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Emma tried to slow the kiss down, but now I was desperate and hungry and I’d only had a small sip of what we could have together and I wanted to drown myself in it. She made a little sound that might have been a moan but, finally, Emma pulled her mouth away.

“Cal. What are we doing?” I groggily opened my eyes. My lips were swollen and tender and it took a moment to come down from wherever I’d gone mentally during the kiss. Another planet, probably. Maybe another dimension.

I couldn’t make any words come out of my mouth, but my brain had started to register that Emma and I had kissed. I kissed my best friend. Friends didn’t make out with friends. At least, not usually.

“Cal?” she said.

“Uh huh,” I squeaked out. “What?”

“Callyn,” she said, but I was too mesmerized by the shifting colors in her eyes and the way her cheeks had gotten a little pinker, as if she’d slicked on a cheek stain.

“Huh?” I replied. Now she was the one putting both hands on my face.

“Callyn, I need you to focus. We just kissed and I think we need to discuss it,” she said.

“Why?”

She made a frustrated sound and all I could think of was kissing her lips again. I needed to spend a significant portion of my day kissing Emma. I didn’t even want to think about all the years I’d spent not kissing her. What a waste. Complete fucking waste of time.

Emma put both her hands on my shoulders and actually pushed me so I was a few feet away from her. My head started to clear a little and it became easier to breathe once I had some space between us.

“Callyn, this . . . I didn’t mean for this to happen, holy shit.” She wrenched both hands through her hair, getting her fingers tangled.

“But it did happen and I want it to keep happening. Kiss me, please.” Emma shook her head.

“No, that’s a bad idea. A very bad idea.”

“Bad ideas are the best ideas,” I said, stepping toward her again. “Let’s have bad ideas together.” I didn’t know what had come over me, but I was possessed by someone much more confident than I was.

“Come here, Emma Christine” I said, and kissed her gently enough that she could stop it if she wanted to. I knew her well enough to know when she wanted to do something and when she didn’t. Her words said one thing, and then her body said something completely different.

“If you want me to stop, tell me,” I said, pulling back.

“We should stop.” I brushed my nose against hers.

“That wasn’t what I asked you. If you really don’t want me to kiss you again, I will never kiss you again. Just say the words. Or, if you can’t say it, put one hand on my chest.”

I waited for what felt like three thousand years, our noses almost touching, our eyes locked on each other. I think we both even stopped breathing.

I felt her breath wash across my face as she said, “I want you to kiss me again.”

“Okay,” I said, because what else was there to say? I needed to use my lips for something much better than talking.

I smiled as she leaned forward, kissing me instead, even though she’d asked me to kiss her. Things started slow and sweet again, soft brushes and light pressure. As if we were still testing this out. In a way, we were. I was standing here and kissing my best friend, who I definitely had never thought of kissing.

Right?

Emma laughed a little and I froze.

“Stop thinking,” she said, and I almost fell over.

“That’s my line.”

“I know. I’m not really sure who I am right now, but I don’t care.” I kissed the tip of her nose.

“You’re Emma and I’m Callyn.” It was the first thing that came to mind.

“Okay,” she said, as if that was a satisfactory answer and went back to kissing me.