Hearts Attached (3 page)

Disgusting. I’m not watching this.

“OK, but you’ll have to kiss Kenzie, too. It’d be weird if she kissed Luke.”

I look to Kenz, and her eyes are big and round.

“I’m out of here,” I say before I climb down the steps to the treehouse. I’m halfway home, when I hear Kenzie yelling.

“Wait for me, Luke.” She’s running toward me in her sundress and bare feet. Once she gets to me, she looks away and chews on her lip. She’s also out of breath.

“Can I hang out with you? I don’t want to kiss Jared.”

“Yeah, sure.” We go inside my house and get a glass of Kool-Aid before we sit on my back porch. I don’t say anything. I’m too angry.

“What’s wrong, Luke? You seem mad.”

“It’s weird ... Liv kissing him. It makes me angry. Should I try to stop them?”

“It’s her choice.”

“I guess.” I look over at Kenz and can’t help but snicker. She has a red Kool-Aid moustache.

“What?”

“Your mouth. You have a mustache.”

She tries to wipe it off with the back of her hand, but it’s too late. It’s dried now, but she’s still pretty.

***

F
eeling Kenzie pull away, I come out of my daydream. How long have I been hugging her?

“I guess I should go. Thanks for the hug.” She starts across the yard, but I don’t want her to leave.

“Kenzie.” She slowly turns around. “Do you want to hang out? My dad’s working late, so I don’t have anything to do.”

She chews on her lip before finally walking back toward me. “OK. Mom’s working tonight, so I’m alone, too.”

“I need to take a shower. Do you mind waiting?”

“No. I’ll try to get hold of Liv.” She follows me into the house. Our home is older but large, with an upstairs. That’s where Liv’s and my bedroom are.

I’m nervous to be here with Kenzie, and it’s odd we were left alone together today.

McKenzie

M
y foot taps on the floor as I sit on the couch and text Liv. Of all days for her to be gone. I thought I’d get more time before I had to tell Luke about her and Dalton.

I get a text back, explaining what happened to her grandparents, and I can’t bring myself to mention I’m alone with Luke. Liv wouldn’t like it. She promises to send an update after she gets there and sees them.

Luke comes downstairs, and I smell his clean scent before he’s near me. His dark hair is messy and still wet. He’s in a different pair of black athletic shorts and a snug Dartmouth t-shirt. It’s the college he’ll be attending.

It’s not an option. His father graduated from there, and it’s expected for Luke to do the same. He’s worked extremely hard to make it happen, too. If everything goes as planned this school year, he’ll get a scholarship for ice hockey.

“You want to hang out in my room where we can listen to music?”

“Um, sure.” I get up and pull my short shorts down farther on my legs. I’m also wearing a pink tank-top since it’s ninety degrees today.

Luke grabs us both a soda before I follow him upstairs. Sitting at the head of his bed like usual, he turns on his stereo with a remote. Justin Timberlake is singing, and I know he has it on that channel for me.

I open my drink and sit at the end of his bed facing him. He tilts his head back against the wall and closes his eyes. Things are different between us, and I don’t know how to fix it.

“Luke, maybe I should go. You seem tired.”

His eyes fly open. “Please don’t. Why don’t you tell me about Dalton?”

“OK. Um, your sister wants to go out with him, so I was talking to him about it.”

“Were you going to run this by me?”

“Of course, but it’s not your decision to make as to whether they date or not. You need to stop scaring guys away from her. She’s almost eighteen.”

“Does Dalton like her?”

“Yes, but he thought he could never date her because of you.”

I look away from him. “I’m getting the impression that a lot of guys feel that way about Liv ... and me. They think it’ll piss you off if they ask either of us out.”

“I told you earlier, if there’s someone you want to go out with, Kenzie, I won’t interfere,” he says, sounding pissed.

“What is your problem? You’ve been different since the last time I was in this very spot.”

“I don’t care if Dalton dates Liv. He’s a good guy. I’ll tell him myself.”

“That was easier than I thought it would be, but you didn’t answer my question.”

Luke stares off, and I want to remind the boy I’m not a mind reader. This is too weird. I get up to leave, but as soon as I go to pass him, he reaches out and grabs my wrist.

