Page 11 of Out in the Surf

“Liar,” Luca scoffed. “All right. Call me or text me. We’ll have a redo and next time, I promise not to kiss you.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you did,” I replied, unthinking.

We both froze.

I wasn’t sure who was more surprised. My jaw unhinged while he cocked his head and really looked at me for the first time that night, his eyes roaming my face as if searching for clues.

“So kissing might be okay,” he hummed, narrowing his eyes.

I felt his gaze like a physical touch. It had never occurred to me to wonder how another man saw me, but I had to admit, the flash of naked desire in his expression did something for me.

This was a new one. Luca was gay, or maybe bi. Either way, he was plainly interested in me…and I didn’t hate it. In fact, my jeans hugged my crotch a little too tightly, which meant my body appreciated his interest and maybe shared it. And that was pretty…gay.

Was I okay with that?

Yeah…I was.

Fun fact about me. I’d suspected I wasn’t one hundred percent straight since high school, but I figured that occasionally checking out another guy’s physique just put me in a mildly curious category. To be clear, my definition of “mildly curious” was more of a nod of acceptance than a tangible admission of bi-ness.

I was completely in favor of following your heart and doing whatever and whoever felt right. Dudes with dudes, cool. Girls with girls, also cool.

I didn’t thinkI’dactually ever want to touch a man, though.

Until now.

’Cause right this very second, I wantedto touch Luca.

And I wanted to kiss him.

“I’d be cool with it,” I said in a huskier than normal voice.

Luca chuckled softly.

“Then do it,” he taunted.

“Now? You want me to…” I gestured between us.

“If you want…yes.”

Yeah, I wanted to.

I didn’t question the sudden surge of desire. I just went with it. I set my hand on his shoulder and palmed his neck, drawing him close.

My heart hammered in my chest when my nose brushed his. A wicked thrill raced along my spine at the feel of his breath on my lips, his eyes locked on mine. No doubt he wondered what had gotten into me or how many shots I’d had.

But he didn’t know me, so he had no way of knowing how fucking intense and exciting it felt to be this close to him.

And I hadn’t even kissed him yet.

I swallowed hard, then gently pressed my lips to his. Luca didn’t move. He didn’t try to deepen the connection, nor did he pull away. I knew immediately that he was giving me a chance to change my mind before this subtle exploration turned into something more.

While I appreciated the gesture, I wasn’t going anywhere now.

I tilted my chin slightly and licked his lips. Luca growled. He stayed perfectly still, though I could feel tension rolling over him in a needy wave. It should have been enough to set off internal alarm bells and remind me that Luca was a powerful, masculine dude. He was strong, fit, and undeniably male.

Luca was my height, but he outweighed me by at least twenty pounds of sheer muscle. The contrast of his obvious strength with this soft touch was heady stuff. Asking for more might be like unleashing a genie from a bottle. It could be more than I could handle.

There was only one way to find out.