LOGINJesus fucking Christ…Charlie had exactly half a second to register what was happening as a weight hit his chest.A startled gasp. A soft curse. Warmth.“—whoa—!”They went down together.Charlie stumbled backward on instinct, one foot catching on the edge of the rug, the other failing him completely. His shoulder hit the ground first, then his back, then Sky landed squarely on top of him with a breathless oof.Charlie lay there, stunned, staring up.Sky’s hands were braced on either side of his shoulders. Her hair had fallen loose from wherever she’d tied it, spilling forward and brushing his neck, his jaw, his collarbone. The hem of her thin pajama shirt, the only thing she was wearing had ridden up her thighs. He could feel her breathing against his chest, smell her lotion, see the shadow where fabric met skin.Oh. This was bad.This was very, very bad.“Get off me,” he blurted.It came out far too sharp. Too panicked.Sky froze instantly.“Oh my God,” she whispered. “I am so sorry
Sky’s eyes turned wide. “Nothing’s wrong.”Tiffany gave her a look. The older-sister look. The one that had ended lies since Sky was twelve. “You’re holding a three-year-old like a stress ball and you just snapped at the man like he kicked a puppy. Something’s wrong.”Ezra plopped down on the rug and began lining up toy cars with intense focus. Elliot rested his head against Sky’s shoulder, already half-zoned out.Sky sighed. “It’s stupid.”Tiffany smiled knowingly. “Those are my favorite kind.”Sky rolled her eyes but sat down on the edge of the couch across from her sister, still holding Elliot. “He embarrassed me. Publicly.”Tiffany’s brows lifted. “How?”Sky opened her mouth.Closed it.She couldn’t possibly tell Tiffany about the kiss. No way. Tiffany would think that she ‘wanted’ to kiss him. And she didn’t!Sky waved a hand vaguely. “He disagreed with me.”Ezra looked up from his cars. “Mommy and Daddy disagree.”“That’s different,” Sky said automatically.“Why?” Ezra asked.Sk
Sky laughed sheepishly. “What?” she repeated. “You’re really asking me that?”She turned in her seat so fast the seatbelt tugged against her shoulder. Her hands curled into fists in her lap, nails biting into her palms because if she didn’t anchor herself to something, she might actually scream.“You stood up in front of everyone,” she said, voice tight, “and acted like kissing me would personally ruin your life.”Charlie’s jaw flexed. “That’s not…”“And then,” she cut in, steamrolling right over him, “five minutes later you’re totally fine kissing Maria like it’s nothing. Like I’m not even…” She stopped, swallowing hard.“You are not even…what?” Charlie probed.“Nothing!” she exclaimed, her cheeks heating. Did she want to kiss Charlie? She wondered.No. Of course, she didn’t want to kiss Charlie. Why would she? His lips probably felt like cold trout.But that wasn’t the point.“That kiss with Maria didn’t mean anything,” he said finally. “It was for the game. You were the one kept pu
Charlie knew the second the bottle stopped spinning that he was screwed. And it was not in a funny way or in a harmless party-game way.In a way that made his chest lock up and his instincts scream at him to either run or do something incredibly stupid like kiss his boss’s daughter.The bottle was pointing at Sky and the other end pointed at him. Of course it was.God.He wanted to kiss her.Not in a spin-the-bottle, sloppy, performative way. He wanted to kiss her in a ‘this has been building for months and it is ruining me way.’He wanted to kiss her in a way that would completely destroy the careful wall he’d built around himself. And that was exactly why he couldn’t do it.He stood up.“I’m not playing,” he said flatly.The room fell silent, but he didn’t look at anyone else. He only looked at Sky.He saw that she looked offended.“What?” she said, her face twisted.“I said I’m not playing,” he replied, trying to avoid her eyes.Every instinct he had told him to go back. Sit down.
Sky's brain stopped functioning the second her body hit Charlie's lap.One moment she was crouched on the carpet, theatrically summoning the undead. The next she was in his arms, practically fused to his chest, his hands locked around her like the world was ending.Her breath punched out of her lungs.Her entire body flushed hot and electric. Her pulse thudded in her ears. She could smell his cologne and it was shockingly comforting. His chest was solid behind her and she felt safe.Safe? That's ridiculous. It wasn't that she was actually in danger. This was all fun and games.She needed to get off his lap, but her body did not behave.Instead, she sat frozen like a deer on a highway, hyper-aware of every muscle under her.And he was tense.So, so tense.Charlie's arm tightened instinctively, pulling her closer as the closet shadow fully stepped out."Relax," he muttered near her ear, steady and commanding. "I've got you."She nearly squealed again.A kid wearing sunglasses indoors st
The crowd gasped.Charlie froze. “We are not summoning anything.”Sky ignored him completely.“We need three candles, a dark room, and someone with a guilty conscience,” she announced.Charlie rolled his eyes. Was this girl for real?Half the party immediately pointed at each other. Someone shouted, “TYLER STOLE MY LUNCH MONEY IN SIXTH GRADE, USE HIM!”Tyler choked on his drink.Elisa’s face went pale. “Um. No. Absolutely not. Spirits? That’s…creepy.”Sky smirked. “Oh? So you’re scared?”Elisa bristled. “I’m NOT scared.”“Then great,” Sky said cheerfully. “We’ll summon the ghost of your last relationship and ask why he dumped you.”Charlie groaned. This was getting out of his hand and he did not like it one bit. “Sky, you’re not doing this.”“She







