3:AM Kisses by Addison Moore Page B

in your way. Go on, help yourself to the buffet while I steer us into the nearest boulder.” She plucks a deck of playing cards off the dash and waves them in front of me. “Never mind. I found something to keep me busy. I’ll keep my hands off the wheel I promise.” She tries her best to shoo me away. “I’ll be fine. You don’t need to babysit me.” It comes out curt, pissed as hell, as she shuffles the cards with a marked aggression.
    “Hey”—I lay my hand over hers—“for the record, I wish it was just me and you on this boat.” Right now there is no greater truth. I lean in and whisper just over her ear. “I’m sorry I put you through this.”
    Her jade eyes settle on mine, and I want to damn both Cole and any memory of the past to hell and kiss her right here.
    “Nice try,” she whispers, laying out a row of cards in front of her. “I’ve seen the one in the red bikini blow you kisses twice . Now leave.” She nods over to the bow. “The last thing I want to do is get in the way of your tally marks.”
    Baya blinks back tears, and my chest feels like it’s about to implode. Shit. In an effort to keep her heart safe, I’ve started to break it.
    “What if I told you I wasn’t into tally marks anymore?” I lean in and hold her gaze.
    Baya looks down at my lap like she’s fearing for the boys, then slowly rides her smoldering eyes toward mine. There’s a heat between us like I’ve never felt with anyone before, not the hundreds of girls that drifted through my bedroom, not with Steph, and I feel guilty as hell for even thinking it.
    “No tally marks, huh? Switching to an electronic scoreboard?” Her lips twitch. “I bet there’s an app for that.”
    “Nope.” I match her steady gaze and neither of us moves. “I think I’ll hold out for something better—someone special.”
    “Someone special.” She swallows hard as her eyes expand at the idea.
    I hope Baya knows she’s that someone special.
    I think that’s exactly what I’m about to discover.
    We play twenty-one for the next few hours. And I’m slowly starting to realize it’s Baya who’s quickly becoming the queen of my heart.
     

 
4
     
Into Your Arms

    Baya
     
     
     
    Alpha Chi is lit up like a haunted house against the backdrop of a veiled starry night. The ground clouds skirt the edges of the gargantuan McMansion, giving it that ethereal feel, and, suddenly, it looks as though I’m stepping into a dream.
    “You sure you want to do this?” Laney reapplies her poppy red lipstick, never once taking her eyes off the overgrown estate.
    “I’m positive. The sooner I can switch off the I-Wet-Dream-of-Jeanie show, the better. Besides, who wouldn’t want to live in a haunted mansion?” I pull her up the steps.
    “I still think you’re making a really huge mistake. From what you said about this afternoon, you’re making some serious strides with your current roommate.”
    “Yeah, well, like I said, Bryson is a nice guy. He probably just felt bad that I was the only girl on the boat who didn’t get the ‘wear your thong memo.’ Besides, I doubt a card game equals serious strides.” He never did mention that kiss—but, then again, neither did I.
    Laney pulls me back by the shoulder and twists her crimson lips into me.
    “You don’t believe that for a minute, and neither do I. Face it, that boy has a hard-on with your name on it. If Bryson Edwards said he wished you were the only two people on that boat, I’m betting he meant it. I don’t think he’s done a lot of articulating with the girls he’s been with. He’s more of a get right down to brass mattress tacks kind of guy.”
    A spiral of heat spears through me at the idea of Bryson wanting me that way. I’ve yet to see his bedroom, but I totally envision a golden bed with a holy light emanating from above while a choir of angels sing a chorus of halleluiah.
    “We’d better make this quick,” I whisper as we come upon the giant glass doors. “We’ve