Page 7 of Flynn (Foxy’s Rent-A-Date #4)

The moment the spinning bottle pointed at me, my heart thudded hard, and my breath trapped in my lungs.

No, no, no! I so didn’t want to do this.

What were the chances that the damn bottle would land on me with a crowd this big?

Panic flooded my system as cheers sounded around us.

The bonfire beyond the circle we were in was surrounded by laughing, drunk teens.

All eyes were on me, waiting to see how I’d react.

Ellis’s pale blue eyes met mine across the group, a pleased smile on his face, and I wanted to curl up and die.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss Ellis.

I’d thought about it a lot over the years.

We were always thrown together, and everyone always said we’d end up together, that we were perfect, that we were meant to be.

I wasn’t so sure, but I wasn’t against finding out either.

But now? In front of everyone? I’d never even kissed a boy before!

“Come on, Chiara. You gotta do it or start stripping!” Simone—a fellow classmate—shouted as she laughed drunkenly.

I swallowed hard and tried to smile, to not give away my pure panic, but I knew I was failing.

“Uh, just… give me a minute,” I said, climbing to my feet.

“Where are you going?” Kate asked curiously.

“I… I need to use the bathroom. Be right back!” I cried and before anyone could say anything else, I spun on the spot and ran for the house.

Pushing my way through the people partying inside, I went to the nearest bedroom and slammed the door shut behind me.

My breath was fast and uneven in the quiet atmosphere of the cool bedroom.

I leaned my back on the timber door and closed my eyes.

What was I going to do? “I can’t do this,” I whispered as humiliation and desperation clawed at my insides.

Everyone would make fun of me. I’d be the prude who wouldn’t even kiss a boy at a party.

People already made jokes because my parents had a strict no-dating rule, and it was rare I was even allowed to go to a party.

Sneaking out tonight had already been a huge deal, but kissing a boy?

I wasn’t even sure if I liked Ellis that way, but I knew he liked me.

He’d asked me out several times already, but given my parents’ rule, I’d always had a reason to say no.

Would kissing him now—even in a game—give him false hope?

Or was I just being too tightly wound about a possible high school relationship?

“Can’t do what?” a voice asked softly in the darkness.

I gasped and my eyes flew open, wide and panicked.

There was a small click, and the room brightened softly with a low light as the bedside lamp came on.

My breath caught at the sight of Flynn on the bed, his dark hair dishevelled as if he’d been running his fingers through it, his green eyes on me.

He was reclined, with his back to the headboard, one leg crossed lazily over the other.

My lower abdomen fluttered at the sight of him, and instant heat warmed my cheeks.

Yes, Flynn was hot. Everyone knew it. Add to it that he was older, rode a motorbike, did whatever he wanted half of the time, and was the town bad boy.

His image was complete with a tattoo and a tragic backstory.

“Flynn,” I whispered, still trying to understand what was happening.

“Good to know you’re not so drunk you’ve forgotten my name,” he drawled, the corner of his lips hitching up in a small smirk.

“I-I’m not drunk. I don’t drink,” I answered.

Sneaking out was one thing, but drinking?

I didn’t want to be grounded for all eternity if my parents found out.

“Smart. So, what can’t you do?” he asked.

“Uh… we were playing a game. I-I thought you left already. Aren’t you heading off on some big cross-country road trip?

” I asked, recalling him telling me about it not too long ago.

He turned eighteen a month ago. He could go wherever he wanted now.

His eyes lost some of their mirth and he shrugged.

“I’m putting the trip off for a little while.

I am leaving tomorrow, but there’s something else I’ve gotta do before the road trip.

” I raised an eyebrow. “Like?” His gaze flicked up to me and he slowly stood from the bed.

All at once I was reminded again that he wasn’t like Ellis.

They may be brothers by law, but they were cousins by blood, and Flynn’s dad had been a very tall man, genes that had passed onto his son.

“I’m joining the military.” My lips parted on a silent gasp.

