Perfect Enough

Chapter Fourteen – Josh

Chapter Fourteen

JOSH

I’d kissed plenty of women so far in my short life, but none of them—not one—could hold a candle to Sophia. I was still reeling from the first kiss when she asked me to kiss her again. And being the gentleman that I was, I obliged.

Leaning in, I captured her mouth with mine. This time, the kiss wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t two people learning one another for the first time. It was two people lost in their desire to know each other way more intimately.

My hand laced into her hair, pulling her head back and tilting it slightly so I could deepen the kiss. She moaned, and I nearly felt my legs buckle.

Then her hands were around my neck, fingers pushing into my hair, clutching as she kissed me back with just as much passion as I gave her.

When I finally needed to breathe, I ripped my mouth from hers. We both stood there, dragging in much-needed air. Sophia’s hands slowly moved down my body. First to my shoulders, then my chest, until they finally dropped to her sides.

“Wow,” she said, her fingers touching her mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever been kissed like that.”

I tilted my head in question, and she laughed.

“That was one hell of a kiss, Josh.”

“Back at you, Soph.”

We stared at one another for a few moments before we both grinned.

“I think it’s safe to say you won’t have to lie to your mother anymore.”

Her cheeks turned the sweetest shade of pink. “Does this mean…we’re officially dating?”

I barked a laugh. “I sure as hell hope so after a kiss like that.”

She smiled. “It was pretty dang good, wasn’t it?”

“It was more than good.” Reaching for her hand, I laced my fingers with hers. “And what a great spot for our first kiss.”

Her eyes moved past me as they scanned the area. “It was truly the perfect spot.”

When her gaze met mine, I asked, “Are you hungry? Should we have the snacks you brought?”

She frowned, then said, “You know what? I’m starved!”

“Let’s return the horses, then head into town for lunch.”

Nodding, she moved closer, her hand still intertwined with mine. “Josh?”

“Sophia?”

She giggled and dropped her forehead to my chest.

I drew back and dipped my head to look at her. “Tell me.”

“It’s going to sound so stupid.”

“Nothing you say could ever be stupid.”

Her eyes lifted, as did her brows.

“Okay, but I highly doubt anything you say right now will be stupid.”

Searching my face, she finally settled her gaze on mine, her expression sobering. “This feels different.”

“What feels different?” I asked.

Motioning between us, she said, “This, between us. That kiss, for example. It felt like…more.”

My brows rose as I asked, “More?”

“I don’t know. It felt special in a way I’ve never experienced before. Like…like I’ve been waiting my whole life for that kiss. That particular kiss.”

I placed my hand on the side of her face, my thumb caressing her soft skin. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Her eyes lifted to meet mine. “But…I hope you know I don’t expect anything from you.”

Confused, I asked, “What do you mean? If you’re talking about a relationship, I want to see where this goes between us, Sophia.”

“No, no…I don’t mean… I mean, I want that as well.” She blushed—hard. “I just don’t want you to think I expect you to sleep with me. I know how important it is for you to…um…wait.”

Smiling, I lifted her hand and kissed her wrist. “I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been tempted to give in to my physical desire before, but never enough. With you, though…there isn’t a night that’s gone by since we started fake dating that I haven’t imagined what it would be like to make love to you.”

Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

I let out a soft laugh, feeling my own cheeks heat. “Really.”

“But…just know that I’m okay if we wait.”

Something in my chest felt like it burst wide open, and warmth filled my entire body. “Thank you, Sophia.”

She reached up and gently brushed her lips against mine. “Besides, there are other ways we can fulfill that desire.”

My body instantly tightened, and it took everything I had not to explore those other ways with her right here and now. “We’d better leave before I beg you to show me an example.”

Laughing, Sophia kissed me again, and we started back down the short trail to the horses.

Two seconds after walking into the River Rising Bakery in downtown Hamilton, all eyes were on Sophia and me.

She stepped a bit closer to me, and we both smiled.

“Josh, what a surprise to see you! We haven’t seen you in forever,” Julia Webster said as she dropped off food at a table. “Come on in, sit anywhere you want.”

I placed my hand on Sophia’s lower back and guided her to a booth in the corner.

After we both slipped in, she looked at me and whispered, “Is it just my imagination, or is everyone staring at us?”

I opened the menu and replied, “No, they’re staring.”

“Oh,” she said, opening her menu. She lowered it and asked, “Why?”

“Probably because Josh here has never stepped foot into this restaurant with a beautiful woman on his arm.”

