Exclusive Excerpt from For the Win
by S.M. James
As much as I don’t want to, I’m going to have to wrap up our non-date pretty soon. “Well you don’t have a whole lot of time left,” I tell Darien.
“Why? Are you leaving?”
“Probably an hour or so.”
“But why? This holiday party goes most of the night.”
“Yeah I know. I … just have to.” I expect him to question me on it, to push. There’s no way that reasoning is even close to being enough.
Darien huffs out a breath. “Okay, better speed non-date, then.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on.”
He drags me from area to area, firing off questions like, “favorite color”, and “guilty pleasures”?
I learn his favorite color is orange, he’s Macedonian Orthodox, and he’s moved four times so far because his dad works for some kind of insurance firm.
“So when you’re not homeschooling, or being Picasso, what do you do with your spare time?” Darien asks. He pulls me out of the main room and into a smaller one, leading the way to a balcony where it’s so cold there’s only a few other people there. Darien falls back into the wall and slides down to sit on the cement. One of his eyebrows pulls up as he pats the ground next to him.
“Wouldn’t you rather be inside where it’s warm?”
“Nope. Too noisy.”
I sigh and sit down, probably too close, but damn it’s cold.
And I really like being near him.
“So …?” he prompts.
“Oh, umm … not a whole lot. I play guitar.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. I’ve got the calluses to prove it.”
He takes advantage of the situation to grab my hand and turn it over. His thumb runs over my fingertip and I jerk away. “Hey, don’t forget rules. No hand holding, remember?”
“Technically it’s not holding hands if I’m holding yours, but you’re not holding mine.”
“That sounds like a very loose loophole.” I want him to find more like that.
“What can I say …” he starts, taking hold of my hand again. “I’m king of semantics.”
I don’t move away again because it feels nice. The warmth of his palm on the back of my hand, the grip of his fingers threaded between mine. I’m so focused on how our skin tones look against each other that I barely notice him lean in.
“So … we never discussed whether I could put my arm around you.” He doesn’t wait for me to answer as he slides his arm between my back and the wall. “So I’m assuming it’s okay. We’re just two buddies, keeping each other warm …”
His face is so close I could count every one of those long, dark eyelashes. I swallow. “Well … it is really cold, after all.”
“Happy to be of service.” His dark lips peel back from his teeth in a cheeky way and his arm tightens around my waist, pulling me tight against his side. “But remember, Brooks, no kissing.”
The word makes me want it so bad. I shake my head. “No kissing.” My face is freezing in the crisp wind.
“You should probably stop looking at my lips then,” Darien says.
“Actually, you just had something in your teeth.”
“And you should probably stop shivering against me.”
“It’s really damn cold, Darien.”
“You could also try to be a little less cute.”
“What can I say? Christmas sweaters are irresistible.”
Darien leans in and my stomach jumps, sure he’s about to kiss me. I can already feel it.
The brush of his lips.
The heat of his breath.
The complete break down of my self-control.
But instead, Darien’s mouth misses mine and he lightly drags his nose over my cheek. “Your face is all pink and cold.”
“Darien …”
“You never said this was against the rules,” he whispered, lips brushing the skin near my ear with each word.
I’m struggling to breathe. “I don’t think buddies touch like this.”
“Well we’ve already established neither of us has any friends, so how would we know?”
I groan but it gets caught on a cough that’s a little more forceful this time. Rough and loud and deep, I can’t hold this one back. “I really have to go back inside.”
Darien pulls back, eyebrows knit together. He hesitates a second before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I’m getting pretty cold too.”
But even back inside, without his hand on mine or my body next to his, I feel colder than ever.
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Title: Proper English
SOME MATCHES SPARK AN INFERNO
“He’s a bad boy—cocky and damaged. So, why can’t I stop thinking about him?”
Who says phone games are only for kids? Sometimes they give just the respite you need from a hectic life. At least, that’s the way Ann feels about Ani-min Move, an AR mobile game full of cartoon animals caught with nets. Legendary raids have just launched, and Ann arrives at a nearby park to find it full of people of all ages playing the game, including Rachael, a kind, attractive single mom. And sweet! Rachael is more than willing to teach Ann the proper way to spin her nets to snag the raid boss.
The Blogger Girls 