Page 51 of Just One Kiss

“Sorry,” she said, shaking off her mental reminders to guard her heart. “I can go pick up pizza if that’s what you guys want.”

“No, let’s take a break. Stay out of the house for a little while,” Josh said. “I’ll drive.”

Carly searched her mind for an excuse—anything—not to go with them.

“Awesome,” Jaden said. “I’m starving.”

Before she knew it, Carly was sitting in the front seat next to Josh, her mind trying (failing) not to scroll back years and remember their first date and how it had felt to sit in the passenger seat of his car as something possibly more than a friend.

They’d always been friends, but around the time they started high school, things shifted between them. Their chosen paths could not have been more different.

Carly had already begun thinking about college, working hard to get straight A’s. She’d run for student council representative—and won. She volunteered after school at Haven House, a home for older kids with nowhere else to go that sat on the outskirts of town. The home was run by a local couple, and while it wasn’t something small towns often had, it was something many of them needed. Harbor Pointe always supported the home—it wasn’t foster care, but it was safe. And Carly loved helping out in the kitchen or tutoring kids when she could.

Josh, on the other hand, had taken a different route. Sure, he still played football, but he spent his weekends partying with the seniors on the team. While Carly was helping bake fresh bread at Haven House, Josh was twiddling his thumbs in detention. His grades had fallen, and it was obvious his future was the last thing on his mind.

Maybe his rebellion was a way to get back at his parents, to disrupt the perfect façade they’d crafted so well.

As they entered high school, the public divide between them grew, but their friendship was intact whether anyone knew it or not.

How could she turn her back on him now, given all she knew about him? Nobody else knew about the times Josh showed up with bruises and welts on his back or the real reasons he never wanted to go home.

But they kept their friendship to themselves. Hanging out with Carly would’ve ruined Josh’s reputation, but hanging out with Josh would’ve destroyed hers.

One day, a few months into their junior year, though, things changed between them again.

Carly had just finished packing lunches for her and Quinn when they heard a loud engine rumbling down their quiet street.

When the noise stopped in front of her house, Carly made her way to the front window and looked outside. An old black Mustang was parked in front of the cottage. Her heart sputtered. Her dad had worked an early shift, so she and Quinn were home alone.

But her nerves settled as soon as the driver’s-side door opened and Josh got out.

Josh had a car?

She opened the front door and walked outside barefoot. “What in the world?”

He held his arms out and grinned at her. “You like it?”

“You got a car?”

“Yep. No more walking to school for you.”

He wanted to drive her to school? What would his friends say?

What wouldherfriends say?

“No way my dad is going to let me ride with you.”

“I’m a good driver.” He feigned offense.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look that clearly communicatedI don’t believe you.“How’d you pay for that, anyway?”

“Been saving everything I made at the car wash.” He strode toward her. “Plus, the guy gave me a good deal. It needed some engine work.”

She knew Josh was good with mechanical things, but she had no idea he knew how to fix cars. “Well, it’s something.”

He’d stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked up at her—not in the same way he usually looked at her either. It was the kind of look that made her feel like she couldn’t get a deep breath. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay, but can you follow me inside? I have to finish getting ready.” She turned toward the door but he grabbed her hand before she could take a step.

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