Sophia and I both looked up to see Nathan standing at the end of the booth. He wore a shit-eating grin as he bounced his gaze back and forth from me to Sophia. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, cuz?”

Sighing, I put my menu down. “Sophia, this is my cousin, Nathan Shaw. Nathan, this is Sophia Montgomery.”

Nathan slid into the booth next to me and put a hand out. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you finally. And please, call me Nate.”

“Finally?” Sophia asked, her brow raised as she gave me a questioning look.

“I told him about you.”

“I see,” Sophia replied, giving Nathan a sweet smile.

Nathan simply smiled back at her. Never before had I ever been jealous of my cousin, but suddenly, I wanted to push him out of the booth and tell him to take a hike. Turning my gaze back to Sophia, I was relieved to see she wasn’t fawning over Nathan. Usually, women batted their eyes and somehow managed to show more cleavage the second his attention was on them.

“Is there something you wanted, Nate?” I asked, making my annoyance clear over his interruption.

“Can’t your favorite cousin come over and say hi?”

“Not when you live down the road from me and I see you nearly every day. And certainly not when I’m on a date.”

His brows shot up. “A real date?”

“Wow, so you told him everything ,” Sophia stated, sitting back in the booth with a grin.

Rubbing my hand against the back of my neck, I turned to Nathan. “Get out of here, Nate.”

He laughed. The asshole laughed at me. “Come on, Josh, don’t be that way.”

“How would you like me to interrupt you on a date?”

He frowned. “When have you ever seen me go on a date ?”

Sighing, I focused back on Sophia. “He’s right. He should meet Chloe.”

Her brows rose. “Ohhhh…I see.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” Nathan asked.

Sophia leaned in some and lowered her voice. “Chloe doesn’t go on dates, either. She’s more of an, um…tap-that-shit-and-leave type. Her words, not mine.”

Nathan sat back. “I think I would definitely like to meet Chloe.”

“I’m sure you would, but no,” I stated. “What you can do is make yourself scarce.”

Nathan placed a hand over his heart and said, “Dude, I can’t believe you’re pushing me away like this. This is monumental.”

“Me being on a date?” I asked.

He winked, and I knew what he was getting at.

“Nate—please leave.”

“Is it monumental because he’s a virgin?”

Nathan and I both snapped our heads around and stared at Sophia. She’d at least kept her voice nice and low when asking her question.

Before I could say anything, Nathan started to cough. On what, I had no idea.

“Sorry,” Sophia said, her cheeks flushed. “I just didn’t feel like watching him tease you and beat around the bush like he knew something I didn’t.”

I blinked at her a few times.

“Jesus…I think I just fell in love with this girl,” Nathan said with a laugh.

Sophia grinned as she tilted her head in the most adorable way. I couldn’t help but smile back at her as Nathan simply sat there, looking between us.

“Okay, well, it looks like you two would like to be alone.”

Glancing at my cousin, I replied sarcastically, “You finally got that, huh?”

He slid out of the booth and smiled once more at Sophia. “Sophia, it truly is great to finally meet you.”

“You as well, Nate.”

With a tip of his baseball cap, Nathan turned and went back to his own table. I felt my entire body relax after he left.

“I hope you don’t mind that I just nipped that in the bud.”

I shook my head. “Not at all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that surprised before.”

Julia walked up to the table. “What can I get the two of you to drink?”

“I’ll have water, please,” Sophia replied.

“Same for me, Julia.”

“Do you need a few more minutes to look at the menu?”

“I know what I want,” Sophia stated.

“Are you sure? After Nate came over, I wasn’t sure if you had a chance to look at the menu at all.”

She nodded. “I’ve eaten here before and loved the turkey and pesto sandwich.”

Julia smiled. “Good choice. Josh?”

“I’ll take the Italian, please.”

“Two glasses of water, a turkey pesto and an Italian.”

Smiling, I handed her my menu. “Sounds great.” Julia walked off, and I turned my attention back to Sophia.

“You’re not upset about what I said to Nate, are you?”

“Not at all.”

“Sometimes things come out of my mouth before I have a chance to think. I want you to know I would never discuss your life with anyone else.”

I raised a brow. “Not even Chloe?”

She chewed on her lower lip.

Deciding to put her out of her misery, I said, “She’s your best friend, Soph. If you trust her, then so do I.”

Reaching across the table, Sophia took my hand in hers. “Are you real?”

“I’m pretty sure I am. But you could pinch me if you want to.”

Her eyes turned dark. “I’d rather kiss you again.”

Leaning in, I softly said, “I think I can arrange that.”