Free NORMAL by Danielle Pearl Page A

then back at me.
    "Ya know, this is the part where I kiss you goodnight, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the night to end just yet," he echoes my own thoughts as he lightly strokes his fingers up and down my arm.
    I swallow nervously.  
    "You think you, uh, wanna go for a walk around the block?"
    I laugh. "Seriously?"
    Robin shrugs, and if I'm not mistaken, he seems a little unsure of himself. I couldn't possibly make him nervous, could I?
    "I like talkin' to you."
    I smile. I like talking to him too. He takes my smile as agreement and, holding my hand, starts leading me down the road, away from my house. There's only four houses on the block including mine and Cam's. We pass them and come up to the entrance to the park I spent so many hours in as a child. I look down at our hands, fused together, and I'm struck by how tiny my hand looks in his. I'm not petite, for a girl anyway, but at six foot one, Robin dwarfs me. He's no taller than Cam, but for some reason, next to him, I feel every inch of his stature. Robin notices me looking at our hands and smiles, bringing them up to press his lips to my knuckles. It sends a shiver up my arm.
    "Your hand looks real good tucked in mine, Rory," he murmurs. We stop walking and he turns and takes a small step so that he's right in front of me, my back facing the huge old oak that Cam and I carved our names into as children. "I'm gonna kiss you now, sweetheart," he whispers, but waits. For what, I don't know. I think he's reading my reaction, but I meet his gaze, practically daring him to make good on his promise.
    And he does.
    At first Robin brushes his lips lightly against mine, and it's barely a kiss, but I feel the sweetness of it everywhere. He presses his lips to mine and holds them there for a second before he moves them up and down, gently sucking my bottom lip between his. I reciprocate. I'm not even thinking about it, but I'm matching the movement of his lips as he continues moving his mouth over mine. It feels really nice. Different than I expected... sweeter. Then his tongue is there, softly licking between my lips, and I heed his silent request to open. He swipes his tongue into my mouth, slowly, but it's still his lips doing most of the work. They're wet and soft and I'm liking the way they make me feel. His hands are firmly planted on my waist, and, open, they span almost my entire stomach and back. His fingers move in rhythm with our mouths, but they stay in safe places, never moving too high, or too low.
    I tentatively meet his tongue with my own, and we stay there like that for long minutes, exploring each other's mouths. I'm completely lost in the kiss, and practically of their own volition, my hands slide from where they're gripping his biceps up his broad shoulders and neck, until their grasping at his hair, holding his mouth to mine. Robin groans and pulls away, breathing hard, and I'm practically gasping for air, leaning back against the oak for support.
    Robin's hands fall to his sides as he takes two purposeful steps back like he can't get away from me fast enough. I'm suddenly unsure of myself, surprised by the sudden interruption to something I'd thought he'd been enjoying. Things were going so well. Better than I ever even imagined. Familiar insecurity sweeps through me, but I've never been one to shy away from getting answers.
    "Did I... do something wrong?" I ask hesitantly.
    Robin is still catching his breath, and his expression morphs from intense to confused and then back again.
    "No, sweetheart. Not wrong. Too right," he murmurs. I blink at him. What the hell does that mean? Robin sighs. "That was... amazing. You're amazing. But I don't wanna get carried away. And it'd sure be easy to get carried away when you kiss me like that."
    If I wasn't still flushed from our heated kiss, I'd blush now. Robin's lips twist up into a smile, and I realize it's because I'm smiling. But too quickly, his smile fades and instead, he scowls.
    "Where'd you learn to kiss