Page 18 of Fireworks

Chapter Seven

FOUR YEARS EARLIER

*****

Katie

The soft blue glow under the door flashed brighter as the sounds of rifles being shot trickled out through the crack of the open door. I swallowed hard as I crept closer, my entire group of friends crowding my bedroom doorway, their eyes eager with anticipation.

There wasn’t much time before my brother came back upstairs with their sodas. I needed to hurry if I wanted to avoid him making a scene or being made fun of at school for being a chicken and failing my dare. Truth or dare was never my favorite game and the moment I uttered the word dare from my lips, I instantly regretted it. Ashley had been waiting for someone to say it. I was the only idiot to oblige. I’m sure that there were plenty of other things that I could have dared to do that were much worse. For me, this was pretty bad.

Dared to go kiss my brother's best friend, Nathan King.

Being four years older than us, he was the football team captain and one of the most popular guys in school. Everyone treated him and my brother like they were some sort of royalty. My friends loved coming over to my house just so they could say they knew him and spent any length of time with him.

In our little town underclassmen, knowing or talking to anyone above your grade made you seem so glamorous and cool. To me, he was like an older overprotective brother that I didn’t ask for.

I would never admit it out loud, but he was really hot. I only just started realizing I had a crush on him the last few weeks. My cheeks easily turned red around him and my brother loved to use it against me. I pushed my way into the room, sweat dripping down my back as I quietly tried to get his attention.

“Nate?”

My voice was barely above a whisper. He didn’t break eye contact with his game as he answered with his usual tone of aggravation that I was bothering them during their game.

“What?”

“You don’t need to be a jerk. Ashley just dared me to do something I don’t want to do.”

Pressing the pause button on his game, he lowered his headset around his neck, giving me full attention.

“So don’t do it.”

Pulling on the edge of my shirt sleeve, I shifted on my feet.

“That’s not really an option.”

Throwing his head back, he laughed like I was being completely ridiculous.

“That’s always an option, Katie.”

He looked at me and must have sensed my reluctance to even be in the room asking anything of him at this moment.

“Okay, so what was it?”

Biting my lower lip, a lump formed in my throat. I debated turning back around. I knew someone else would get dared to do it if I didn’t complete it.

“Kiss you.”

Standing up to meet me in the middle of the room, he immediately started laughing, looking out the door towards the huddle of teenage girls.

“Seriously?”

I nodded, regretting coming into my brothers’ room and even suggesting it. Closing the distance between us, he looked back at the door before he placed his finger under my chin, tilting it up. His eyes locked onto mine before he leaned closer, pausing for a moment before he slowly pressed his lush, warm lips against mine. Pulling away, he looked at me before leaning into my ear and whispered to me.

“Happy Birthday Katie, don’t tell your brother or he’ll kick my ass.”

Eyes wide, I stumbled back to my room in shock that now I knew what it felt like to be kissed. It was the most amazing and electrifying feeling ever. Unlike any sensation I had felt before. It was like the feeling of fireworks being set off throughout my body, exploding and sizzling as they dissipated into my bloodstream.

As my brother walked back into his room, I could hear him asking why I was in his room and Nate’s words broke the high I had felt only moments before.