My Brother's Best Friend(29)

“It’s fine, Chris. Remember, I told you to tell me if you were scared? I’m not angry.”

“You sure sounded angry earlier.”

Devin chuckled slightly and tilted my chin to look him in the eyes. “I was worried. I wanted to make sure you were all right. And I would have been back sooner if some family hadn’t blocked me in.”

“Thanks for caring, Dev,” I sniffled.

“So what freaked you out? Was it the fact that it was me or was it—”

“It’s not you. I’m sure I wouldn’t mind kissing you, but that’s not the problem,” I blabbed.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I…I can't kiss. I mean, I don’t really know how. What I mean is, of course I’ve kissed someone before—”

“But that person told you that you couldn’t kiss?”

I looked him in the eyes again. “Yes. I mean he did a whole web episode on my poor kissing skills. You caught me off guard, and I started thinking about Eric and my lack of skills. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off. I should’ve just explained it.”

Devin smiled and stroked my cheek. “You don’t ever have to apologize for anything that mongrel said to you. He was a liar and a manipulator. He probably lied about some of the things he said about you. Remind me to tell Mitch he needs to investigate suing this guy for the defaming things he’s said on that website. I've gotten his website de-registered, but it's important we don't let him get away with it.”

“You are not going to tell Mitch. If anyone tells him it will be me, not you, okay?”

Devin nodded his head. I could tell he was proud of the way I took control. He liked it when I took a stand for myself.

“Though I do like the idea of suing the pants off him. Figuratively of course.” I smiled and Devin laughed, causing my body to shake with his, since he was still holding me.

“So we’re good?” Devin asked.

“Yes, but I would like for you to teach me a few things about how to kiss sometime,” I told him as my cheeks reddened.

“Well, you know what they say, practice makes perfect.” He smiled.

“I’m sure you’re almost perfect then. So don’t be such a hard judge with me, okay?”

Devin’s lips were pursed again, and I knew something I said had upset him, but I decided not to press him. He would tell me if I had really upset him.

“Okay,” he said. “The first thing you need to know is a simple kiss can say a whole lot. You don’t always need a full on attack to get a guy’s attention.”

“And by simple you mean?”

Devin didn’t respond with words, no, he tilted my head and leaned down slowly, waiting to see if I would run again. I closed my eyes and sensed his nearness and waited to feel his lips on mine. The wait was excruciatingly painful, though why I was anticipating his kiss so much is a mystery to me. Finally, his lips touched mine with not too much pressure but also not limp, like the kisses Eric would give me. I was lost in his touch before I realized he had pulled away.

I opened my eyes and saw Devin smiling. “See, you want more. Simple yet effective.”

“Shut up. I so don’t want more,” I said, whacking his arm softly.

Devin didn’t respond to that, he just went on with the lesson. “The wait is what makes it so effective.”

“So what if the guy gives me a kiss on the cheek after the first date?”

“It means he respects you or is a little nervous about how far to go.”

“So were you going to give me a simple kiss or a peck on the cheek?”

“You forget we’ve been dating for a few months.” Devin smiled. “But tonight, I was only going to give you a simple kiss.”

“How did I do? Was I okay?”

Devin shook his head and said jokingly, “No, you were horrible.”

“Come on, really tell me the truth.”

“I won’t know unless you are the one kissing me,”

“You just want me to kiss you.” I smiled.

Devin shrugged his shoulders. “You caught me.”

“Cute,” I said, staring into his eyes. My hand reached up to touch his cheek, and Devin closed his eyes. I slowly closed the distance and touched my lips to his, lingering a little longer then finally pulled away.

Devin’s eyes opened, and he cleared his throat. “Um, yes, very good. Maybe you should try it once more.”

“Left you wanting more, huh?”

“Yes.”

I was kind of thrown at his outright honesty, but the fact that he wanted more made me think I wasn’t such a bad kisser after all. “We’ll practice more tomorrow. Maybe we can graduate to the next level.” I raised my eyebrows suggestively, and Devin laughed.