Page 46 of A Better Place

“And isn’t that like not allowed?”

What the hell is he thinking of doing with my fifteen-year-old niece that he thinks isn’t allowed!?

“Well, she turns sixteen in about a month-and-a-half, which doesn’t change that part. And, it depends on what you’re planning on doing with that fifteen-year-old, who, by the way, is almost sixteen. Which you just said wasn’t pervy, and since dating a fifteen-year-old when you’re sixteen isn’t a crime, you’re good. But that’s not what you want to ask me, now, is it?”

“No. Shit. I mean, crap. Sorry. Don’t tell Mom I said that. Ugh! I feel stupid,” he mumbles as he rakes his fingers through his hair again and stands up to pace the room.

“Why?”

“I’ve never kissed a girl before!” he blurts out, and my eyebrows go so high they’re in danger of meshing in with my hairline.

I lean back in my chair and hope that I come across as relaxed in the situation as I absolutely am not.

“Okay. Yeah. Okay. So you want…”

“To know how to do it.”

“And how am I supposed to teach you that!?” I screech, letting my body come forward in the chair.

“Well, it’s not like I want you to show me or anything!” he whisper-shouts.

“I didn’t say you did.” I chuckle with my hands up.

“Just forget I asked.” Jack looks toward the ground.

“No. No. I just need to get my mind wrapped around this. Honestly, this isn’t what I expected. I thought you would have questions about the restaurant or something. But this? Kissing my niece? Shit. Crap. Don’t tell your mom I said that,” I tell him, hoping to lighten the mood. Not that there’s a mood! But yeah.

Holy shit. I’m messing this up so badly.

He snorts out a laugh and rolls his eyes when he looks back up at me.

“What do you want to know?”

“Really?”

The hope in his eyes hits me right in the gut. I remember what it’s like to be a teenage kid. I remember what it feels like to want to kiss a girl so badly that it was all I could think about. Hell, I’m frickin’ living that right now!

“Yeah. I mean, I get it.”

“Well, first of all, how do I know if she even wants me to kiss her?”

“So… this is the part where I have to forget that Maggie is my niece, right? And that her dad is a big dude, her brothers are the same, and they would kick my ass if they knew I was giving you advice on how to kiss her?”

He nods quickly. “Yes. Now would be good to forget all that.”

Well, I guess I’m really doing this. Never did I dream I would be giving advice to a teenage boy on how to kiss my niece. And truly, if Barrett or his boys find out, they will have several choice words to sling at me.

“Alright. You don’t know if Mag… I mean, she wants you to kiss her?”

“Well, she gives me these looks, like her eyes get really soft. And they’re hazel, you know? So, they almost change colors all the time. But when she looks at me like that, they get bright green and super pretty. And sometimes she’ll brush her pinky against my hand when we’re walking close to each other, and she always chooses the seat by me. Even at lunch at school. I started walking with her between classes, too. And one day I was running a little behind, but she waited for me.” He’s pacing back and forth in his room, glancing at me every so often and smiling to himself. “Oh! And one time when we were crossing a street, I held her hand because, well, I wanted to keep her safe, and thought she’d drop it as soon as we got across the street, but she just held on tighter, and when I threaded my fingers in hers? She looked down at my hand and up in my eyes, and the look she gave me… and her smile… and I could smell her hair — it smelled like apples — and all of it combined… I don’t know. It just felt like…”

“You could conquer the world?”

“Yeah. Stupid, right?”

“No, bud. Not stupid at all. When you find a girl who makes you feel like you could conquer the world, and who you would lie down in front of a moving car in order to save, that doesn’t sound stupid at all. That sounds like someone you shouldn’t let go of. Like someone you want to keep around a while.”

“Is… is that how you feel about Mom?”

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