Page 14 of Shame Me

“I, um, don’t have a ton of experience, but…you’re a good kisser.”

Was heblushing?

I told him the truth. “You are too.”

He swallowed. “But there’s one thing.” Oh, no. Maybe he’d lied at first and now he was going to tell me for real what he thought. “You’re too tense. If you relax, it’ll be better.”

Oh…maybe Ihadbeen a little uptight. “Can we try it again?”

Braden’s eyes widened but he said, “Sure.”

“Hold on.” I took a long, slow breath into my lungs, closing my eyes as I shook my arms, trying to loosen them up. Then, I peeked just enough to make sure my lips hit the target. This time, the kiss was even better—deeper, longer, enough that every nerve in my body stood at attention.

Wow.

My last thought before opening my eyes again was that he wasn’t Zack.

He said, “That was perfect.”

“Thanks. Um, I know I said it before…but you’re an amazing kisser.”

Blushing again, he smoothed his tie as I backed away a bit. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done this right before an interview.”

Oh, God—I wasn’t sure why he’d said that and I didnotwant to know. But I chuckled and ran my hands down the front of his suit jacket as if brushing off any evidence.

We both heard the door in the hallway open, meaning one of our roommates had finally awakened. I didn’t even have a chance to back out of the bathroom before Cy appeared in the doorway. For a second, we were all silent as Cy tried to take in the scene. “Nobody told me we had a band meeting this morning.”

“We were just…brushing our teeth,” I said, hoping I didn’t look as guilty as I felt but maneuvering past him just the same.

“Do we have to wear a suit for that shit?”

Braden finally found his tongue. “Uh…I have an interview.”

“Okay.” Although I could no longer see Cy’s face, he seemed to find our answers plausible. For all he knew, I’d been straightening Braden’s tie, giving him a pre-interview pep talk. But then Cy’s usual charm came out. “Do you mind clearing out of here so I can take a leak?”

“Yeah,” Braden said, his feet in motion. “We’re all done in here.”

Cy muttered something that I couldn’t quite understand—but Braden and I both gave each other wide-eyed looks as we headed back to the kitchen. Braden said, “I gotta head to that interview now. Wish me luck?”

“Yes—I hope you get the job.”

“I don’t know if I want it.”

“Then…I hope you get what’s best for you. At least the interview’ll be good practice.”

“Yeah.” Braden nodded and paused, staring at me for a bit before turning to leave. After the door closed, I thought about those kisses for a moment—until Cy reappeared and broke the silence.

“Glad to see there’s coffee,” he said, walking over to the pot. He wore gray sweats and nothing else—and I’d long grown used to the four of us being pretty casual with each other. If I’d had a crush on Cy, seeing him bare-chested all the time would have made me ache.

Fortunately, his occasionally irascible personality kept that possibility from ever occurring.

What was even stranger was that I kept thinking about that kiss with Braden—and I couldn’t get it out of my head.

I went back to scrolling through job listings on my phone when Cy sat next to me. “It’s not any of my business, but…good for you, Dani.”

What the hell was he talking about? I looked up from my phone. “What?”

“You and Braden. He’s a good guy.”