Take Me There

Regrets and Common Colds

Chapter Seventeen

 Whenever Kiptyn's lips finally left mine, I was completely breathless and in need of more. My grip on his hair tighened and I lifted a leg around his waist as he began to place kisses along my jaw. I was enjoying every second of the sensation his skin and lips were giving me.   
 His hand on my ass pulled me even closer, surprising me that that was even possible. His lips were trailing down my neck extremely slowly, a small moan escaping my lips. It had been so long since I'd felt so much desire for one person.
 I grabbed his chin and pulled his face back to mine, his eyes wild with lust. I was pretty sure that he would have had his way with me right there in the deep end of the hotel pool. And I was pretty sure that I would have let him.
 And that thought alone is what pulled me back to my senses and made me instantly push his face away.
 "Wait," I whispered, completely breathless, "Stop."
 His eyes opened and his grip on my ass loosened. "What's the problem?"
 I let go of his neck, dropping my arms from him altogether. I shook my head, pushing myself away from him to give myself a little breathing room. What the fuck was I doing?
 "I-We-I-What the fuck was that?" I asked, backing up even futher.
 A smirk grew on his lips. "That was us tongue fucking."
 I gave him a look of disgust. Sure, the kiss had been amazing and my head had been swimming with different emotions. But just those few words made me rethink everything. How could I like someone that referred to kissing as tongue fucking? I mean honestly.
 "I need to go," I said, grabbing the edge of the pool and lifting myself out of the water.
 "Dallis," Kiptyn sighed, "Where are you going?"
 I walked over to my longue chair and grabbed my towel, quickly slipping on my flip flops. I couldn't believe what had just happened. And I was the one that fucking kissed him.
 "I don't know why I kissed you," I said, "I just broke up with Drew for Christ's sake."
 I turned to walk away but Kiptyn was already out of the pool and grabbing my wrist. Damn him for being so fast.
 "It was just a kiss, Dallis."
 My head snapped towards him. "That's the thing, Kiptyn. It was just a kiss. To you."
 He gave me a look. "What the fuck are you even saying?"
 "I'm saying forget it ever even happened."
 "So you regret kissing me?"
 I yanked my wrist away from him, backing away. "Just forget about it, Kiptyn."
 I turned around and headed for the door to the hotel. Whenever I pulled it open, Kiptyn yelled after me.
 "I don't want to, Dallis."

 "You did what?!"
 I immediatley put my hand over Sadie's mouth, giving her a death glare in the middle of the candy aisle at the gas station we were currently stopped at. We didn't have a show tonight, so we were driving to Little Rock, Arkansas to go "sight seeing."
 I mean, really? Little Rock?
 Since we'd literally woken up this morning and left Dallas, now was my first oppurtunity to actually talk to Sadie since last night. I'd been itching to tell her ever since everything happened, but a gas station wasn't exactly ideal.
 "Don't yell," I hissed, pulling my hand from her mouth. Her eyes were wide with shock and her lips were open.
 "I am seriously in shock right now."
 I let out a breath. "It's not that surprising. I told you I was starting to like him."
 "I didn't know you were going to kiss him!"
 "I didn't exactly plan it!"
 "I can't believe this!" Sadie said, her eyes still wide, "Has he said anything to you?"
 I shook my head. "I haven't even looked at him."
 "What does that even mean? 'I don't want to, Dallis?'"
 I shrugged. "Hell if I know."
 Her eyebrow shot up as she hugged a bag of gummy worms to her chest. "Maybe he likes you?"
 "Why are you acting excited about this?" I asked, "I thought you hated the idea of me liking him."
 She sighed. "I want you to be happy, Dal."
 "Right now I'm just confused."
 We were both quiet for a second before Sadie opened her mouth again. "Was he a good kisser?"
 I felt my cheeks turning red but I nodded my head anyway. Sadie grinned and hit me playfully. "You're growing up, my little grasshoper."
 I rolled my eyes and picked up a bag of Sour Patch Kids. I turned around and headed towards the cash register, Sadie following me. Whenever I reached the small line, I looked over to the large windows out at the gas tanks. I easily found Lyle's SUV and wasn't surprised to see Cealy and Lyle all over each other by the driver's door. Jase was sitting on the hood eating a bag of some sort of candy, Lincoln beside him, and I didn't see Kiptyn at all.
 I turned back to the cash register and placed my Diet Coke and Sour Patch Kids onto the counter. I pulled out a few dollar bills and went to hand them to the cashier, but a hand on my lower back stopped me.
 I glanced to my right and my stomach instantly started fluttering at the sight of Kiptyn. He still hadn't shaved, so his stubble was even more inviting today. I watched him as he handed the cashier a five dollar bill.
 "What are you doing?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.
 "Are you gonna pay for mine, too?" Sadie asked from behind me.
 Kiptyn gave her a small wink before looking back at me as I grabbed the bag from the counter. I started to walk off but Kiptyn grabbed my wrist, setting my skin on fire.
 "I don't get a thank you?"
 I gave him a look. "For paying three dollars for my stuff? I didn't even ask you to."
 "I was trying to be nice."
 I couldn't help it, I smirked. "Nice really isn't your style."
 I glanced over at Sadie, who had her eyes glued on the back of Kiptyn's head as the cashier rang her up. I looked back at Kiptyn and my smirk, which I'd tried so hard to keep on my lips, faltered as he crossed his arms over his chest.
 "You're being a real bitch compared to how you were acting last night."
 I narrowed my eyes at him. "I told you to forget about that."
 He took a step closer to me and put his lips at my ear. My breath immediatley hitched and I instinctively closed my eyes. His left hand grabbed my hip and before I knew what was happening, he was pulling me against him. I was pretty sure a heart wasn't supposed to beat as fast as mine was.
 "You obviously didn't," He whispered into my ear, his breath hot on the side of my face.
 I felt my stomach turn to mush.
 He backed away and smirked whenever he saw my reaction. Damn him for getting to me. And damn him for making me feel all sorts of things.
 Just damn him.
 I watched with wide eyes as he winked and walked out of the store. My eyes followed him all the way to the car and watched as he hopped into the backseat like nothing ever even happened.
 Sadie slowly walked up to me, her mouth hanging open slightly. "What the hell was that?"
 I shook my head, turning to look at her. "I honestly don't know."
 "You look like a love struck teenager."
 I felt my cheeks redden from embarrasment and because I actually felt like a love struck teenager. Not that I was in love with him, because I definitely wasn't. But because I was confused; just like a love struck teenager. And because I knew I liked him. Obviously a whole lot since I'd let things escalate so far the night before.
 God, I was never going to get shit right.