“The military?” He nodded, but he didn’t look excited.

I pushed off the door a little and studied him closer.

“I didn’t know you wanted to do that.” He gave that same careless shrug and glanced away from me to the moonlight streaming in through his partially uncovered window.

“It was… heavily recommended by Uncle Trevor. It’ll supposedly help me get my head on right and stop me doing stupid shit.

” “Don’t swear,” I admonished automatically.

His eyes flashed with humor, and he smirked again.

“Always so proper.” Flynn’s words weren’t said to hurt or tease, but they stabbed at me all the same and I lowered my gaze to the floor.

He was right. I was always proper. I was brought up with strong manners, strict rules and beliefs, and they were so engrained in me that it felt wrong to go against them.

I couldn’t even kiss a boy! “Ara?” The nickname Flynn had given me teased a small smile from me.

Forcing myself to take a breath, I looked back up and saw that he’d stepped toward me, leaving only a few feet between us.

“Sorry for barging in. Things were getting a little… anyway, I should let you to get some rest if you’re joining up tomorrow.

” For whatever reason, my stomach hurt at the idea.

I didn’t know Flynn overly well—no one really did—but he’d opened up to me a few times, and I felt special knowing I was one of the few he let in.

I’d be upset if something happened to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

Partygoers outside cheered loudly, drawing our attention to the window before I smiled softly and shook my head.

“I’m fine, I was just being stupid. I’m panicking over something unimportant.

” “What?” “Hmm?” He smiled and jerked his head to the window.

“What was bothering you that you came in here to get some space?” I opened my mouth, but my cheeks heated at the idea of telling him, and I snapped it shut again.

“Nothing.” That trademark smirk tugged at his lips again and he took another step forward.

This close, I could finally see the green of his eyes.

“You’re a sucky liar.” It was true. Lying was also against the rules, and I never really got much practice.

I shook my head. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.

I’ll sort it out.” “Ara.” He said my name so calmly and I let out a long breath, knowing I’d tell him.

Flynn had a way of getting me to speak, and he never made me feel stupid for admitting truths I’d otherwise avoid.

“I’m supposed to kiss Ellis,” I said, forcing myself to look back at him.

Flynn’s eyebrow cocked. “And?” “Well, we’re playing spin the bottle.

I didn’t want to play, but Kate said I had to and before I knew it, we were all in this big group.

I thought it was unlikely it would land on me, or maybe I could lean to one side if it came close so there’d be no question, but…

it landed on me.” “And now you’re supposed to kiss Ellis,” he said.

I nodded. “Do you want to kiss him?” I opened my mouth to say yes, but stopped.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll hate it.

He’s a friend and good looking and everyone always says we’d be perfect together and that it’s only a matter of time.

” “But you don’t feel that feeling?” I frowned.

“What do you mean?” Flynn shuffled a little closer, a small flicker of mischief in his eyes, that spark that always made me want to do things I was banned from doing.

“That feeling. You know, the one that tells you you’re attracted to someone.

” My cheeks warmed again, and my heart fluttered, but I forced myself to look at him.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I whispered.

His smirk deepened. “I can tell. At least when it comes to Ellis, anyway.” “What are you talking about?” He grinned now, and the sight of it made my heart swell.

Even if it was at my expense, I loved it when I could get him to really smile.

“The feeling of butterflies in your stomach. Your skin coming alive so that it feels hot and cold, so that you feel the blood pumping in your veins and the air in your lungs heat. That feeling of anticipation, like you’re going to come out of your skin if you don’t touch that person, if you can’t press your lips to theirs.

” I swallowed hard, and I was sure he’d somehow gotten closer again.

Even more unsettling was that everything he described was what I felt when I was with him.

But Flynn wasn’t right for me. I knew that without anyone having to tell me.

“No,” I whispered and shook my head. “I don’t feel that with Ellis.

” Flynn nodded and looked down at me with curiosity.