I look down at his hand wrapped around mine. He stands and takes my drink before setting it on his nightstand. He still hasn’t let go of my wrist, and I feel my stomach doing somersaults. What’s about to happen?

His eyes come back to mine, and his gaze looks different. He looks different. He’s serious as all get out, and it’s freaking me the fuck out. Shit, he’s right up against me.

When I was under him on the bed a couple of weeks ago, he looked a bit scared, but now, he appears determined and fearless. His hand reaches out and runs down the length of my hair. He towers over me, so I peek up at him.

“Kenz, I am guilty of trying to keep guys away from you. I’m sorry if it’s not what you’ve wanted, but I’m not sorry otherwise.” His hands frame my face, and he skims his thumb across my bottom lip, causing my harsh breaths.

“Um, why?” I don’t know what he’s planning to do next, but every cell in my body is screaming for him to kiss me.

“Because I like you, Kenzie. I always have. I don’t want you with anyone else, and I’m tired of denying it. Please say you feel the same about me since I’m dying to kiss you right now.”

All I have time to do is nod before I feel his lips on my forehead and then my cheek. He kisses the corner of my mouth, and a heat spreads from somewhere sacred to every inch of my being as I close my eyes.

His mouth softly lands on mine, but I don’t want him to be gentle. I realize at this moment the depth of how much I’ve always wanted Luke. Nothing has ever felt more right. I take hold of his waist, trying to steady myself as our tongues collide.

They’re swirling and caressing and picking up speed, and I want something that I can’t even explain. I whimper, a need consuming me.

Luke’s hands circle my body before he’s yanking me against him and groaning into my mouth. I feel his erection, but this time, he’s not trying to get away. His hold only tightens the longer we kiss.

I pull free, needing to take a breath. He massages the back of my hair and presses his lips to the top of my head. “Damn, Kenzie, kissing you that way is like I always imagined it would be ... awesome.”

My cheek finds his chest before I grin.

“Can we do it again?”

He leans back, and I peer up at him in time to see one corner of his mouth tilt into a smile. Dipping his head, he catches my lips again, making my wish come true.

My eager hands glide along Luke’s waist and up under the back of his shirt, his tight muscles moving under my fingers, stirring something in him.

He begins kissing me harder, wrapping me up in his heated embrace as if he can’t get close enough, and I feel it, too. My body has declared Luke the new sustenance for its existence, confirming what I’ve suspected my whole life. My heart and Luke’s were made to love one another.

“God, Kenzie, can I please kiss you on my bed?”

His breathing is punctuated with a desperate yearning all for me, and I’ve never wanted to scream “yes” so badly in all my life.

I step forward, walking him backward until he falls onto the bed, pulling me down with him. My hands delve into his hair, and I push my body against his.

“Luke.” I want words for how he makes me feel, but I can’t think of any monumental enough.

“I know, Kenzie; I feel it, too.”

Our lips skirt across each other’s, and his fingers slip under the back of my tank top, the warmth of his hands branding me, sealing our fate. Kisses fill our mouths and deepen, and it’s as if we’re living out the first and last kiss we can ever share.

“I can’t get close enough to you, Luke.”

He holds my back as he sits straight up. I’m now straddling him, and after yanking off his shirt, he gazes at me intensely, his eyes conveying everything I want to say. Crossing my arms, I reach down and pull my shirt over my head.

“Kenzie, you’re so beautiful.” Leaning over, he skims his nose across my chest, so I dig my fingers into his scalp as my head falls back, and I realize there isn’t anything Luke could ask of me that I wouldn’t do.

***

A
ge 10:

“Your mouth. You have a mustache,” Luke says to me. I try to wipe it off.

“Oh well. Too late I guess.” I chew on my lip as I try to get the nerve to say something. “I would’ve kissed you.” Luke’s head snaps toward me, his eyes wide. “I mean, only if you had wanted to. We probably should know what it’s like to kiss, too,” I add.

“Yeah, but Liv would get mad.”

“We wouldn’t have to tell her.”

Luke turns and looks at me. He’s staring into my eyes, and the next thing I know, we’re both leaning in. Our lips touch, and I close my eyes. Luke lets them go but then presses his against mine again.

