Read Online Four Kisses by Bonnie Dee - Free Book Online Page B

felt a crazy impulse to touch his wet hair.
    He looked at her and for a moment she was pinned in place by those intense dark eyes that seemed to know so much more about her than minor things like taste in music or movies. Why did she always get the feeling that Drake knew secrets about her that no one else knew, perhaps including herself?
    “I’m parked about a block over.” He indicated the way.
    “My car’s right there.” Jen nodded toward her Prius. “But there’s a coffee shop not too far away. We could walk. Unless you don’t want to get wet.”
    “I don’t mind the rain,” he said. “Kind of like your mosquitoes and poison ivy, it’s good to feel something real and visceral.”
    Visceral ? He continued to surprise her. Somehow she hadn’t imagined Drake would use or even know a word like that. But she was remembering the wild, school-skipping youth he used to be, not the man he’d become--whoever that was.
    They walked down the sidewalk toward the neon coffee cup guiding them like a beacon. A clean well-lighted place on a cold, dreary autumn day. What could be more satisfying?
    “Jen.”
    “Huh?”

    “I know we hardly know each other even though we’ve known each other most of our lives, but I’ve kinda had a crush on you since we were kids. That one summer day.
    That kiss. Do you remember?”
    How could she ever forget? “Yes, of course. It was my first one, you know.”
    “I thought so. It was mine too. I wanted you to think I was cooler than that, more experienced, but I didn’t know what I was doing.”
    “You did it well as I recall. Good enough to make my legs shaky.” She looked at him. “But why me? Just because I was convenient that day?”
    “No. Because when I saw you on the beach, you looked as unhappy as I felt. Like you wanted to be anywhere else but there. I followed you to see where you were going. I pretended it was an accident we met, that I was going to see the swans anyway, but I was stalking you. A little creepy, huh?”
    “No. Actually kind of sweet. I was unhappy that day. All my friends were changing. They were starting to flirt and obsess over boys and I wasn’t ready for that yet.
    Plus, Tara Banacek was just plain mean. I kind of hated her.”
    “Know what she’s doing now?”
    “I have no idea. I didn’t go back for any of the class reunions.”
    “I went to my aunt’s funeral and while I was in town I stopped at the grocery store. Tara was working the checkout. Want to know how much weight she’s put on?”
    “No. I’m not catty. Plus I wouldn’t judge a person by her weight or her job.” Even so Jen couldn’t help a flash of smugness at the thought of the former queen of the school social scene stuck in a dead-end job. “Maybe she’s perfectly happy there. Maybe she’s completely satisfied with her life just as it is.”

    “And maybe she’s changed and she’s not such a bitch. Anything’s possible.” He opened the coffee shop door and held it while Jen entered. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Tara Banacek. The point is, I’ve always liked you and now that we’re different people maybe we can finally find common ground. That’s all I’m hoping for today—a cup of coffee and a conversation with a woman I can’t believe I ran into again. Feels like fate or something.”
    Jen thought so too. It did seem like something kept drawing her and Drake back into the same orbit. But to admit it right up front took balls. He was clearly not the slouching, brooding guy she’d once known. He was Drake 2.0.
    “So what kind of coffee do you drink?” She asked as they joined the line. “Let me guess. Straight black. No sugar or cream and nothing frothy or foamy.” He grinned. “Wrong. I have a sweet tooth. Caramel latte.”
    “Me too.” She smiled back at him and for a moment they stayed that way, smiling goofily, looking into each other’s eyes. It was a moment charged with simmering attraction. Jen gazed at his eyelashes spiky-wet