If it had even happened.
Or if it had all been in my imagination.
Kenny quickly answered that for me when she dropped her forehead to the center of my chest. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Her words drifted through the quiet breeze on a shaky exhale. “I don’t know why I just did that.”
Confusion wrapped around me like a weighted blanket. I had no idea why she would be apologizing when I was the one who’d kissed her. Apparently, she assumed it had gone the other way. I wanted to correct her, though I couldn’t seem to find my voice. In fact, I couldn’t seem to do much of anything other than hold her to me.
It was as if a switch had flipped—for both of us. Somehow, inside the church dome, beneath the steeple, surrounded by glass…we were in another universe. One where only the two of us existed. A space belonging to only Kenny and me. Where time had no measure. It was unexplainable.
Incomprehensible.
“I don’t know why you did that, either.” With laughter on my lips, I shook my head and quickly grabbed the wheel to straighten us out against the current. Her body turned rigid against mine in an instant. And the moment she lifted her chin, pulling away just enough to see my face, I smiled and added, “Maybe you just find me irresistible.”
At least it fulfilled its purpose—it evicted most of the heaviness around us and made her laugh. I realized right then and there that I wanted to hear that sound as often as I could…for as long as I could.
After getting the boat straightened out, I dropped my arms. I expected Kenny to move away. However, she remained in front of me, facing me, her shielded stare penetrating me while her smile lingered on her lips.
“Either that or…didn’t you say the lake is haunted?”
“And you think the ghosts of Chogan decided to use their powers of possession to make you kiss me?”
She lifted one shoulder and casually shifted until she stood next to me, no longer face to face. “Well, yeah…I mean, it’s the only thing that makes sense. I was most certainly not in control of my actions, that’s for sure.”
I ran my hand over the light dusting of hair on my jawline in dramatic thought. “Do you think we have to be on the water or in the church for them to make you do it again?” I stoned my expression as best I could. “Or should I be worried about it happening on dry land as well?”
“Nope, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll keep my hands to myself.” She lifted her arms, palms out, in a dramatic show of surrender—all with a grin complimenting her glistening lips.
A strong desire to kiss her again burned deep in my chest. At least I no longer felt powerless against my actions like I had beneath the steeple. Except, I worried that this need would go unfulfilled, and therefore, be a permanent reminder of my loneliness. The best I could do was ignore it and hope it went away.
Kenny relaxed next to me with a long exhale that somewhat resembled a sigh. But when I glanced at her, I found her observing the peaceful nature around us, an easiness resting in her expression. “You never did tell me about these ghosts.”
“That’s because there aren’t any. The people around here only believe it because the graves were never dug up. They say that by not relocating the remains, they’ve disrespected the dead and angered the spirits of the buried corpses.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s bullshit if you ask me. It’s no more haunted than any other cemetery.”
“But the other night, you said you believed it was.”
I shrugged and squinted against the sun’s reflection on the lake’s surface. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to get into this part of the history with her, yet at the same time, I felt compelled to explain everything. “I think there are things that happened before the town was flooded that could possibly lend reason to a haunting presence. However, I don’t believe in ghosts.”
“What kinds of things happened before the flood?”
I kept my attention straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with her at all costs. I knew if I got trapped in that crystalline stare, then I would be compelled to tell her everything. The problem was that I wasn’t ready to tell her all of it, so instead, I gave her the most honest answer I could. “No one knows for sure. It’s pretty much speculation that’s been shared through stories. It could all very well be an urban legend.”
Chapter Four
Kenny
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Drew’s lips felt on mine as I picked at cold fries from tonight’s dinner. I had a book in my hand, but I hadn’t paid attention to a single word of it. I’d made it through three pages in the almost hour since sitting outside, yet the only thing I could tell you was that Drew’s lips were addictive.
I’d taken the to-go container from The Feeder and a book I’d been dying to read to the side of the cabin. The weather was amazing, the view was unbeatable, and the Adirondack chair was easy to cozy up in. Yet I wasn’t able to enjoy any of it, because I couldn’t seem to take my mind off a particular person—specifically, one with messy hair and the lips of an angel. Here I was, in the middle of the best Mother Nature had to offer, and I was unable to focus on any of it.
This was not normal behavior for me.
I must’ve been so deep in my own thoughts that I practically jumped out of my skin when a low beam of light passed along the front of my cabin. Fear coiled tightly in my chest, making my heart pump faster and harder. And as I slowly craned my neck to peer around the corner, careful not to alert anyone that I was here, my hands began to shake.
It was silly, really, considering that the only way up here was a narrow dirt path, which meant the headlights would have to be from a golf cart. And since there would only be one person coming here at this time, it was easy to conclude that it was Drew who had pulled up and parked just outside my front door.
The fear only worsened once I peeked around the corner to the front porch. Nothing. There was no one there. Wondering what it was that I saw, I set down my book and pushed against the armrests to stand. But before I had my full weight on my feet, I was knocked off balance by the sound of someone saying, “Hey.”
One minute, I was in stealth mode, peering around the corner to sneak up on my surprise guest. And the next, I was on the ground between the chair and the footstool, mortified and convinced that I would make a horrible secret agent.
“Oh, shit. Are you okay?” Drew hurried around the porch to help me up. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Actually, I was trying not to scare you.”
“How’d you even know I was over here?” I asked as I took his offered hand.
“The light’s on.” He pointed to the outside fixture that hung on the wall between the two deck chairs. The way he said it was so matter of fact, so obvious, it was embarrassing. After all, I’d been “reading” a book, so I clearly knew the light was there.
I let him help me to my feet, where I brushed off my bottom and tried to appear unbothered by his presence—or the humiliation coursing through me. But as soon as I finished cleaning myself off, I met his stare and froze.
He effortlessly righted himself—shoved his hands into his pockets and squared his shoulders. It was as though I had taken him by surprise instead of the other way around. However, it didn’t matter how cool, calm, and collected he appeared on the outside, my effect on him wasn’t quite as easy to hide in his voice when he said, “I hope I’m not bothering you.”