One Night with the Grumpy Nerd: A Single Dad Small Town Romance by Green Athena

Author:Green, Athena
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

15

KITA

Logic shouted that this wasn’t the arrangement. Feelings, aside from lust, demanded to be felt, and if I were smart, I’d walk away now.

You’re only going to get hurt; he was very clear about not wanting a relationship, and neither do you!

The voice screamed in my ears, but it seemed far off like someone talking from rooms away. Flashes of his protectiveness in the diner came back. Something twisted in my chest, an old longing I’d shoved down countless times and fought to keep buried until now.

Ethan didn’t close the last of the distance, but he hovered inches away, his eyes clear like an open book. There wasn’t lust. There was something deeper. He wanted this, too, despite knowing it wasn’t the arrangement.

Hannah’s encouragement returned, stoking the fire of hope until I could barely breathe.

You two would make a cute couple.

When I first met Ethan, I would have laughed at that. Me and the storm cloud? Not a chance. Now, though, things were different. Yes, he still scowled and was grumpy, but there was another side.

There was more, and I wanted to know it all.

I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and leaped. Closing the distance, I curled a hand into his shirt and pulled until our lips pressed together. At first, he didn’t react, too stunned to do anything but stare.

After a second, though, he melted, and all his tension drained away. Our other kisses were frantic amidst scrambling hands and clothes hitting the ground.

This was everything else: all the slowness and warmth I’d ached for over the past few weeks. I half expected him to pull back immediately, but he pressed me against the car and sighed.

I let him, enjoying the soft stroke of calloused fingers as they cupped my cheek.

A car honked nearby, sending both of us out of our skin, and he jumped away as if I’d burned him.

“That—” he choked; eyes wide as he fought for words. I could empathize; that’d been the best kiss I’d ever had, and my head was spinning from it.

“That happened.” I finished. Disappointment cleaved through me when a stone wall slammed down over the warmth in his gaze.

“No, it didn’t. That was a mistake and—”

Hurt wrenched through my chest, leaving a burning trail in its wake, and I scowled. He’d been as into that kiss as I was, and there was no way he’d deny it. I wouldn’t let him.

Squaring my shoulders, I cut him off with a frown. “It wasn’t a mistake; it was nice.”

His eyes darted everywhere but me, the similarity to a wild animal easing some of my hurt. We hadn’t gone into whatever happened to make him so against relationships, but it obviously hit deep. This wasn’t the time for anger or to try to force my way.

With a long breath, I said. “It’s alright to be nervous. We both have issues to overcome. But please don’t run away without even trying to talk it out. Breathe and think.” My voice was as comforting as I could make it, and it seemed to have the right effect.

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