After a hard day at the animal shelter, Kelly came home, took a shower, and plopped down on the couch. Her mother was in the kitchen baking cookies for some charity event she was going to. Her dad and little sister were in the den playing a heated game of Uno.
Kelly flipped on the TV and clicked through the channels. MTV played reruns of yet another season of Real World. Snooze. VH1 played some stupid “celebrity” show. Bravo had on their popular cooking competition, but it was an episode Kelly had already seen.
Since there was nothing else on, she left it on Bravo and slumped against the cushions. It was hard to focus, though, when she could hear her brother and Drew down the hall in Todd’s bedroom.
Kelly tried to tune out the boys, focusing on the TV instead, when she noticed new picture albums lined up on the entertainment center shelf. Her mom had been talking about buying matching albums all summer.
Evidently, she’d stopped talking about it and actually did it.
Kelly grabbed two off the shelf—there were a total of five—and propped her feet up on the coffee table. She opened the first one and was greeted by a family photo from Christmas several years ago. Kelly looked about eleven or twelve. The pictures went on for a few pages and then pictures of spring and summer popped up.
She stopped on a picture of Drew and Todd when Drew sauntered out of the hallway. He hesitated there, looking from her to the kitchen, obviously weighing the safer option. Hang out with Kelly’s mom in the kitchen? Or risk sitting with Kelly?
She wanted to tell him to sit, but they were still on shaky terms. After all, Kelly had told him they couldn’t be friends. She’d been bluffing, of course, and Drew probably knew that, but the situation was still awkward.
This whole thing was an elaborate dance Kelly knew none of the steps to.
“Hey,” she finally said, trying to smooth out some of the discomfort.
“Hey.” He sat down beside her, glancing over her shoulder at the photo album on her lap. He laughed when he saw the picture of him and Todd. “I remember that. That was the day we played a huge prank on Kenny.”
“The one where we all waited around the corner of his house and then pelted him with flour bombs?”
“His face…” Drew shook his head and chuckled. “The look on his face was awesome.”
“Yeah.” Kelly turned the page and the entire spread was of the neighborhood kids covered in flour and dirt. Kenny got it the worst. Flour turned his black hair white; it stuck to his eyelashes.
“That was my idea, you know,” Kelly said.
Drew snorted. “It was my idea.”
“No, I just let you think it was your idea.”
He hung his head back. “You always were manipulative back then.”
Kelly dropped her jaw. “I was not!”
“Then how do you explain talking me into marrying you when we were eleven? I didn’t feel I had much choice, you were so pushy.”
Rolling her eyes, Kelly tried to remember the year they were eleven. Had she pretended they were married?
She vaguely remembered something about it.
“Well,” she began, “maybe I did talk you into an early marriage, but back then, I had the biggest crush on you. And I remember telling my mom that I wanted to marry you when we were older.”
Drew grinned. “Really?”
“Yeah.” She nervously tugged on a hunk of blond hair. “I mean, it wasn’t a crazy obsession or anything…”
“Sure.”
He paused then and ran his fingers through his unruly hair. He still hadn’t gotten it cut. It now hung in layers over his forehead and along his temples. Kelly thought it fit him well.
“You want to hear a crazy confession?” he said.
Kelly raked her teeth over her lip. No, she thought. This is dangerous territory again.
“Yeah,” she said.
“I had a crush on you the moment I first met you.” He tapped one of the photos of them, their arms around each other’s shoulders. “I still remember that first day we met. You and Todd were playing in the driveway with sidewalk chalk and he kept writing Kelly smells over and over again. He spelled smell wrong.”
They both laughed.
“And then I came over,” he continued, “and you were the first one to say hi. I remember thinking your voice was squeaky.”
“That’s because I was nervous,” she replied.
“So was I.”
Somehow, the distance between them had lessened and Kelly could feel the heat of Drew’s breath on her cheek, could smell his familiar smell.
Excitement, nervousness, and apprehension mixed in her belly. She leaned forward, cleared her mind, and tried to feel the moment.
Drew leaned in, too, and kissed her.
The contact was like an electric shock to Kelly’s body. Every nerve seemed to tingle with the after effects.
When she didn’t pull away, Drew threaded his fingers through her hair, along the back of her neck. A shiver went up her spine as his tongue slid softly over her lips.
Butterfly wings in her stomach beat to a fervent drum in her chest. And when Drew pulled away, she was actually breathless.
Drew’s eyes were heavy-lidded. “Kel,” he said.
God, she’d been dreaming of that kiss for years.
“Kel?”
She reined in her focus. “Yeah?”
“You okay?”
For now anyway. Later she might be a mess when she realized what they’d just done.
But for now she just wanted to enjoy it. Enjoy everything.
“I’m ready,” Todd called from his bedroom. “We’re going to Bershetti’s before poker, right? Cause I’m friggin’ starving.”
Drew looked from Kelly to the hallway. “Yeah,” he answered Todd. To Kelly he said, “You want to come?”
“To Bershetti’s?”
Drew nodded.
“Would I be…I mean, I don’t want to interrupt guys’ night out.”
“You won’t.” He took her hand in his and squeezed. “Besides, I want you to come.”
“All right.”
Drew dropped Kelly’s hand when Todd came out of the bedroom.
“Kelly’s coming with,” Drew said as he scooped up the keys to his truck.
“What? Dude!”
“Dude,” Drew said, “I want her to come.”
Kelly couldn’t help but grin. She was so used to her older brother getting his way. It was nice to see someone else telling him how it was.
They piled in Drew’s truck. Kelly sat in the middle, which put her very close to Drew. Their knees touched the entire time. Kelly had to curl her hands into fists so that she didn’t grab Drew’s hand. She wanted to, but she didn’t want Todd to see.
When they reached Bershetti’s and Todd got out, Drew quickly leaned over and pecked Kelly on the lips. He smiled.
At the entrance to Bershetti’s, Drew held the door open for her and she hurried past. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the softer lighting inside the restaurant and when it did, she froze, noticing the person standing in front of her.
Drew froze, too.
It was Sydney.