Bittersweet by Shewanda Pugh Read Free Book Online Page B

the base of trees, easing here and there. The mist moved fast.
    Hassan stole a look behind him, felt the house still, and gave Edy a nod. Her lips trembled with a laugh and he gave her the second she needed to get it together. It took longer than a second. With his best, most level look she straightened—and in good timing, too—because he felt the rupturing, tickling fissure that meant he was about to crack himself. Her and her dang silliness. It always infected him. Hassan inhaled the Kentucky air: smoother, crisper, more forgiving than home, and took Edy’s hand in his.
    They were off.
    Or not, since she stumbled; he dragged her, and the two burst out laughing, tangling on the ground. This had been her plan, this stupid miniature escape, and they couldn’t get from the front door to the Scooby van without botching it.
    “C’mon,” he said. “Before they see us.” Maybe this time Frank wouldn’t be so forgiving with the rifle.
    Edy shoved away his hand and stood on her own. “I’m sorry,” she said and took the time to make a face. “I thought you’d say ‘go’ before we ran.”
    “Who says ‘go’ before running? You just go!”
    “Not when you’re holding hands!”
    “Why are we holding hands? Its six steps to the van. Let’s haul it before we get caught.”
    They broke out and slammed to a stop once at the vehicle.
    “Keys, keys,” Hassan muttered, rummaging from one pocket to the next. Once found, he unlocked the door, ushered Edy in, and followed suit.
    “Are we caught?” she breathed into darkness. “We are, aren’t we?”
    Cannon fire sounded off in his chest. They should be caught for all the falling and laughing they did. He waited, positive he’d hear those first sounds of capture.
    “We’re fine,” Hassan said eventually. “Just like home. Nothing to this sneaking out stuff after all.”
    Edy ruptured with giggles. She ruptured with that summer laugh, that sunshine laugh that brimmed and melted and spilled over everything, making him want to pull her in close. So, he did.
    “Kiss me,” Hassan said.
    The dark interior and crisp cold engulfed them. Shadows danced on that frigid night, each of them ominous and reaching.  Edy grinned like she did when they were kids and she had some great big secret. She’d shake her head, swinging two puffed up pigtails, and swear he couldn’t pry it free. Truth was, her every secret belonged to him and vice versa.
    “Kiss me,” she said and leaned into him.
    Hassan curled an arm around Edy’s waist and drew her in tight as he dared. Always, he fought the battle of hunger and urgency versus tenderness and patience. Here was his Cake, hair slipping from that silly ponytail as her lips rose to his. He kissed her. Soft at first, before a flash of anxiety nearly pushed him to dread. Out here, without prying eyes, they had all night, so long as they could keep each other warm.
    Now what could they do to keep each other warm?
    A grin threatened his lips.
    “What?” Edy murmured, mouth irresistible against his. He nipped at it.
    “Survivalists recommend skin-to-skin contact to keep warm,” Hassan said. “Should I undress first or you?”
    It might have worked better had he kept his face straight.
    “Shu—”
    He stole her thoughts with a kiss as his fingers danced along the hollow of her back. Feathery brushes of the lips became hot sweetness that soldered with every caress. He wanted her close, infinitely close, and the ache of it shot straight through to his core. Hassan’s hands traveled upward and under her shirt for the feel of bare skin, then downward over her thigh.
    He cupped Edy with an arm and rolled sideways, planting her back against the seat of the van. But Edy Phelps wasn’t done with him yet. She captured his mouth slow, trembling and savoring at first, then stoking him up to insanity with her tongue. He had fingers fumbling at her jeans without knowing it.
    “Wait. Slow down. Hang on.” Edy hooked a hand around his wrist