Page 32 of The Pinkie Pact

He shrugged. "Me neither. But it's something I'd like to try."

I had no idea what to say or even think about that. "Um, okay. But why?"

That ever-present smile of his disappeared to be replaced by a serious expression. "Because you're an amazing kisser."

Was he for real? "Are you serious?"

"I'm dead serious. If we can't be together, maybe you could at least teach me your ways so I can make my girl, whoever she is, happy someday."

I wanted to bang my head against the wall at how freaking cute that was. Why the hell couldn't I like Bearmore? What was wrong with me that I had to lust after someone who was already taken?

"Well, seriously, that is maybe the sweetest thing I've ever heard. And, yes, we can be kissing buddies, if you'd like." I glanced away, feeling a little embarrassed all the sudden. "I mean, not that I have anything to teach you. That's kind of ridiculous. You're a great kisser already, Bear."

His grin stunned me. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, definitely. You really are. Why would you think you weren't? Or is this just some kind of line I'm falling for?"

"No, it's not that at all," he said quickly, his smile fading as he sighed. "Just in high school once... ugh, I hate even remembering this. But this girl I really liked said I was a shitty kisser."

"Oh, my gosh, Bear, sweetie. That's terrible." Aw, who would dare hurt my Bear?

"Yeah, that stung." Shrugging those wide shoulders and shaking his head, he continued, "I hated high school. I was so scrawny and short."

"What?" Bear was the opposite of scrawny and short. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Freshman year in college, I kind of blossomed," he said, laughing at the final word.

"I'll say you blossomed all right. Holy crap, Bear, you're smokin' hot."

He stared at me for a long minute, not saying anything. So I leaned in and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. Just a short, little peck. But it turned into something more. Something sweet. Something nice.

When I pulled back, Bear was beaming. "Thank you."

"Thankyou," I said back.

"Thank me? For what exactly?"

I didn't know how to tell him what I was thanking him for because I wasn't exactly sure myself. All I knew is that Bear had helped me move past something and break down a barrier I had. "I don't know. Just being you."

He laughed and grabbed my hand, leading me away from the brick wall and back to the club. We shared a secret smile as we walked in toward the dance floor. I felt so happy to have another friend here, another friend who was actually good for me.

Sneaking By… Again

Sky

The next several days flew by, a whirl of classes, hanging out and studying with Kara, plus practicing the piano. My music teacher had decided on a duet for the big year-end recital, and I met my partner, an incredibly shy girl named Brie who could barely speak to me.

But she was brilliant at the piano, and we played really well together. We decided we'd have a joint practice session once a week. When I finally was able to get her to say a few words, she admitted to me that she hated recitals too. The way her lips quivered when she said it made me realize she was even more nervous about it than I was, and I felt oddly protective of this girl, telling her we'd get through it together somehow.

As I walked to the library Friday night after practicing with Brie, I noticed a flyer on a tree, something about feeding people who were in need at a nearby church. It gave the times to show up and help, and I realized this was something I could actually try.

DC seemed to have an even larger amount of homeless people than Sacramento, despite the colder weather, and it broke my heart. How could our nation's capital have so many desperate people in it?

It wasn't much, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Maybe tomorrow morning, and maybe I could drag Kara along with me too.

I said hello to the librarian on duty and then began my usual—shelving. There was a never-ending amount of carts with books to be returned to the stacks. And if I was honest, I kind of liked shelving. I could just go off by myself and be alone... for the most part.

Occasionally, someone would ask me a question. But anything slightly complicated I handed off to the librarian because I didn't want to mess up some important reference question. And now I knew to avoid the wonky cart.

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