“Down.” I swung back and ended up taking our legs right out from underneath us. Kyler twisted at the last moment, taking the brunt of the fall in the drift, and I landed on top of him.

Neither of us moved for a second, and then his hands clamped down on my hips. Under me his chest started to move slowly and then faster. Loud laughter barreled out of his throat, bringing a happy smile to my face.

I planted my hands on his chest and lifted my head.

He stared up at me, smiling. My breath caught and I felt dizzy. “You’re beautiful.”

Kyler reached up, brushing my hair from my face and tucking it back behind my ear. “I think that’s my line.”

“You think I’m beautiful?”

His gaze roamed over my face like he was committing every freckle to memory. Giddiness swept through me, like I was caught up in a bubble. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful, Syd.”

The world was bright and shiny and new. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he replied, his hand falling away from my hair, back to my hip. “Yeah, I have.”

There was nothing else for me to do. I only had one option. Kyler said I was beautiful and I’d waited since forever to hear him say that.

So I kissed him.

Chapter 7

Sydney

Or at least I tried to.

My aim was completely off. My lips collided with his cool cheek.

“Syd,” he said, and the way he spoke my name, like it was caught between a curse and a prayer, hollowed my stomach.

His hands slid up to my waist, under the hoodie and my sweater. His fingers brushed my bare skin and I felt the contact in the sharpest, most delicious way. My back arched, and it all seemed like the go ahead to me. I rolled my lower body down onto his and I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt him pressing against the softest part of me. Kyler made a deep sound in his throat, his fingers digging into my sides and setting fire to my nerves.

Kyler moved so fast. The world turned upside down, and I was suddenly on my back and he was above me, his hair falling over his forehead in a messy sweep. Hey now! I liked where this was heading.

Tiny snowflakes covered his head, glimmering in the dim street lamp. Cold snow crept under my clothing, but I barely felt it. I was on fire. I was burning up from the inside, my senses were all over the place, and it was the best feeling I’d ever had. I reached up, letting my fingers thread through his soft hair. His reaction seemed to be on instinct. He closed his eyes and tilted his cheek into the palm of my hand. Warmth blossomed in my chest.