Complicated.
ALI
The elevator chimed once we reached the garage level. Soleil exited first, not bothering to say goodnight to me. I glanced at Danielle; she her head while snickering. I hiked my eyebrows at her amused expression. She pointed her chin for me to chase after her friend, so I did.
“Gorgeous,” I called out to Soleil. Her strides slowed for me to catch up. “Take my number. I want to start working on your bucket list this week.”
“I’ll be in the car, Sol.” Danielle walked passed us with a sly grin on her lips.
Soleil nodded then returned her attention to me.
She smiled softly before saying, “I’ll be honest with you, I like you and I know we have this strong chemistry, but–”
“No, buts,” I said while shaking my head. “We agreed to pretend nothing was in our way.”
“Yeah, but then Elise had to come and make things weird, and I’m not in the mood for any drama.”
“There’s no drama. Everything is cool.”
Soleil’s gaze fell to the ground. I reached for her hands, and the charged sensation from earlier returned. I brought her hands to my chest and pressed them against me. My heart beat wildly and heat coursed my veins. I didn’t know how else to explain what I was feeling. Soleil’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed.
“You feel that?”
She nodded slowly.
“It’s been like this ever since I saw you. This happens every time I’m near you.”
Soleil grabbed my hand and did the same to me. I inhaled a deep breath at the feeling her of her racing heart. The fast rhythm made goosebumps to cover my skin and somehow made my pulse thump even harder. She dropped my hand before reaching into her purse for her phone. After she handed it to me, I input my number then sent a text with her name.
“I’ll text you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” she breathed, taking a step toward me.
A smile spread across my face before I could stop it. I cupped her cheek and sighed at the softness of her skin. If only she knew how badly I missed her taste, the feeling of her lips against mine. Our first kiss had been on my mind nonstop since. I remembered everything about it from the flavor of rum punch on her lips, the heady laps of her tongue against mine, the gentleness of her touch.
I remembered it all.
I closed the space between us and pressed my mouth to hers. She hummed while snaking an arm around my neck. Jolts of electricity surged through me and my groin tightened. Her hungry tongue swiped across my bottom lip before she gave it a salacious suck. My breaths quickened and my resolve dissolved. She pressed her frame against mine sending my heart into overdrive.
For seconds, I lost myself in the rhythm of our tongues. Kissing her was like playing with fire, but I wasn’t afraid of the burn. In fact, I’d been deprived of such a feeling for years now. This intense desire was something I lacked in my life.
The sound of the elevator behind up, forced us to pull away. Neither of us wanted our circle catching us this way. Soleil stepped back while wiping the sides of her mouth. After seeing it was just one of Yasir’s neighbors, we laughed. We shared a hug that turned into another kiss.
“Goodnight, gorgeous,” I said when she finally pulled away.
Soleil smiled. “Goodnight, Ali.”
Ali Everett is on a mission to uphold his family’s legacy while creating his own lane within the family business. When presented with an opportunity to prove himself, he accepts the challenge prepared for whatever obstacles came along the way. When things seem that can’t get any better, he mets the alluring Soleil Baptiste. She single-handedly ignites the fire he longed for in his life.
After ending a year-long situationship, Soleil Baptiste is on a journey of self-discovery. She hopes the summertime is filled with the excitement she lacks in life. Ali Everett enters her world and turns it upside down, forcing her question whether or not he is too good to be true.
As they grow closer, they discover how deeply their pasts are connected, prompting them to confront their ghosts sooner than they anticipated. A dose of serendipity, a summer bucket list, and an inexplicable attraction combine to create a whirlwind romance for Ali Everett and Soleil Baptiste. Are Ali and Soleil capable of enduring the heat of their complicated pasts or will their time together be merely a summer fling?