Every Kiss by Tasha Ivey Read Free Book Online

smells—like a seedy Vegas strip club, so somebody
needs to try and maintain a little order and cleanliness.
    “There you are! I guess I lost you when we came downstairs
earlier. Where have you been?” Makenna grabs the rest of the empty cups on the
table I’m clearing. “I just heard that you and some guy went upstairs earlier.
Please tell me you didn’t already hook up with somebody.”
    “Jeez, Mak! Do you even know me at all?” I drop everything
in the trash except for a cocktail napkin, which I wad up and toss at her.
    She bats it away with a look of horror. “Eww. You don’t know
where that napkin has been. And yes, I do know you. That’s why I’m asking.”
    “I do have some standards. Pretty sure I need to know
someone for more than a minute or two first.”
    “Who was it?” She backs into the pantry, crooking her finger
for me to follow. “I saw you talking to that Jake guy earlier. Was it him? Ooh,
what about Tucker? Wren? Come on, Cal. No one can hear us in here. Give me the
details.”
    “Wes.” I never realize quite how big of a mouth she has
until I watch it practically hit the floor. I know what must be going through
her mind, and there’s some part of me really deep down that is disappointed that
I’m going to have to set her straight.
    “You and Wes? Oh my goodness.” She squeals and jumps up and
down. “Upstairs? Omigod . . . where? Wait a minute. How did that even get
started? So many questions, not enough answers. Spill!”
    “First of all,” I begin, clamping my hands on her shoulders
to stop her bouncing, “sorry to burst your bubble, but nothing happened. When
Jake came up and talked to me, Wes got all ‘protective’ and told him that I’m
off-limits to all the guys here. I had to set him straight, so we went upstairs
to talk.”
    Her face falls and her shoulders slump. “I was hoping for a
little juicier story than that. But why would Wes intervene? I would think his
girlfriend or whatever she is would keep him busy enough. I’m telling you, he’s
just not himself today.”
    I open the pantry door and shrug my shoulders. “Don’t know.
Don’t care.”
    “Well,” she says, twisting her mouth, “I have to get back to
Shane. I just told him I needed to check on you. Want to come with?”
    I scan the crowd for Jake and see him leaned up against the
wall by the kegs. Wes is no more than ten feet away, kissing Allison.
Hmm . . . I don’t know what his angle is, but I’m feeling a little rebellious
tonight. “No, I think I need a drink. I’ll catch up with you in a little
while.”
    “Okay, I have my cell phone with me, so just call if you
can’t find me.”
    I stroll toward the table of booze, pretending to
contemplate my choices. I try to seem as nonchalant as I can be, waiting for
Jake to notice me and waiting for Wes to come up for air to see me. Oh, but the
stars do align oh-so-perfectly. I’m just walking past Wes and Allison’s
tangling tongues when Jake approaches me.
    “I see the troll finally stopped blocking the bridge,” Jake
jokes, perhaps a little too loudly. On purpose. “I think we just might need to
drink to that.”
    “We sure do.” I wink at him. In my peripheral vision, I see
Wes whip his head toward me, but I don’t acknowledge him at all. Jake takes my
drink order, and I watch him carefully as he mixes my drink—a cola with a
little whipped cream vodka. Well, he pours a lot of whipped cream vodka,
but I’m not complaining.
    I follow him to a remotely quiet corner of the living room,
and we talk for a while. I talk to him about college and my family, and he
talks about himself and . . . himself. He sure is nice to look at, but I can
only listen to how much he can bench for so long. He must be one of the dullest
people on the planet. Wes made it out like he’s a womanizer; however, I think
the bigger threat is that he just might bore someone to a very painful death.
But as long as he keeps the drinks coming, he gets a little easier to