“Morning,” I breathe.
“You're working tonight, aren’t you?” he says as we pull away from the bus stop.
“Yes…why?”
“I remember the days you worked, but you also said you picked up another day to make up for last week. I wasn’t sure if it was today or Friday—I was hoping it was today.”
“Why?”
“I want you to meet my family this Friday.”
“Oh…okay.” My hands tighten on my jeans as I say, “What if they don’t like me?”
“Heh,” Conner chuckles. “They will love you. I speak highly of you. My mum’s especially excited, and she is the harshest critic, so…take that as a compliment.”
I smile. “I can’t wait to meet, um…Noah and Charlotte.”
“Yeah.” He smiles fondly at the mention of his siblings. “You are an only child, right?”
I nod.
“Was it lonely for you growing up?”
I look out the window and say, “I don’t mind being alone.”
“Oh…Should I leave you alone, then?”
“No!” I spin towards him, and my hands grab the edge of the seat, and my eyes feel like they’re about to bulge out of their sockets.
Conner stops at the light, a sly smile on his face. “I’d never do that.” He leans in quickly, pecking me on the lips. “You’re mine now.”
“That’s a little possessive,” I mumble, the heat already crawling down my neck.
He barks a laugh as he says, “Says the one who screamed ‘No!’ when I said I’d leave you alone.”
Leaning back in my seat, I laugh and admit that I sounded a little possessive.
We talk allthe way to school. Samantha and I had fun at camp, but I mentioned that it was not that great. He listens as I explain the questionable and cramped room we stayed in, all the way to the outdoor showers and that it didn’t have hot water.
As I speak, my focus shifts to his lips and how they curve into a smile or frown in moments. I forget what I’m talking about, realising Samantha is right. The first kiss is the doorway to yearning for more, and as much as I fear Conner would be the one wanting more, it’s me. I’m afraid of myself the most as I picture his lips finding mine again.
He parks in his usual spot and turns off the car. I glare at his lap as he fiddles with his keys. The heat creeps across my neck, flushing my cheeks. I thought I was more daring and outspoken, but asking for a kiss before leaving seems too much for me to handle.
“Stop overthinking it,” Conner says, his voice closer than expected. I blink, only to realise he is in front of me with his arm resting on my headrest. “Do you want me to kiss you?”
“Uh…” I nod, as trembling breaths shatter out of my mouth.
Conner breathes a laugh as he leans into me. My fingers twitch against the seat as his lips meet mine. Closing my eyes, I let him move his hand over my jaw, across my cheek, and then rest on the back of my head. My hands move to his chest before sliding to his shoulders and staying there. Hunger swarms inside me, deepening the kiss, only for him to pull away, a sound between a grunt and a moan escaping him.
“Noya,” he says breathlessly. “We should stop.”
“Sorry,” I murmur. “I got a little carried away.”
“It’s okay, baby,” he says as he grabs my hand and kisses the back of it. “We have a lifetime.”
My eyes widen at him calling me “baby”. Then, if that isn’t enough, him declaring that we have a lifetime makes the tears slip down my cheeks involuntarily.
“Are you okay?” He scans my face. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”