“Hmm . . . you’re just missing one thing. I like chocolate chips in mine. You have any?”
“That does sound good. I think there’s still some left from Makenna’s cookies yesterday. Pantry. Right side, I think.”
I find the chocolate chips easily and unfold the top of the bag. Sprinkling them into my hand, I drop some into the batter he just poured into the pan. There are still quite a few left, so I pop them into my mouth. “Want some?” I ask Wes innocently.
“Sure.”
I jump up to sit on the counter by the stove and pour a few more into my palm. Pinching one between my thumb and index finger, I lift it to Wes’ parted lips, and he leans in, taking my fingers in his mouth and sucking on them with a low hum.
“Mmm, more.” He slides the last pancake onto a plate and turns the burner off. He surprises me by moving over to stand between my legs and sliding his hands up my bare thighs. “You and chocolate are a good combination.”
It wouldn’t take much for me to forget this isn’t for real, that we’re only playing a trick on Makenna and Shane. I flash a shy smile, bringing another chunk of chocolate to his lips. He grasps my wrist this time, holding my hand still to suck my thumb deeper into his mouth. I hear Makenna’s soft gasp from the living room, and it’s all I can do to hide my smile.
It falls away easily, though, when Wes picks up a single chocolate chip and places it on the tip of his tongue. He raises his eyebrows at me, daring me to take it to the next level.
Challenge accepted.
I reach around his waist to pull him close, and his hands instinctively slide up to grip my hips. He sticks his tongue out a little farther just before I close my lips around it, sucking off the softened chocolate, probably a little too eagerly. A groan escapes his throat, and I feel his fingers digging into my flesh. I’m sure he doesn’t realize it, but he tastes damn good with chocolate, too.
I start to pull back, but one hand clamps around the back of my neck and brings me back to him. This time, though, his mouth covers mine, and I lose myself in it. For the second time now, he surprises me with a kiss. A deep, passionate, soul-shaking kiss. The feeling of his smooth tongue swirling against mine, exploring every corner of my mouth, is unsteadying. Intoxicating. So so good.
“Oh . . . oh my . . . shit! You liar!” Makenna squeals, jumping up from the couch. “Shane! You’re seeing this, right?!”
Wes releases me, stepping back to turn to Makenna. “What?”
She points at him, bouncing up and down like a moron. “You! You and Callie!”
“We what, Mak?” I scrunch my eyebrows, trying to appear confused.
Shane leans over the island and rests his chin in his hand. “Hmm. This is too weird.”
“You and Wes.” The stunned look on her face is priceless. “You’re hooking up. Like, right in front of us. You can’t deny it now.”
“Sure we can,” I reply, jumping off the counter. “We’re pulling your chain, Mak. I knew what you were thinking, so Wes and I played a joke on you.”
Shane’s laughter echoes around the room. “They got you. Me, too. I would’ve sworn the two of you hooked up.”
“No . . . no, no, no. Not possible. You don’t meet someone one day, and then you’re able to play a joke like that on someone the next. You were kissing. Like really kissing. Something happened, and you’re both too damn stubborn to tell me. Fess up.”
Wes stabs a fork into a stack of pancakes and shoves the plate in her direction. “Eat up. I promise. There’s nothing going on. Seriously, we’re only friends.”
“That close of friends in less than 24 hours? I don’t believe you for a minute.”
I grab my plate, cutting my pancake into abnormal squares before stuffing a large bite in my mouth. The melted chocolate hidden inside unexpectedly reminds me of tasting it on Wes’ tongue, and I feel a strange heaviness in the pit of my stomach. “Believe it or not, Mak. If we were hooking up, you really think I’d be sucking chocolate off of him while he cooks your breakfast the morning after? Think about it.”
She jabs the tines of her fork into the same piece over and over, making me feel a little uneasy. Finally, she drops her fork into her plate. “That joke sucked.”
We somehow make it through the next few hours without anything else said, but she continues to look at me funny. She won’t approach the subject again right now, but I’m not stupid. The next moment we have alone, she’s going to pounce. All I’m worried about right now is trying to do whatever I can to move as little as possible while picking up the insane amount of trash left behind by the partygoers. The medicine helped for a little while, but my headache is coming back with a vengeance.