Free Fourth of July by Cami Checketts

in her beauty. All other thoughts and worries disappeared as he softly brushed her lips with his own.
    A tingle radiated through him. He moved to deepen the kiss.
    “Chris!”
    His head jerked up.
    “What are you doing ?” Danielle’s incensed voice thrust upon him the cold, hard reality that they shouldn’t be together.
    Alexis slipped from his arms. She pivoted on her heel and fled the veranda. Chris ached for her to glance back at him. She never did.
    Watching Alexis go, he wanted nothing more than to chase after her. He looked into Danielle’s scorching black eyes. What should he say? What should he do?
    “ Who was that?” Danielle questioned.
    “Her name is Alexis.” Chris didn’t even attempt a defense.
    “You’ve got some explaining to do,” Danielle insisted, arms folded across her chest. She tapped her toe impatiently, glaring at him, her face a twisted mess.
    “Danielle.” He wasted little time making up his mind; he was going after Alexis.
    “Chris, Danielle, what are you doing out here? James is asking for you, Danielle.”
    The mayor interrupted the impending battle, wrapping an arm around each of them and directing them toward the party. He was oblivious to the underlying current as he effectively stopped Chris from following Alexis.
    Chris wondered what he should do. Did he really care for Danielle? What was it about Alexis? He had never felt such an intense desire to kiss anyone before. Were his feelings for Alexis worth terminating his relationship with Danielle?
    He glanced at his furious date. What relationship? He’d been second-guessing why they were dating for the past several weeks. Chris allowed himself to be led into the main ballroom. Half an hour later he watched with indecisive misery as Alexis and her date exited the party.

WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT? Alexis paced the length of the small women’s bathroom. What on earth was she thinking, coming that close to kissing Chris? Wait, not close. She’d actually done it.
    Oh, help . She wrapped her arms around her midsection. She’d never kissed a man without dating him for several months and she’d never dated someone who didn’t share her values.
    Heaven forgive her, she’d do it again. She could still feel the length of Chris’s hands on her arms, his breath on her face, and his lips brushing her own.
    She looked at her mottled face in the ladies’ room mirror. Splashing her cheeks with freezing water, she tried to reduce the Chris-induced flush.
    Gathering her courage, Alexis marched out to the group Robert was socializing with. To her surprise, the ladies in the group murmured their sympathy and the men looked away. Even the ruined-party drama queen looked empathetic. Alexis didn’t dwell on their changes of heart as she asked Robert to please take her home.
    “You know I feel sorrow for the lives lost in the bombings,” Robert began explaining as soon as the valet brought his Lexus GS350 and seated them inside. “But you have to understand that not everyone is as passionate or vocal about their grief as you are.”
    “Oh!” Alexis’s mouth flew open. “So now I’m too passionate about my sorrow? That is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. The whole nation is in mourning. There were more than two thousand lives lost Wednesday morning. Don’t you remember how it felt on September 11 th ? This is another attack on innocent Americans.”
    “In case you and your friends haven’t noticed,” she continued. “Our whole nation is consumed with the sorrow you claim I’m too passionate about, and that woman had the gall to be frustrated over her foiled party plans.”
    “Calm down, Alexis. I didn’t say I agreed with her, but you need to relax a little bit, be more understanding.”
    “More understanding? Relax?” Alexis’ blood began to boil. His attempt to diffuse her anger backfired. “Obviously, you weren’t at the bombing sight. While you stayed with your sailboat, I helped victims deal with losing the