Free Kissed by Ms. Carla Krae Page A

to
the futon, he turned on his Playstation , keeping the
volume low.
    He’d
been playing an hour when she walked out of the bedroom.   “Hey, pet.”
    “You
left.”
    “Wasn’t sleepy. Feeling better?”
    She
sat on the sofa, several inches between them.   “Some. My head hurts.”
    “Left
aspirin—”
    “I
know. I took some.”
    “Oh.”   He reached the end of the level and paused the game.   “Okay.”
    She
nodded, twisting a ring on her hand.   “Sorry for…”
    “Being
a horny drunk?” he teased.
    Her
hair fell to hide the side of her face.   “For snapping at you. I’m not a friendly patient.”  
    “No
harm done.”
    She
nodded again, still not facing him.   “Well, you can have your bed back.”
    “Beth—”
    “I’d
go back to your mom’s, but it’s the middle of the night.”
    “Bethie—”
    She
looked at him, then.   “Please, Jacob.”
    He
sighed, nodded, and stood to leave.   “I’ll get you a pillow.”
    “Thank
you.”
    She
sat in the same place when he came back, looking small and lost.   He crouched down in front of her and brushed
her hair behind her ear.
    “Hey,
look at me. Don’t be so hard on yourself, alright? You’re still my Bethie.”
    She
glanced away.   “Whatever
that is.”   Wincing, she closed her
eyes.   “Sorry.”
    Couldn’t
say later what possessed him to kiss her, but it seemed like the right thing to
do at the time.   He gently touched his
lips to hers, cupping her cheek in his hand.   She gasped in surprise, but tentatively kissed him back.   It was slow, sweet, and…innocent.
    He
ended the embrace as gently as he started it, kissed her forehead, and said
goodnight.

 

Chapter Seven
    When Jacob kissed me, I almost cried .  
    What
the hell did he mean by doing that ?   Make the stupid kid feel better for acting like a fool?   She couldn’t sleep after that, and couldn’t
move to chase him for an explanation.
    Dammit …
    For
one brief moment, she thought he wanted her.   Her .   Instead, he got her shirt off and changed his
mind.   Wonderful confidence booster, that
was.   Never drinking
alcohol, deliberately or by accident, again.
    As
soon as light shone through the windows, she snuck out and left.   It took a while for a cab to come by, but she
finally flagged one down and told him Mrs. Lindsey’s address.   The day was starting out cloudy and even a
little hazy with fog in spots.   Summer
was weird in this place.
    She
had a loaned key for the manor, so she quietly let herself in and went straight
to her room.   First thing she did was
brush the dead cat out of her teeth.   Thought about a shower, but she was too exhausted and fell into bed with
a sleep-shirt on, instead.
    Her
dreams were full of kissing and losing him.  
    On repeat.
    When
Beth came downstairs for breakfast at noon, Mrs. Lindsey hugged her.
    “I’m
so glad you’re here, Elizabeth.
Jacob called saying you’d left his apartment and he didn’t know where you’d
gone or when.”
    “Sorry
to worry you. I came back this morning and crashed.”
    She
gave her the Mom Look.   “Well, you should
have left a note even though you are an adult.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    She
smiled and kept her arm around Beth when they turned for the kitchen.   “I have an appointment in a bit, but it
shouldn’t take very long. We could go into town if you like.”
    “That’d
be nice. My stomach’s a little rumble-y, but I might be up to that by the time
you get back.”
    “Excellent.”   Mrs. Lindsey kissed her cheek and started
walking away.   “Oh, and call my son to
let him know you’re safe?”   She left, expecting
Beth to follow her suggestion.
    Beth
was stirring a pot of oatmeal on the stove when she heard Jacob’s bike pull up
out front.   Just what I needed .
    “Mother?”
    Waiting
for him to look in here, she hoped he wouldn’t.   If she could spend the rest of her vacation with Vivian and run home with
the remaining shreds of her dignity,