My body feels funny. It’s warm all over, and I feel like I have goldfish swimming around in my tummy. I like kissing Luke.

***

H
is lips are parading kisses up my neck, and I can’t remember a time in my life when I ever felt better. His mouth lands on mine, and I whimper against it as I tug on his hair.

All at once, Luke stops moving. His hands disappear from my chest, and he pulls my tank top over my head. I’m panicked immediately, wondering if he’s having second thoughts about me. Kissing my forehead, he takes hold of my arms.

“I’m sorry, Kenzie. I’m getting carried away, and I shouldn’t have done that to you the first time we kiss.”

“It’s OK, Luke. I could’ve stopped you.” That’s not true. I don’t think I could’ve found the words or the will to tell Luke to stop. “You know, today is not the first time our lips have touched.”

“It’s the first time our tongues have, and you’re a good girl, Kenzie. I don’t want to change that.”

“Yes, you do. You just think you shouldn’t.”

He chuckles and hugs me tight.

“Lie with me,” he says.

Curling up against his side, my hand finds his heart. It hammers against my fingers as his skim through the ends of my hair and down my arm. My body still wants Luke.

***

O
pening my eyes, I realize everything was real. Luke’s arm is wrapped snug around my waist, and he must feel me stirring because he’s soon kissing my forehead.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi.” He pulls me to him. “Mmm, you feel good up against me.”

“I like being pressed against you.” Leaning over, I plant one kiss on his throat. “But I should probably get home.”

He grunts and pulls me closer. “No, stay.”

“I have a lot of homework.”

“So do I,” he says, sighing. “My dad will be home anytime, too. Will you come back tomorrow?”

“Sure, um, you probably shouldn’t touch me at school since Liv doesn’t know. Someone would text her, and she shouldn’t find out that way.”

“I don’t like it, but you’re right. Someone would definitely tell her. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

I feel the same security I’ve felt every other time we’ve held hands, but there is also something new and exciting, especially when he follows me inside and gives me a long kiss. I’m encased in his arms, and it’s my new favorite place.

“It’s turned out to be the best day of my life, Kenzie.”

“Let’s make even better ones.”

He gives me a broad grin. “You’re killing me. Now that I finally can, how am I not going to touch you every time you’re near?”

Luke

K
enzie and I texted each other until midnight. I was wired, wanting to feel her again, so I didn’t sleep a wink. Her sweet scent on my pillow was driving me mad.

I want nothing more than to show everyone at school she’s mine. I guess she is. We didn’t exactly say it, but I know it’s what I want. She and Liv often ride with me to school, so no one will suspect anything if she shows up with me.

I’m pulling a t-shirt over my head when I hear the doorbell. A smile spreads across my face as I jump four steps trying to get downstairs. I fling the door open and receive a bashful smile from Kenzie.

“Good morning. I hope you don’t mind that I came over early.”

“Of course not,” I say as I move out of the way for her to enter. Damn, she looks hot today. Kenzie always looks pretty, but it seems she made an extra effort to drive me insane today. Her golden hair is down and curled.

“What?” she asks before she looks down at her clothes.

“Huh?” I think I was busted checking her out.

“You looked me over for a long time. Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?” She glances down again at her denim shorts and thin, lavender shirt, which buttons up.

I think I’m turning red. “No, Kenzie, nothing’s wrong. You always look great, but today you’re extra hot.”

She chews on her lip. “So you still feel the same this morning?”

Panic washes over me. Is she having second thoughts? “Yeah, do you?”

She shakes her head yes several times and grins, her happiness spreading to those crystal blue eyes.

“I missed you already,” she says in a sexy, soft tone.

“I won’t be able not to touch you if you talk to me that way, Kenzie.”

“Did your dad leave for work?”

“Yeah.”

“Then touch me already, you confusing boy.”

She’s looking at me as if she’d let me do anything, and I desire to do everything, having waited to share each sexual experience with Kenzie. Cupping her face, I kiss her mouth, and she lets my tongue slip right into her warmth.

Arms circle tightly around my waist, her body pushing against mine, and I might have to kiss her all day and forever. I reluctantly release her lips and hug her.

“Kenz, you’re not making it easy for me to behave,” I whisper in her ear before I breathe in the sweet scent from her hair.