Fire on Ice (Fire on Ice Series) (4 page)

But she was right, I was afraid to say all of those things. And I was even more afraid to touch her. What if she rejected me? What if I completely screwed things up and she never wanted to see me again?

And at that moment, I knew exactly how Kyle felt and how easily he got stuck in the friend zone. He was willing to settle for half of a relationship because he was afraid of being rejected and having no relationship with Taylor at all. He may have been willing to settle for second best but I wasn’t.

Never one to back down from a challenge and always willing to take a risk, I took what felt like the biggest one of my life.

I leaned down and placed a kiss on Taylor’s lips.

And for the briefest of moments, the entire world stopped and I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven or Nirvana or wherever a person goes when just for a moment, their world is completely rocked like it’s never been rocked before.

And when I removed my lips from hers and I looked into her eyes, I felt a fire burning between us that was so intense and all consuming, the breath was sucked from my lungs.

Taylor must have felt something, too, because she put her fingers to her lips and stroked them and I swear I heard the faintest, “Wow,” escape from her lips.

My heart skipped a few beats at the thought of her actually saying wow to my kiss.

There we stood in the middle of a hippie-
dippie indie coffee shop, staring into each other’s eyes after the most amazing kiss ever and all I wanted was to take her into my arms and never let her go.

“Your order is ready,” the kid behind the counter said, in what could have won the prize for the biggest mood buster in history.

It took a moment for Taylor to register that our food was ready. Then she looked completely flustered and she was so freakin’ cute, all I wanted to do was kiss her again.

I may not have had enough class to know the difference b
etween a pita and a wrap but I sure as hell knew how to keep myself out of the friend zone.

“Let’s get a table,” I suggested as I grabbed the tray with our order.

Taylor nodded but she still looked a little ruffled and I wanted to pat myself on the back for rocking her world with just one kiss.

And if one kiss with Taylor was that good, I imagined what it would be like to have her naked, in my bed, kissing her ever
ywhere and touching her everywhere and being inside of her all night.

And I felt damn lucky to be holding a tray over my dick b
ecause I was getting another hard-on thinking about being with Taylor.

The place was semi-packed but we found a table in a quiet corner. I couldn’t believe how many guys were in this place eating the same girlie food I was getting ready to eat.

We took places on opposite sides of the small table and I placed the tray between us.

Taylor looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said, “Thanks.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For lunch.
I know this isn’t really your kind of place.”

“What makes you say that?”

She laughed. I loved the sound of her laugh and the way her eyes crinkled and danced at the same time. “You asked the poor guy at the counter if they had any meat.”

“I guess I’m more of a burgers and beer kind of guy.”

“Maybe next time we can go to a sports bar. You might feel more at home there.”

I didn’t hear much past
next time
. There was going to be a
next time
. Taylor hinted that she wanted to go out with me again. I was getting closer to scoring a goal.

She grabbed the food she ordered and removed it from the packaging. I watched as she hungrily bit into her wrap. The girl could eat there was no doubt about that. She was so tiny but she attacked her food with a force that rivaled some of my tea
mmates.

And I loved it.

I loved that she was such a combination of opposites. I expected her to eat like a bird but she devoured her food like a lioness.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked when she noticed I was watching her.

I didn’t want her to think I was some creepy stalker but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. I wanted to know everything about her, every detail that made Taylor who she was.

I grabbed my food from the tray and
unwrapped the package. It could have been the most repulsive thing I had ever seen in my entire life, even more disgusting than the time my mom tried to heat grilled cheese with a clothing iron.

But at least I now knew the difference between a pita and a wrap.

I stared at the glob of tuna salad that peeked out of the top of the pita at me. It looked like someone had eaten before me. There was no way that glob in any way resembled meat.

Taylor was staring at me, waiting for me to take a bite. I put the awfulness up to my lips and nearly gagged at the smell of it. I threw it back down on the table.

“I’m sorry,” Taylor said and she looked uncomfortable. I had to quickly back-peddle.

“Do you like your wrap?” I asked.

She gave me a little half smile. “I love it.”

“Then that’s all that matters. Look at me. Do I look like I’m going to starve?”

That got me a laugh and I was back in the game.

“Not at all,” she said. “Try the smoothie. Everyone loves their smoothies.”

I took a sip of the tall drink. It was a little too sweet but at least I could get it down. I nodded my approval and that seemed to satisfy her because she went back to devouring her wrap.

I’m not sure why I said it but the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Kyle stopped by before you got here.”

She stopped eating mid-bite and looked at me. “He did?” She sounded surprised and not too happy about it.

I nodded. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

Taylor put down her wrap. “He’s my best friend and he’s protective. He doesn’t want me to get hurt again.”

Hurt again
? She had mentioned something like that at the bar. I wondered who the asshole was that hurt her so badly and what he did to her. 

Whatever it was, I wanted to be the one to protect her, not Kyle. What could he do anyway? If it came right down to it, how was that skinny little pie-face going to keep her safe?

And that little puke was not her
friend
. He wanted the same thing that every other guy wanted. He just didn’t have the balls to seal the deal.

“You really think Kyle’s your friend?” I asked although my tone didn’t really make it sound like a question. I knew I only wanted to make a point.

