Free Painted Memories by Loni Flowers

you sure you're okay? I'm a great listener... if you ever want to talk.”
    I nodded, knowing he wasn't talking about my head anymore. My tears were gone, but he continued to caress my cheek with his thumb as he examined my face. For the briefest moment, I closed my eyes at his touch. I knew I should have fought the urge to lean into the warmth of his hand, but I couldn't. I opened my eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered.
    “You're welcome,” he mumbled, leaning closer to me.
    I held my breath, bracing for a kiss I knew I should have pulled away from. His lips brushed over mine, so sweetly, as if he were timidly testing my reaction. My stomach fluttered unexpectedly as my heart hammered in my chest. Drew pulled away slightly and gazed from my mouth to my eyes before he swept my bottom lip with his thumb. “Sorry, lips are a bit chapped,” I said, feeling them with my finger. Seriously. My lips are chapped? That's all I could come up with? I just scored another point on my idiot card. “I'm sorry, Drew, but I don't think we should. I'm seeing…”
    “Oh,” he pulled back. “I didn't think you had a boyfriend. I didn't mean to—”
    “Boyfriend?” I asked, confused. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend, “We've only seen each other a few times, and it's nothing serious.”
    He grinned and pulled a strand of my hair between his fingers until it fell back in place. “Good. That means I still have a chance.”
    “A chance... a chance for what?” After looking like a complete idiot in front of him more than once, I didn't think for a moment that he'd be interested in me.
    “To kiss you again.”
    He held my chin between his fingers and pulled my mouth towards his as he leaned forward. I couldn’t think of anything, especially what I was doing, too captivated with his green eyes to look away. Butterflies instantly swarmed my stomach. The last time someone kissed me was so insignificant that I couldn’t even remember how long ago it was. His soft lips pressed against mine as he gently pulled my bottom lip between his, teasing it with the tip of his tongue. Goose bumps spread down my arms from the sensation, and my hands automatically slid up his chest to his shoulders, practically on their own. I felt a twinge of guilt kissing Drew after my date with Tyler. What kind of person did that make me? Anything? I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I had to stop.
    I pulled back. “Drew, I don't want to ruin this. We have a lot of fun when we're hanging out, and I don't want to mess that up if things don't work out.”
    He arched his brow, “What if that's a chance I'm willing to take?”
    “What if I'm not willing to take that chance?” I countered. “I don't have many friends and I'd hate to lose you.”
    “Okay, fair enough. Can we agree that we like being around each other and just see where it goes?”
    I still wasn't sure. I could count on one hand how many true friends I had in my life, and I was starting to think Drew could be one of them. I might not have known him long, but there was something about his genuine nature that made me believe I could trust him with anything. If we dated and things went south, there was no way I'd get that friendship back. No one can start over and pretend it never happened.  But there was this other side of me that thought about what it would be like to have more. How passionate would his kisses and his arms around me feel? I couldn't deny I wanted to find out. Could it really hurt?
    “How about we get to know each other better and go from there?” I suggested.
    He reached for my hand and pulled me up, as a smile stretched across his face. “Deal.”
    I started gathering up the broken pieces, trying to put some space between us and allow the heat in my cheeks to cool down.
    “Sorry I broke the bench,” I said, changing the subject. “I'll call the property owner and ask if I can buy a replacement, even though what I broke was a piece of crap.”
    “Actually,” Drew said as he