Free Take Heart by Lauren Smith

escalates to passionate and frenzied. Her lips are as soft as satin. My heart is pounding so hard; I can feel the throbbing on my lips as I kiss her. She’s matching my hurried pace, and I not-so-subtly slip my tongue in her mouth and massage hers. My fingers slide up the back of her neck and my fist is in her hair, holding her face to mine. She tastes like beer, but her kisses are far more intoxicating than the alcohol.
    She places her hands on either side of my face and our bodies bind together like one. It’s a good thing we’re the only ones here, because with the way we’re kissing, it’s not suitable for children...or uptight prudes. It’s taking everything I have not to pick her up and walk her to my car.
    When we finally get so low on oxygen, or so high on each other that we’re lightheaded, we break the kiss. I rest my forehead against hers, and take a moment to calm down and listen to our accelerated breathing. That’s twice in one hour that this girl has sent me into a massive tailspin of arousal.
    “That was incredible,” I say, breathless.
    “Yeah, it was alright, I guess. A little anti-climactic after waiting for you to take the final shot, but whatever,” she pants.
    I throw my head back and laugh. God this woman slays me. Kissing her hard on the lips once more, I release her, and reach down to pick up the cooler.
    “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”
     “Are you taking me back to my place?”
    “Do you want to go back to your place?” I freeze, holding my breath. Say no.
    “Not really. I don’t care where we go, but I’m not ready to go back yet.”
    “Good, because I was going to take you back to my place for a bit.”
    She places her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow like I’m up to no good. “Is that so?”
    “Don’t worry. I told you before that I’d be on my best behavior, and I meant it.”
    She gives me a suspicious look.
    “Okay, fine, maybe not my very best behavior, but it certainly won’t be my worst. Now let’s get out of here.” I throw my arm around the back of her neck and pull her into me. As much as I hate doing the whole long-term-girlfriend thing, I have to admit, Mia’s growing on me.

SEVEN
    a     m     e     l     i     a
    Chase kept his word. We went back to his place last night, cuddled up on the couch, and “watched” a movie together. We kissed until our lips were chapped, making us both all hot and bothered. He ended up dropping me back off at my place a little after midnight. He walked me to the door, and kissed me goodnight like a perfect gentleman. We both agreed that we wanted to go out again this weekend, but he said that he’d have to check his work schedule and get back to me. I hope that isn’t guy code for, “I had a great time with you last night, but don’t count on me calling.”
    It’s early in the morning and I’m sitting on my bed reflecting on our date last night. It was flawless. Well, perfect for me, anyway. And that kiss... oh, my God . That kiss topped the list of all my first date kisses. I’ve never felt so much heat and passion fill me up inside. It gives me butterflies just thinking about it. I’m trying to keep my guard up and not read too much into it, but Chase is making that very difficult. It’s usually hard to break through my steel barriers, but when he’s around, all of my common sense just dissipates.
    Pitiful, Amelia. Just pitiful.
    I hop out of bed and walk out to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee.
    A couple minutes later, Raven comes strolling out with wet hair, wearing only a towel around her torso. “Good morning,” she beams.
    “Morning. Coffee?” I ask cheerfully.
    “Yes, please.” She takes a seat on one of the bar stools.
    I grab a mug from the cupboard and pour her a hot cup. Sliding her the mug, I reach for another one and pour some for myself. I add a couple spoonfuls of sugar and walk around the center island to take the seat next to her.
    “So...how