“What do you have to do if you don’t kiss him?

” My cheeks warmed some more. “I’m supposed to run a lap around the yard in my underwear.

” Flynn grinned, eyes flashing in humor.

“That’d be a sight.” I slapped his chest, finally realizing he was close enough for me to touch.

His hand caught mine before I could take it back and my mouth went dry at the contact.

“You know they can’t make you do either of those things, right?

” I nodded. “Yes. But I joined in, and I knew the stakes. If I don’t, they’ll think I’m a coward.

” “And you suddenly care what people think?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I sighed. “I’m in high school, Flynn. Everyone cares what people think.

” He shook his head. “Says the girl who resists drinking, smoking, dating, cheating on tests, and most other forms of rebellion.” He had a point.

I might care what people think, but I never did something I wasn’t comfortable with.

“So, what are you going to do?” I hesitated and dropped his gaze, my eyes focusing on my hand he kept pressed to his chest. My brain was having trouble focusing right now.

“I…I’ve never kissed anyone, Flynn. I don’t mind the idea of kissing Ellis, but I don’t want my first kiss to be in front of so many people or for a silly game I didn’t even want to play.

” Flynn didn’t respond right away, and the way his throat bobbed drew my attention back up, slowly taking in the strong angle of his jaw, his full lips, and back to his deep green eyes.

“So, kiss me.” My breath caught, and I thought for sure I’d imagined the words—he’d said them so softly—but when he edged closer again, I knew I hadn’t.

My brain was short-circuiting. “Umm… what?” Flynn gently tightened his hold on my hand.

I tipped my head back to keep my gaze on his, feeling my back press against the door.

“You said you don’t want your first kiss to be in front of everyone.

So, kiss me. Right here.” My heart pounded hard, and it was difficult to breathe, to think, my world narrowing down to this one boy in front of me telling me to kiss him, offering to be my first kiss so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself in front of all those people out there.

Flynn was older, he was eighteen, he’d had several girlfriends in the two years he’d been here, and all of them were the kind of girls you knew had experience in more than just kissing.

Flynn was practiced in all things intimate—it was a widely known fact—and now he wanted me to kiss him ?

“I… I don’t… Why?” Flynn’s other hand pressed against the door by my head so he could lean in closer, and I drew in a sharp breath.

“You want privacy for your first kiss,” he answered softly.

“And you? What do you get?” I asked, not sure if I was making sense.

He paused, eyes locking with mine. “I get to kiss you .” The ability to think clearly was becoming harder, and I found myself aching for him to touch me, to feel his lips against mine.

A reel of scenarios flitted across my mind, of the way he could kiss me, of how he could spin us around and press me down onto his bed.

The way I’d wrap my legs around him and let him touch me and kiss me wherever he wanted as long as he made good on the promise in his eyes that he could make me feel things no one else ever had.

A throbbing started in my body, a pulsing that I could feel all over.

My skin was alive with anticipation, my breathing uneven.

“Tell me you want me to kiss you,” he whispered, his voice rougher than before.

“Let me be your first kiss. Say yes.” It wasn’t even a thought before the word left my mouth.

“Yes.” Flynn made a sound in the back of his throat, and I closed my eyes as he lowered his mouth to mine.

His lips were soft, full, and they brushed across mine gently, once, twice.

“Part your lips, Ara,” he instructed. I sucked in a breath, and he kissed me again, harder this time, deeper.

I gasped against his mouth as he let go of my hand and slid it around my waist to the small of my back, pulling me against him.

I was overwhelmed with sensation, with the feel of his lips, the touch of his hand, the feel of his body hard against mine.

At the first flick of his tongue against mine, I made a noise that caused heat to flood my cheeks again, but judging by the way he deepened our kiss, he liked it.

I focused on kissing him, on mimicking his movements.

When I slid my shaky hand up his chest to his shoulder and further still to link with my other hand behind his neck, Flynn moved his other hand up my neck to my hair and tilted my head back.

