their knees weak, and I just couldn’t understand it. But right now, in this moment, I felt it, and it felt better than anything I ever imagined it to be.
I turned toward him and the tip of my nose brushed against his, making him smile as he flashed that dimple. It was time to take matters into my own hands. I arched my neck, pressing my lips to his. I had craved another kiss since the moment he kissed me at the restaurant and pulled away, entirely too quickly in my opinion.
I weaved my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Pressing my tongue to his lips, he opened up willingly and accepted my advance.
I became so wrapped up in the moment that I didn’t notice my bedroom door open. The booming sound of my father’s voice startled me.
“What the hell?” he growled.
The demanding, irritated tone made me jump in response.
“Dad,” I gasped as I turned around and stood in front of Keeton. I wasn’t worried about me; it was the look of pure death he was giving Keeton that sort of freaked me out a bit. “What are you doing here?”
“That isn’t the question that needs to be answered right now,” my dad said as he looked between me and Keeton. “What I’d like to know is why you’re standing out here in the hall, letting this boy maul you?”
“He is not mauling me,” I said as I crossed my arms over my chest, immediately feeling defensive. “It was actually me mauling him.”
I fought the laughter bubbling in me as my dad’s face reddened in irritation. Keeton nudged me in the back and the laughter fell from my lips.
“Not funny, Liv,” my dad said, placing his hands on his hips and narrowing his eyes.
I shrugged. “I sorta thought it was funny.”
He was definitely unimpressed with my reaction to his question.
Which honestly only made it funnier. The humor faded when Keeton reached around me and held out his hand toward my dad. “It’s nice to meet you sir; I’m Keeton Pearce.”
I rolled my eyes when my dad just looked down at Keeton’s hand before looking back up to meet his stare. “Oh for the love of god, don’t be an ass,” I lectured him. “Or I’ll call Amber.”
My father and I shared a stare down before he reached out and finally shook Keeton’s hand. But he remained silent, giving Keeton the stink eye the entire time. If I wasn’t scared of the consequences, I would have shin kicked him for his sour, less than cordial etiquette.
“Well I guess I better get going,” Keeton insisted as he began to back away. I felt my stomach drop with the idea of my dad scaring him away.
I spun around to face him. “Are we still on for Thursday?” I asked.
He looked at me and then looked past me, I assumed at my sour faced father. I could feel the irritation boiling inside me. “Um, I’ll give ya a call.”
I only nodded my head as I watched him retreat down the hall like his ass was on fire.
“I can’t believe you,” I said turning around to glare at my dad.
“Me?” he questioned. “I came down here to look at these apartments you keep pushing for, but now I think I may be reconsidering. In fact I’m thinking the dorm may be the best place for you to be.”
I narrowed my eyes in anger and crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re being ridiculous. I am not twelve anymore and you need to stop treating me like I am.” He tried to respond but I held up my hand to stop him. “I ain’t finished. In fact I’ve got a whole bag of reasons why you need to start treating me like an adult. That boy you just scared off is a complete gentleman. He was respectful to me and kind. Would you rather me be dating some ass who treats me like I am dispensable?”
“I’d actually rather you be dating no one,” he mumbled.
“I’m calling Amber,” I pushed past him and heard him say “Shit” as I started to dial her number.
If he scared off Keeton I was going to cause his life at home to be less than