Page 76 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

"How far is this?"I put my hands on his chest, feeling his heart race under my palms.

"Far enough to terrify the shit out of me."

"Good," I say."I'm terrified too.We can be terrified together."

He laughs, sudden and deep.The sound is literally a rumble."Is that supposed to be reassuring?"

"Is it working?"

"Oddly, yes."

I stretch up on my toes, and he meets me halfway, our lips meeting in a kiss that's different from our the kiss in the kitchen or the groping in the limo.

This is intentional, a choice we're both making.

"Luke," I breathe against his mouth.

"Yes?"

"Stop thinking."

"I'm always thinking."

"Then think about this."I take his hand, place it over my heart, letting him feel how fast it's beating."Think about how much I want this.Want you."

"Sage..."

"And think about how if you don't kiss me again right now, I might actually die."

"Dramatically?"

"So dramatically.There'll be a whole scene.A wholly inefficient production.”

"Well, we can't have that."He pulls me closer, and the sound I make is embarrassing but I don't care."Inefficiency is unacceptable."

"Completely unacceptable," I agree, then promptly trip over a stack of books I forgot was there.

He catches me, barely, and we stumble against the wall, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Smooth," he says.

"I'm very graceful.Ask anyone."

"I'll take your word for it."

I attack his sweater with more enthusiasm than skill, but it gets stuck on his glasses.We spend thirty seconds in an awkward tangle before successfully freeing him.

"How do people make this look easy in movies?"I gasp, knowing my hair is now standing at angles that defy physics.

"Editing," he suggests, then his breath hitches as I start unbuttoning his shirt."Lots of editing."

"Your turn," I say when his shirt is gone, trying not to stare at the unexpected muscles.Tech CEOs shouldn't be allowed to have abs.

It's false advertising.

He reaches for my sweater, pulls it up and off.Or tries to.It gets caught on my earring.

"Ow!Wait, I'm attached!"