“Of course I do.”

I laughed. Not a small one either, a full belly laugh.

She furrowed her brow, puzzled. “What’s so funny?”

“That guy is not your
friend
. That guy wants to get into your pants; it’s as simple as that.”

She looked
like I had just slapped her. “Kyle has been my best friend for the past three years.”

I shook my head. “No, Kyle has been trying to get you in bed for the past three years. He just hasn’t been able to score a goal.”

Her jaw dropped open and no words came out. I think I completely stunned her. But I also wondered if I had made a big mistake. I had been playing the game well but now I was in danger of getting thrown into the penalty box.

“You don’t know anything about Kyle,” she snapped.

“He’s not gay, is he?” I countered.

“No.” She said it in a way that made it sound like my que
stion was ridiculous and that made me mad.

“Then he wants to get into your pants,” I stated. “Straight guys are not friends with girls. Especially girls as smoking hot as you. He’s with you for one reason. He wants you. He’s just waiting for
the right moment to make his move.”

“It’s not like that,” Taylor insisted.
“He knows I don’t like him that way.”

“I know what’s going on in Kyle’s mind. He thinks if he does enough for you, if you depend on him, you’ll eventually like him that way.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, you’re wrong.”

“Why?”

“He listens to me. He really understands me.”

Now I was the one shaking my head. She really didn’t get it. “You think he’s listening to you. What he’s really doing is thin
king of all the ways he wants to fuck you when he has the chance.”

She glared at me. I could see she was seething and I was ge
tting completely turned on. My mind knew it was the wrong reaction but apparently it forgot to tell my dick.

“I think you’re just projecting your feelings on to him,” she spat.

“You’re right, Princess. I do think about all the ways I want you. And I think about it a lot. But I assure you, I’m not the only one. Any guy who spends more than five minutes with you will be having the same thoughts.”

“Oh, and you speak for all guys now?”

“No, I only speak for myself but I know how guys are and I know how they think.”

I think I rendered her speechless. Her mouth was open but no words came out. Oh, what I would love to do with that beautiful mouth of hers…

I leaned my head on my hands and stared into her eyes. “Have you really gone three years without having sex?”

I could see her pearly white skin turn sunburned red with embarrassment. “Why would you even ask that question?”

“Because I know the minute you start seriously dating someone, as in doing the nasty, your
friend
Kyle will be gone.”

“He will not,” she insisted.

“Wanna bet?”

She thought about it for a minute. “I think you’re wrong.”

“Just wait and see what happens when you and I hook up.”

She rolled her eyes at me. I normally hated
it when girls did that but when Taylor did it, it was kind of cute. “I am not hooking up with you. Not now. Not
ever
.”

I raised my eyebrows in mock horror. “Not ever? Wow. Are you sure about that?”

I knew I was starting to sound cocky and arrogant but this girl brought everything out of me: the good, the bad and the ugly.

When Taylor stood up, I realized I may have pushed her a little too far. I’d just lost control of the puck and I needed to do some fancy stick handling to get control of it again.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I don’t even know what I’m doing here. We have absolutely nothing in common and we’re not even
each other’s type.”

“I never said you weren’t my type,” I replied quickly.
Maybe a bit too quickly.

She looked stunned. “I just assumed—”

“Yeah, well, don’t.” I could feel myself getting angry but I knew it was because she said I wasn’t her type. “And just what is your type,” I fumed. “Kyle? You want some pussy that follows you around and does whatever you say. If that’s the case, you’re right. I’m definitely not your type.”

Now I stood up to leave.

“I never said Kyle was my type.” She sounded just as angry as I was and it was making me hard. I slipped my hands into the pockets of my jeans to keep my growing erection in check.

We glared at each other and the energy between
us ignited. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to grab her and kiss her again. At that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than Taylor Thompson. I just wasn’t sure if she wanted me. I had the feeling I probably topped the list of things she
didn’t
want. I wanted to punch myself in the face for coming across as a self-righteous and egotistical jock, especially when she already told me she wasn’t keen on dating athletes.

“I have to get to class,” Taylor said. “I don’t want to be late.”

“I’ll walk you,” I stated. It wasn’t a question because I didn’t want to give her the chance to shoot me down.

She gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed what remained of her food from the table. Then she turned and headed for the exit.

I grabbed the tray and quickly followed her. We both disposed of our garbage although mine ended up being the majority of the rabbit food I’d ordered.

She didn’t even slow down as she bolted out the door. The girl was quick on her feet when she wanted to be because it took a few moments for me to catch up to her.

“What class do you have?” I asked as I finally kept pace with her.

She turned to face me. “Why do you care?”

“Just curious what you’ll be doing for the next few hours when you’re not thinking about me.”

“And what makes you think I’ll be thinking about you?
Other than the fact that you’re an egotistical jock?”

She was walking so fast, I was actually starting to feel it in my lungs but it didn’t seem to faze her a bit. “I saw the way you looked at me after we kissed. You can’t deny you felt something.”

She turned her head away and concentrated on the path in front of her. We walked in silence except for my heavy breathing. When we got to a small building marked Psychology, I figured we had arrived.