 Whenever we finally arrived in Little Rock, I was beyond relieved. Mainly because I no longer had to be in that SUV with Kiptyn, but also because I was so ready to actually do something.
 Even though we were only in Little Rock for the night and a little portion of the day tomorrow, it was still nice to know that we had absolutely no obligations in this town and we could pretty much do whatever we wanted. So the second I stepped foot into the hotel room that I was sharing with Sadie and Lincoln, I shot for the bathroom.
 Showering, like always, was the first on my priority list. I placed all of my soaps in the shower before quickly stripping out of my yoga pants and tshirt and climbing into the shower.
 As I washed my hair, I ran through a bunch of outfit options in my mind. Usually I couldn't have cared less what I wore around everyone, but for some reason, I felt obligated to actually look cute for whatever we were doing tonight.
 Stupid boys.
 I mentally decided what I was going to wear and cut the shower off. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body just as the door swung open. I whipped my head towards it and felt relieved whenever it was just Sadie.
 I gave her a look as I began to squeeze the excess water out of my hair. She was still in her travel attire and her brown hair was in a really messy bun on the top of her head. By the look on her face, she was not very happy right now.
 "What's wrong?" I finally asked, raising an eyebrow.
 "I just had a little run in with Kiptyn."
 I swear, I couldn't take my mind off of him for five seconds before somebody was bringing him up again.
 "And?" I asked, stepping out of the shower and wiping the fog off of the mirror.
 She crossed her arms over her chest. "He wants to take you out."
 My eyebrows immediatley shot up. "Excuse me?"
 "I was walking to the ice machine, he pretty much trapped me in a corner, and then proceeded to ask me a ton of questions about your likes and dislikes," She said, clearly not amused.
 "So that makes you think that he's going to ask me out?" I asked slowly.
 "You did say that last night after y'all made out that you pretty much told him you regretted it," Sadie sighed, "He's probably going to try and change your mind."
 "What are you even saying?" I asked, leaning against the counter.
 "I'm saying that I'm pretty sure Kiptyn Cross likes you."
 Well, he could have fooled me.
 I shook my head, turning back to look into the mirror. "He doesn't."
 "I hate him, and I wish you still did too, because he's not good for you at all," She walked further into the bathroom, "But he had a crazy look in his eye. That boys coming down with something."
 "So then maybe he's getting a cold."  
 Sadie hit my arm. "You know what I mean, Dallis."
 "He doesn't like me, Sadie," I started, "I know he doesn't."
 "Just because he said that the kiss didn't mean anything doesn't mean that he doesn't like you. He's a bullshitter. He'll say shit like that to make you think that he doesn't care."
 "You act like you're a Kiptyn Cross expert or something," I murmured.
 "No, but I'm an Austin Anderson expert and those boys are exactly the same."
 I glanced at her, my heart sinking at the mention of Austin's name. It just made me sad to think about him now. So so sad.
 I swallowed the dry lump in my throat. "You really think he likes me?"
 She rolled her eyes. "What boy would take you to the library in Dallas to find out information about your mom? And if the answer is Kiptyn Cross, then yes, he probably likes you."
 I thought for a second, pursing my lips together. She did have a point, but I didn't know what to think. I hadn't known what to think for two weeks now.
 "If he asks me out, I'll believe you."
 Obviously some type of love god out there really wanted me to believe Sadie, because two seconds later, someone was banging at the door. And I'll give you one guess as to who it was.