of the couch and dropped onto his knees beside her. His expression seemed tortured. “I’ve had a lot of kisses but...never one that has felt like that.”

“What do you mean? Was I a total pro compared to all the others?” Vere rolled onto her side and looked at him, still feeling as though she had no bones in her entire body.

“No. Of course not.” He shook his head, laughing a little. “You were a disaster at first, if you want a real critique. But then, you figured out the tongue thing. So...then, yes. I award you instant pro-status.”

She scrunched her mouth. “Hey. You could lie a little if you want. I didn’t notice anything wrong at the start. But...well, wow. Sorry if I wasn’t so good at it.”

“Vere. You were perfect, even when you didn’t know what you were doing. Perfectly cute and—
shit
—what I mean is, that kiss, you and me, what happened there was something else. Something special. Didn’t you feel it?”

“I don’t know. How many times do I have to say I liked it? Are you fishing for more compliments?”

He moved closer and stared into her eyes as though searching for something. His intense gaze had returned, and it was making her nervous. She hardly recognized him suddenly, but his look also made her feel like she should kiss him again.

But that would be totally inappropriate, wouldn’t it?

Class is over, Vere, DUH.

“No. I’m serious. I wasn’t going to say anything to you, but after that kiss, I have to at least try.” Dustin swallowed.

“Say what? Try what?”

“I’m in love with you.”

Her heart clenched. “What? Don’t joke. Not about that.”

“I’m talking head over heels, down on my knees, from the bottom of my heart,
IN
love, with you, Vere. That kiss blew me away. I know you felt something too—something more for me. Don’t you?”

Vere sat up. Her head spun in confusion, and her limbs felt suddenly shaky. “How can you say that? There’s no way you’re in love with me. We just kissed, that’s all. It was great, but it can’t be love. Jeez.”

“I think it is. I’ve felt this way about you well before we kissed. I wasn’t going to tell you because of Curtis, and because I’m leaving soon. I didn’t want things in our friendship to get all messed up.”

“Well, they’re messed up now.” Vere rolled her eyes.

He had to be joking.

“You set it all off. You asked me to kiss you!”

“Yeah, well you’ve just added to it! MAJOR.”

“Believe me. I’m totally sincere. I know I might have waited too long to bring it up. But...I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try to convince you of my feelings. Not after that kiss. Not after how it’s rearranged my whole heart.”

“I think you’ve lost your mind.” She shook her head.

“Give me a chance. Don’t go after Curtis. He’s not right for you. Besides, how can you even think about him now?”

“Easy. Because I was thinking about him
before
that kiss. It’s why I called you over to
help me
, remember?”

“Yeah, but what are you thinking now? The kiss didn’t change your mind? At least give you some sort of doubt?” His cheeks had started to turn a little pink.

Her brows shot up. Way UP.

The guy is pulling his own blush! He’s serious.

Vere didn’t know what to feel or to think, so she got angry instead. “But you’re Hunter Kennedy!
The
Hunter Kennedy. As if you totally forgot that part. Hello? You sell out entire football stadiums? People scalp your front-row tickets for thousands of dollars? You wouldn’t have even looked twice at me three weeks ago. And you’ve said it to me more than once. Remember? Because I sure do!”

He sighed and shook his head. His gaze wavered but did not once leave her face. “Yeah, but you know me as Dustin McHugh. And I haven’t stopped looking at you or wanting to be near you since the moment I first met you. How about that?”

“That was because Mom and Nan
made
us hang out. Then,
yes
, we became friends. That’s all. You made that clear.” She threw her arms wide. “Dustin McHugh—
he is—you are
—my best friend.
Ugh.
I do know that you are one of the best friends I’ve ever had.” She raised her voice in total frustration. “That’s why we hang out. That’s why I called you and trusted you with THIS. That’s why we can talk so easily, about everything. You’re nice to me and I’m nice back. We’re friends. Friends play nice. It can’t be love.”

“Don’t call me that. And I’m not playing,” he shouted back. “I’m in love. With you. Plain and simple. And I know you feel something too. Otherwise, that kiss would not have gone down like it did.”

“Well it’s not like I have any comparisons!” Vere stood up, pushed past him, and walked back to pace around the couch. She felt like she needed some distance between them. “How can you say any of this? You know I like Curtis. And since—before—forever. We only shared a few weeks and two kisses.”

“It was way more than two kisses. I think you want the wrong guy.” He stood and faced her. She could swear his beautiful, low voice had trembled.

Her heart wrenched into a ball. “But I can’t want you. I don’t even know who you are. If I feel anything for you beyond friendship—or if you feel anything for me—then it can’t be real.”

He threw up his own hands. “It is real. I know it is. Why would you say it isn’t? Can’t you just try to play this out?”

Jeez. He totally didn’t get it.

