Page 106 of June First

“Fine, okay, just…give me a minute, then come over once the door is shut.” My heart is ricocheting off my ribs. “And I hate you both more than I’ve ever hated anything in my life. Remember that.”

They just laugh at me.

Gathering my wits, I lift my chin with an air of conviction I absolutely do not feel. My mouth is dry, my palms sweating. I walk over to Brant, almost rolling an ankle in my dumb heels, and his attention pulls toward me as I approach. I wonder if he can see that I’m actually dying right now. I’m passing away and floating up to the clouds at this very moment because my spirit would much rather get the hell out of Dodge than go through with this.

I stop in front of him, picking at my freshly painted fingernails.

A smile brightens his face, and he pushes up from the wall. “Junebug. Having fun?”

“No.”

He frowns.

I clear my throat, backtracking. “Yes. I mean yes… Um, can I borrow you for a minute?”

“Everything okay?”

“No.” Damn it, June. “Sorry. Yes. I just want to tell you something.”

He knows I’m acting like a true basket case, so he steps toward me, close enough that I can smell the soap on his skin. His eyes dance across my face, no doubt trying to figure out why my cheeks are redder than the punch and why my left eye is twitching sporadically. “Okay. Of course.”

“This way.” I force a weird semi-smile and stalk away, expecting him to follow. He does. Damn him. Coughing a little into my fist, I lead him down the long hallway and slip through the double doors. Then I stall my feet, spinning around to face him when he joins me on the other side.

Brant lets the door swing shut behind him, his brow furrowed with confusion. “Why are we over here?” He senses something off about me and moves in closer, his hand extending to my forearm. “You’re scaring me a little.”

It’s so quiet on this side of the doors, and I fear he can hear my heart screaming in terror. I lick my lips. “I’m not trying to. I just…I have to do this.”

He shakes his head, a baffled laugh slipping out. “You’re not making any sense. Do what?”

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Just get it over with, June.

“This.”

I don’t think. My hands lift, reaching up and pulling his face down to mine. His stunned breath is the last thing I hear before our lips crash together, and I’m inching up on my tiptoes, my palms clasped around his jaws, my mouth parting on instinct.

I didn’t intend to part my lips, but I do.

We just hover there for a moment, our breaths heavy and unsteady, turning into pants the longer we linger, while our mouths connect in a way they never should.

And then something happens.

I don’t know what happens, but something happens.

I feel his hand cinch around my waist, while the other drags up to my hair, tangling in the mound of loose curls. My pelvis jerks forward without warning.

Then he kisses me.

Truly kisses me.

An involuntary sound spills free when his tongue slips inside my mouth. A sound I’ll never understand, could never explain away. A sound that has him making an identical sound. This isn’t my first kiss, but my God…it feels like it.

My tongue flicks against his. I feel him shudder against me as his grip on my hair tightens. He groans, pulling me closer to him as our tongues touch and taste for the very first time.

Forbidden. Illicit. Scandalous.

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