Just One Kiss Read Online Free Page B

what I did wrong.” He puts his hands
on the counter.
    “You called me cute!” I say, sounding as though I’m accusing
him of murder. It’s possible that I’m being dramatic, but there’s no way he
wasn’t making fun of me.
    “Well it’s not like you told me you have a boyfriend or
anything!” he retaliated quickly.
    I snort, “I don’t have a boyfriend.” Is he blind?
    “Well then why the hell can’t I call you cute?” he growls,
irritated and possibly confused.
    “Because I’m not!” I practically yell, throwing my hands in
the air. I take a deep breath and add, in a softer voice, “I don’t really know
what you’re playing at here, but I’m not falling for it.” I feel my throat
closing in a way that tells me I might cry if I continue talking, so I stop.
    “I’m not playing a game.” He drops his voice too.
    “Well then why would you ask for my number? Why would you
call me cute? And why would you suggest that I have a boyfriend? It’s pretty
obvious to me that this is all just a joke to you. That I am just a joke,” I
whisper harshly past the lump in my throat.
    “I asked for your number because I thought it was awesome
the way that you acted around Zander. I called you cute because you watch dorky
TV shows and I think that’s adorable. And I suggested that you have a boyfriend
because it doesn’t make any sense to me that you’re single,” he whispers back
earnestly.
    I scoff. “You need to stop complimenting me. I’m not buying
it. I own a mirror,” I tell him.
    “Look, if you don’t want to believe that I look at you and
see somebody I like, you don’t have to. Just know that I’m not lying to you, you’re
lying to yourself.” He stands up straight again, still looking me directly in
the eyes.
    I bite the inside of my cheek in order to stop myself from
arguing further. This conversation was getting ridiculous. “What can I get for
you, Brayden?” I ask him, something in my voice just a little bit broken.
    “A second chance. I promise not to call you pretty, cute,
gorgeous, or anything along those lines ever again if you go somewhere with
me.” He smiles optimistically.
    “No,” I say simply.
    “Why?” He doesn’t look upset, just curious.
    “Because I don’t know you well enough to spend time alone
with you. You could kill me for all I know.” That makes him burst out laughing.
    “I’m not about to kill you, Cutie,” he tells me, wiping
tears of laughter from his eyes.
    “How can I be sure?” I ask suspiciously, narrowing my eyes
at him.
    “Hey, Carlos!” he calls to the back room, ignoring my
question.
    A few seconds later, Carlos emerges and a huge smile breaks
out across his face. “Brayden, what’s up man?” he asks, grabbing his hand in a
handshake-fist bump thing.
    “Not much, not much. Hey, I need you to tell Anna here that
I’m not going to kill her if she spends some time with me.” He sends a grin my
direction. Carlos bursts out laughing and I feel a blush taking over my face.
Now I feel like an idiot for being so dramatic.
    “Well it’s not like I know him!” I exclaim in my defense.
    “Annie, Brayden won’t kill you. He’s way too nice to do that,”
Carlos says, patting me on the shoulder.
    “Well how would I have known that?” I huff, putting my hands
on my hips.
    He laughs softly.
    “Just go. Anything to get him to stop talking about this one
chick he met. I swear, every five seconds I’m hearing about ‘the carnival girl.’
She won’t even call him back.”
    He rolls his eyes at me and my eyes widen as I turn toward
Brayden, who’s glaring at Carlos.
    “Dude!” he growls at his friend, not so slyly shooting a
glance at me.
    Carlos looks between us. “Sorry, man, I didn’t realize you
didn’t want Anna to know about her.”
    Brayden looks pained as he whispers, “ She is the
girl.”
    “What?” Carlos and I exclaim simultaneously.
    “You’re the girl,” Brayden admits slowly, looking
uncomfortable.
    I snort,