He kissed me long and deep, and I wasn’t sure how much time passed.

I was so lost in it that it wasn’t until he raised his head—our breathing ragged and harsh—that I came back to myself a little.

My gaze locked with his and I could tell he was going to stop, that he was going to talk, but I wasn’t ready to stop yet.

I pressed up onto my toes to kiss him again.

It was different initiating the kiss, but his instant reaction to kiss me back boosted my confidence enough that I wasn’t worried anymore.

One of his hands slid to rest low on my back and his other hand moved to cup my face, kissing me deeper so that I was sure I’d die of oxygen deprivation.

Tearing his mouth from mine, Flynn pulled away and took two large steps back.

With the exception of our ragged breathing, silence filled the room as we looked at one another.

When I’d agreed to him being my first kiss, I hadn’t expected that.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Why?” I struggled to find the words, my heart pounding hard and fast, my body so uncomfortable and my mind a jumbled mess.

“I…” Flynn’s expression shuttered, and I watched the way his inner defenses came up again, protecting him in that way he'd done since I’d first met him.

“Flynn—” “You should go, Ara. People will be looking for you. What will they think if they find you leaving my bedroom at a party like this?” A stab of panic cooled my overheated body.

He was right. Flynn had a reputation, and people had remarked a few times on how I was one of the few who Flynn voluntarily hung around and how strange it was.

They’d all think we’d slept together if they saw me.

But the look on Flynn’s face hurt, and I didn’t want him to think I was embarrassed by him.

I took a few shaky steps toward him and his gaze stayed locked on me the whole time.

“I’m not sorry we kissed,” I whispered. “It was…” I struggled to find the words and let out a heavy breath as my face heated.

“Amazing.” Something in his expression changed, a softening around his eyes.

“Amazing?” he repeated with a cocked eyebrow.

Embarrassment at voicing what I felt made me squirm, but I forced myself to keep looking at him.

“It’s not the best word, but I couldn’t think of anything better.

My brain is a little muddled.” His smirk crept back onto his face and his shoulders eased their tension.

“That’s certainly a compliment.” I smiled and stared up at him, still frazzled and feeling shy, but I didn’t want him to think I was ashamed of kissing him.

I was always happy to be there for Flynn in the time we’d known each other.

He had always looked so miserable, fighting an invisible battle while still having to go through the motions.

I couldn’t imagine losing my parents at all, much less the way he had, and my heart hurt for him to be so alone.

I was glad he had his Uncle Trevor, but Flynn was always fighting, so angry at the world.

I liked being one of the few people he softened to, but it hadn’t been easy to get past his guards.

I’d just been persistent and hadn’t pushed.

Eventually, he’d let me in himself, and I took my role as his confidant very seriously.

I saw the good beneath the troublemaker he presented to everyone else, and I wanted nothing but the best for him in life, if only he’d stop getting into so much trouble.

As much as it sucked knowing he was leaving tomorrow, I sincerely hoped this next chapter of his life worked to give him the structure he needed.

We stood there staring at one another, neither of us speaking, and when my gaze dropped to his mouth once more, I wanted to kiss him again.

I hadn’t known kissing someone could be so…

explosive. No matter what happened next, I was glad I’d shared this moment with Flynn, that he’d been my first kiss, and that he’d made it such a memorable experience.

Slowly, his smile faded, and he sighed. “You should go, though. At least now your first kiss won’t be in front of everyone else.

” I silently wondered how any other kiss could measure up, but he was right.

It was time to go. “Be careful, Flynn. Wherever you go, the military or on the road. Be safe,” I said, hating the idea of him disappearing for good.

He nodded, and I leaned up on my toes to kiss him again.

I was relieved when he kissed me back, but it was gentler.

“Goodbye, Ara,” he whispered against my lips.

I pulled away and tried to find the right words, but when nothing came, I backed up to the bedroom door. “Bye, Flynn.”