The Summer I Met You

CHAPTER 25

The thin piece of paper falls between us, taking away all boundaries I've set up. When her soft cherry lips settle against mine, the air stills around me. I should pull away, but something is holing me there, and it's not the sweet taste of her lip gloss.

I've been kissed before, but there's something different about this one. Neither of us have made it a point to move. A rush of adrenaline pumps through my veins. Get a hold of yourself, Max!

With my eyes closed, I don't know what she's thinking or feeling. Are hers closed too?

Max, stop over thinking! I try to fight the urge building inside of me, but the longer our lips are together the more I want to dive deeper.

I lean my head right, and she mimics my movement. My mind doesn't have time to react before our lips part at the same time, allowing each other in. Heat burns inside of me like a flame igniting. A flame I never want to extinguish. I forget all sense of time as fireworks explode inside my mouth from the simple touch of her tongue hitting mine.

Lennox moans, and the sound vibrates my entire body. The intensity of it causes me to shift closer to her. Someone says something. I'd been so wrapped up in her I forgot where we were. The party! Realization strikes the moment Lennox pulls away. I sit unmoving for a split second. Lifting a finger, I touch my lips. All the sound comes rushing back in. Voices pull me back into reality.

Did that just happen? My eyes fly open, and the spot Lennox occupied is bare. Alexa is staring at me instead. Her attention flickers towards the steps as the basement door slams closed, shaking the foundation. The only thing I can focus on is the kiss and Lennox. Without thinking I get to my feet and run after her.

As I reach the top step of the basement, the glass door upstairs whooshes open. I veer right into the kitchen as the door shuts behind her. I step further into the room and watch as she comes to a staggering halt at the railing of the deck, like she's about to heave herself off it.

Her shoulders rise and fall rapidly like my heart. I pull the door open and Lennox jumps. She faces me. Her cheeks are colored a bright shade of pink.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I hold up my hands like I'm surrendering.

"It — it's fine." She barely gets the words out.

Keeping my distance, I carefully observe her. She rubs her arms and goosebumps form along her skin. The rain has subsided but there's a chill in the summer air. I pull off my light gray sweatshirt and close the distance between us to put it over her shoulder. She doesn't fight me. Her body sinks into the warmth of the fabric.

"I'm sorry if I went too far in there."

She whips her head in my direction, and I almost forget how close we are. We stare at each other's lips. I want to kiss hers again.

"Oh, no it's — I mean, it's fine."

"Are you sure? Because I..."

"Max," she says, cutting me off. "It's okay."

I stare down at my feet. I feel silly being embarrassed. Kissing her was not in my plans today, or ever. There's no denying it now, it happened, and I can still taste her lips on mine.

She looks off into the distance. I touch my finger to my lip again, wishing it was her lips instead of my finger. The thought shocks me, as much as the kiss.

"You didn't, I swear."

Her attention is back on me.

"Before I got here my ex—" A trembling sigh escapes her lips. "You might know him as Chase Dawson."

Holy shit. I'd almost forgotten about how the media went crazy over her and Chase. Flashes of old articles and pictures are on full display in my mind. I'd seen all of it but had forgotten up till now.

My lungs deflate and the high I felt after kissing her vanishes. There is no way I could compare to Chase freaking Dawson, it's no wonder she ran out of there so fast.

"He called me and said some really confusing things."

Her sorrow filled tone makes me want to reach out. Wetness forms on the rim of her eyes.

"The Orbit is premiering the last episode of the season. My death episode." She pauses for a moment, her eyes falling on the splintered wood at our feet. "Chase set up the entire thing. Before I got here, he called asking to see me before the premier. It's a lot — it's a lot to handle."

She struggles to wipe away the tears, making the skin around her eyes red.

"I'm sorry. You don't want to hear..." She waves her hand in front of her face.

I hold my hand up to stop her. "I'm here to talk if you need someone. Sometimes we need a person who is not involved or doesn't know much about the situation to just listen and give advice."

She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. I close the gap between us to let her know that I'm here for her. I reach out and wipe away the sadness off her beautiful face, but I stop and ball my hands into fists instead.

"When I came back to New York I made a promise to myself."

She's trying hard to meet my eye, but for some reason can't.

"Not only do I want to be a better person, but I promised myself I would never get involved with someone in the entertainment industry again."

She turns and stares out across the yard at the trees lining the fence. For the moment she seems content, but then a frown falls over her face again. She looks back at me and half smiles.

"Want to know something funny?"

Burying her nose into my sweatshirt, she inhales. My heart does a flip at the sight of her looking for comfort from my scent. She takes a deep breath, and her body loosens a bit. I want to question it, but don't.

"Chase and I were faking it," she says, not looking at me.

Her confession catches me off guard. A pained expression crosses her face when she looks at me for a reaction. She recoils back and a guilty weight sits heavy on my shoulders.

"Faking it?" I ask.

"It was my mom. She and everyone else, including his own mother thought it would be good for ratings. It was between seasons three and four, and the ratings had dropped. We weren't sure if the show was getting cancelled."

She stops and swallows hard. The urge to comfort her overwhelms me. My heart is telling me to go for it, while my head is screaming in panic. I step forward like I don't have control of the movement.

"We faked it until we couldn't anymore. Then when I thought he felt something, he went for someone else. The entire time he was seeing other girls. I didn't realize how much I cared, until it was too late."

She lifts my sweatshirt to the corner of her eye to wipe at her eye, but I get there first. I swipe at the tears with my thumb. Lennox gasps but leans into the touch. I'm about to catch another tear when her cherry flavored lips connect with mine again. All the feelings from the first kiss come roaring back through in full force. There's no stopping it now. I'm hooked.