It’s time for Oasis for YA’s Valentine’s Day BlogFest! Here’s how it works, straight from Oasis for YA’s That’s YAmore Blogfest page:
We love blogfests. And we love good YA romance. So we decided to combine the two in our first annual That’s YAmore Blogfest.
Starting the Friday before Valentine’s Day, we invite you to post 250 romantic, swoon-worthy words from your YA WIP. Then check out the entries from some of the other participants. (Just be sure you have a fan and/or a cold glass of water on hand.) We know your Valentine will appreciate you getting yourself in a romantic state of mind…
So, my steamy contribution is from the contemporary YA WIP I’m currently revising, LOVING MAX HOLDEN, about a girl who’s in love with her best friend’s brother:
Our linked hands rested on the seat between us the whole way back to our neighborhood. Max parked in his driveway—still free of Ivy’s car—then walked me across the lawn to the front porch of my house, just way I’d imagined. “Like a real date,” I joked.
“I still owe you dinner.”
“Have you been holding on to your Bunco winnings all this time?”
“I have, actually. I knew that money would come in handy when you realized how bad you want me.” He stepped closer, grinning, and circled his arms around my waist. “So, how about it?”
“Ivy can’t know about this, Max. Not yet.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. If I keep my mouth shut you’ll let me take you out for real?”
“Maybe if you kiss me goodnight after.”
“I can probably manage that, although I kind of wanted to kiss you tonight too.”
“But there’s no mistletoe,” I said with mock seriousness.
He leaned in until his nose was barely brushing against mine. “Like I give a shit.”
And then he kissed me, soft and slow, like he was certain there were a thousand more kisses in our future. I nestled in, absorbing his warmth, dangerously close to collapsing from the sheer bliss of it all. But he held me tight, his arms safe and secure around me. When he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, I shivered with a new kind of want. There was nothing in the world better than kissing Max Holden.
So, that’s Max and Jill… I kind of love them. 🙂 If you’re curious about the aforementioned mistletoe kiss, you can read that excerpt HERE. Also, please do visit my critique parthers: Heather Howland, AE Rought, and Jus Accardo. They’re participating in That’s YAmore too, and well, they’re fabulous.
Don’t forget to visit That’s YAmore Blogfest to check out all the other steamy entries.
katyupperman.com 
Yummy! Oh to relive those first moments of love. Thanks for the excerpt.
Fantastic. I kind of love them, too!
Gah, yay!!! My Max and Jilly fix for the day!! Love this version of the scene. The addition of Ivy not knowing is going to make a huge difference!
Glad you like it–at least this tiny bit. I’m super nervous about what you’re going to think of the whole story, but you’re right about Ivy. Lots more conflict and tension this way. 🙂
I can’t wait to read this again! Of my fave scenes.
One of my favorites too. 🙂
Love that kiss description– sweet, but also with a little yowzah in there!
I love it! Made me all warm and fuzzy inside Awww.
I went to tons of links berfoe this, what was I thinking?
Ohhh I like it! “like he was certain there were a thousand more kisses in our future.” Great line, Katy!
I agree with AE on the thousand kisses line. Tingly fun.
Oh that line! Loved it too!
Very sweet.
Everyone beat me to it, so here’s the third vote for that being an outstanding line! Great entry!!
wonderful – I love the playfulness and the tension. it all felt real and sizzly.
Yummy!! Why is it hot when a guy cusses right before he kisses you? Or am I a sicko?! LOL
Haha! If you’re a sicko, I am too. 🙂
Thanks so much everyone! Based on your comments, this scene seems to be having its desired effect. And thanks Ann, Robin, LM, Erica and Christy for complimenting the “thousand more kisses” line. Oddly enough, that was a last minute edition. 🙂
Fantastic! I love boy-next-door stories! And the dialogue makes me want to know everything else they’re talking about. Yum-o!
– Liz
Very sweet and definitely feels realistic. That will make an interesting plot line in a novel, the whole friend’s brother thing. Hope the novel goes well for you.
Great voice 😀 I can see why she’d like him hehe
Another vote for the “certain there were a thousand more kisses” being an awesome line. This was a really sweet scene and I loved the hint of steam when he ran his tongue along her lower lip– I can see it being hard to hide that kind of attraction from an attentive best friend.
– Sophia.