“Play it out with
who
?” she asked softly. “I only know bits of Hunter Kennedy. And Dustin McHugh is a guy we made up together. A character. Like from a book. The kissing was great. I’ll admit it till I die. But you know you have major skills in that area. So there is no way we both felt something like
love
during that kiss.” Her heart twisted again. “No way. Because as much as I don’t know who you are, I have no clue what
love
even is!”

“You’re lying,” he said. “You have to be.”

“I’m not.” Vere reached up to tighten her bun. It had sprung loose from all the shouting, not to mention her back dive off the couch.

I’ll call his bluff. Then he’ll see.

“Fine,” she said. “I know for a fact that Hunter Kennedy would never feel anything for a girl like me, ever. It’s been said more than once. And if Dustin McHugh says he’s in love with me, what does that mean? For me? Dustin McHugh is fictional, and he’s made it publicly clear that I’m not his type either. So where does that leave me? Seriously. Think about it.”

His expression grew dark. “If you truly believe that. If you have no feelings for me beyond normal
affection
—then kiss me again. Go on. Kiss me again, look me in the eye and tell me you feel nothing. I dare you.”

38: for the sake of practice

VERE

Vere tossed her head and shot him her best eye roll. “Fine. For the sake of practice, I’ll do it. You’ll see I’m right. You just got caught up in the moment, that’s all it is.” Vere marched over to him.

How hard could this be?

She paused and stared up at his very perfect face and then fixed her eyes on his lips.

Sadly, that’s when her mind went into coma.

She fixated on them.

Whoa. Was this their third kiss? Maybe this was their thirteenth kiss.

She’d sort of lost count on that second round. Maybe he was right that they’d already kissed more than twice. How did one divide up a really long kiss—like when did one kiss start and another end?

Vere swallowed and made a face at him. He didn’t even smile, or flinch or glare.

His entire face was now totally unreadable.

Feeling ridiculous because he’d been staring down at her this whole time, acting like some cold, piece of marble. And she’d been staring up at him for like two hundred minutes, mesmerized by his lips!

Like a weirdo.

Despite what HE said, officially, for the purpose of making a list about this someday in my journal—I count this as my third kiss.

First was...the first. Him kissing me.

And the second, was all me kissing him back.

And now, this ‘challenge kiss’. As in US, kissing each other.

For the sake of practice!

Time for your recovery, Vere.

Say something! Say something or run.

Vere took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a quick second and forced out some words. “First place the hands.”

Great. I sound like a robot.

Dustin arched a brow and folded his arms across his chest as though he meant to make this difficult on her.

Play it cool. You can so, do this.

“I said, first the hands.” This time her voice sounded a bit more normal. She pointed to his folded arms. “On my shoulders if you please, so you don’t hurt me.”

Dustin put his hands out and clamped them woodenly onto her shoulders. “Do you want me to close my eyes?” he asked.

Now who was the robot?

The guy had one hell of a poker face. She wished for some of that talent.

“Yes,” she answered. At least if she blushed, he wouldn’t see. “Now lean down a bit, you’re too tall.”

Obediently he closed his eyes and bent forward.

Vere felt an anxiety attack setting in. Her heart beat so loudly she was sure he could hear it. She felt pure relief that his eyes remained closed. It gave her the time to compose herself and paste on her own poker face.

Or pucker face. UGH. CONCENTRATE.

She’d show him this was just a plain old kiss and nothing more.

The
feelings
part was
so
not for them.

They were friends. He’d realize it soon enough.

Since his arms were already on her shoulders, she gingerly wrapped hers around his waist and pressed her lips deeply into his. She went for it—pressure, lips half open after the initial contact. To stay on track, she told her tongue to search for that apple taste again.

Yep. There it is, though sadly...it’s fading.

She thought she might be doing all right when his mouth opened in response and he started kissing her back. Big time.

His grip relaxed on her shoulders, and he pulled her into his embrace.

She couldn’t help but move even closer after that, because he had this cool way of half supporting her weight with his arms. She relaxed and allowed her hands to trail into his hair.

His arms felt so wonderful wrapped around her like this. She tried to keep her head straight.

Love. Special feelings. As if.

Her last conscious thoughts were that all guys probably had big, strong arms that would reach just like this around her. And soft lips that felt like they gave as much as she took. That had to be a normal thing too. Of course,
how amazing a guy smelled
had nothing to do with
special feelings
.

Fresh soap was simply a smell. NOT a feeling. Even if it smelled perfect. Absolutely perfect....

Vere was lost in the kiss. She floated all the way to the moon and back this time. She pulled away to take a breath and almost fainted because he was suddenly kissing the side of her ear, and her temple. Then he kissed a soft line down her neck.

Whoa. Neck kissing rocked.

She had to try it too, so she gently kissed the hollow spot where his heart beat between his collarbones. He had incredibly soft skin—just there.

She felt his hands moving all over her back and slowly up her waist. God but she loved how his hands felt on her...

What was happening? She had to make this stop but she didn’t want to.

Just one more...one more...so he would see...so he would understand...so she could know too....

She stretched up onto her toes and kissed his beautiful mouth again.

Softly.