“Oopphhh.”

I flew back and landed on my *****. I dropped the dead root and wiped off my brow with my forearm.

“Working hard?”

I shielded my eyes against the sun and looked over to the right at the fence.

“I’ll bring you some water.”

She ran off before I had a chance to protest. Minutes later, as I sat on the grass, she came walking slowly across the path and into my yard.

“Here,” she said handing me a tall glass of water with a thousand cubes clinking against the glass.

“Thank you.”

I only intended on taking a sip but as soon as the ice cold liquid met my lips, I gulped the whole thing down.

“That was good,” I breathed handing her back the glass.

Her hand reached out and touched my chin.

“Some got away,” she whispered.

Her fingers stilled in the cleft of my lower lip. Her eyes stared at them as if she wanted to devour them right then and there. I shuddered at the heat of her touch.

‘God please…’ I thought.

“You have a beautiful mouth.”

Her finger trailed across them. I closed my eyes. I felt her shift closer to me on the grass. Her heat igniting me more. My mouth went slack leaving them open. Her breast brushed against my arm and I went stiff. I could feel her warm breath on my chin. My chest began moving rapidly up and down as if I was hyperventilating. The anticipation of the kiss was killing me.

Soft, firm lips took mine.

I didn’t want to kiss her. I shouldn’t be kissing her. But I couldn’t stop myself from kissing.

I sucked on the bottom lip that I had been fantasizing about tasting since the first time she tilted her head up to me.

‘I can’ do this,’ I thought when I felt her hands grab at me.

I broke the kiss and held her at arms length. She had a look of wonderment and barely swollen lips.

“We can’t… I can’t.”

I jumped up from my sitting position. Her face fell. I ran inside the house and closed the door. I peeked from the behind the curtain and saw her still sitting there. I plopped myself on the floor and hugged my knees.

It was the right decision to make. She was to young for me. It was illegal. I knew that. I’m a lawyer. But her lips felt so good. That kiss was… I don’t know what it was but it just was.

I needed to talk to someone. Problem was… I didn’t know anyone. Except her mothers and their friends. And I wasn’t about to talk to them.

*****

I slammed my bedroom door and threw myself onto the bed.

“Sweetie, you okay?” my mom asked gently knocking on the door.

Was I okay? I had just had the most incredible kiss with the most incredible woman in my life and rejected by the same woman all in the matter of seconds.

“Yeah,” I yelled through my pillow.

“Okay. Well, uh, I’m going to the store. Wanna come?”

No. I wanted to sulk in my room forever. But she wouldn’t let that happen.

“Okay,” I said opening the door.

*****

“Hey Serena..”

“Hi Tina.”

“How’s the yard coming along?”

“It’s not.”

“Take a break. Come to the store with us?”

No, no, no. Tell me she didn’t just invite Serena to come with us.

‘I can’t see her right now,’ I thought sinking lower into the passenger seat.

“I don’t really smell that good right now.”

“You can’t smell no worse than I do when gardening. And if you’re like Bette when I first met her… you have no food in your house,” my mom smiled.

“You’re not suppose to know that,” Serena laughed.

“Evan, get in the back,” my mom said walking over to the car.

I didn’t argue. I climbed out the car and brushed past Serena. Instant goosebumps.

“Serena, what have you been eating these past few days with no food in the house?”

“Pizza, mostly.”

“Next time, just come over.”

“I couldn’t.”

“We’re friends now… and yeah you can.”

“Thanks,” she smiled.

I smiled, too at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

*****