Kiss Me

“Thank you Kee, I just needed a minute after all of that stuff with my mom and Mr. Jared,” I said quietly.

“I am sorry that my dad upset you and yelled at your mom. He really needs to get a grip,” he said quietly as well, but still not letting me go.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, putting my head down so he wouldn’t see my face.

I was holding back tears talking about it. It was a different fight than any of us had ever seen. Mr. Jared threatened to escort my mom off of the property. The thought was scary in itself.

He pulled my chin up and I felt his breath near my forehead. He kissed my forehead like he had always done, but his lips lingered there by my hairline. His hands caressed my back and my waist and his body felt warm. I got an immediate tingle up my spine.

“Brees…I…,” he paused and nuzzled his nose into my hair.

I could feel our hearts both beating so fast. His hand went over my shoulder, giving me more chills down my spine. He moved my hair behind my ear and I felt his breathing getting more intense.

Was he nervous? If so, what was he nervous about? Was Keegan going to kiss me? Was this the moment I had been waiting for? He slid his hand down the side of my face, with his face still touching mine. He lifted my chin yet again and this time he leaned in. Those beautifully symmetrical lips of his were going to meet mine for the first time and it would be fireworks. He stopped right before his lips met mine and planted a kiss on my cheek. His lips were centimeters away from mine. What was the problem, Keegan? I’m not pulling away. Don’t you want this too?

“Keegan, kiss me…” I thought over and over, feeling his breath on mine.

He slowly let my chin go and he shook his head as if to tell himself this wasn’t a good idea.

“Brees…I…I’m just really sorry for how my dad acted. I don’t ever want to lose you and Baylen over our parents' issues,” he said, taking his arms from around me. He covered his face with both hands and threw his head back.

I shook my head in disbelief. The boy I’ve loved for four years was about to kiss me, or at least I think he was, but instead my lips remained un-kissed. My mind was swirling. Was I reading this wrong? Was Keegan really just sad that our parents were fighting? Was there something more going on?

“Keegan, it’s okay. Thank you for comforting me due to the situation. I don’t want to lose you as a friend either,” I said, pushing away from him, fixing my romper and my hair.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him. I couldn’t even look at him. I knew that if he saw my face, he would see my embarrassment for misreading his concern. I could hear Jada calling his name. He slowly started to let my wrist go.

“I’ll uh…see you for your cake cutting Kee,” I said softly, giving a half-hearted smile.

I rushed to the front of the barn and almost ran Jada right over.

“Hey girl, you ok?” she asked.

I apologized and ran to the front by the cornhole area. I had a feeling Jeff may be there. I just wanted to get away from Keegan as soon as I could. My face was flushed red with embarrassment and hurt. Where in the world is Jeff? I looked around frantically and then heard his voice by the cornhole game and there he was. His laughter was contagious and he truly didn’t have a care in the world. I made eye contact with Jeff. He smiled so big when he saw me and handed me my sweet tea.

“I was looking for you,” he said, throwing his arm around me. “Wanna be on my team for the next game?”

“Sure!” I said, throwing my hair back up into a bun.

We ended up playing three games of which we won two. Cyman and Casey headed off to the picnic table together after the game. Jeff asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I wasn’t really feeling like going, but I did anyway. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened with Keegan. Why wouldn’t he kiss me? He definitely wanted to, right? It made no sense. Was it Baylen’s warning to the team this summer? Did Bay tell him he couldn’t like me? No, my brother wouldn’t do that. He knows how much I have been crushing on Keegan. This all made no sense to me.