Page 52 of The Other Side of Together

There’s a honk on his end of the phone. “Where are you?”

“Staring at your window.”

I straighten and put my hand over my mouth as ice crawls through my veins. “Xander and Holden could be anywhere.”

“And?”

I burst out of my bathroom and yank my curtains aside while Lin watches from my bed. Marcus is standing across the alley, one hand holding his phone to his ear, the other over his heart. His hair waves at me in the breeze, his smile lighting the alley.

“Come up here. Hurry.”

“Is that who I think it is?” Lin asks over my shoulder as I shove open the window.

“Hurry,” I rush into the phone, then hang up and shove it in my back pocket, watching Marcus. There aren’t many places for a human to hide down there, and there are enough neon signs to outline shadows. Unless my stalkers are hiding in the dumpster, the coast seems clear. But we can never be too careful.

Lin grabs my arm and murmurs, “You’ve been keeping secrets, and you promised you’d tell me every detail.”

I swivel toward her. “Okay, don’t kill me, but…Marcus and I are…”

“Arewhat?!” Her eyes spark and she sticks her head outthe window beside me, then jerks back inside the room. “What are you?!” she gasps, then says, “You two have kissed haven’t you?” When I don’t respond, she gasps louder. “I could murder you with my bare hands for not telling.”

I duck back inside and turn to her. “I swear I’ll leave nothing out. But you have to swear you’llnevertell a soul what you’re about to witness. I mean it, Lin. Promise.” I glance out the window when Marcus pulls himself onto the fire escape, gripping his ribs and swearing, then I turn back to Lin and hold out my pinky.

She holds up hers, then grabs my wrist, and inspects the Sharpie heart before tilting her head and squinting at me. “Where did this come from?”

“Promise you won’t tell any of this.”

She holds her breath, then lets it out while squeezing her eyes shut and nodding. “Fine. But…” She wraps her pinky around mine and presses her thumb to mine, sealing the promise. “You have so much to spill.”

“Oh. Hey,” Marcus says when he ducks and leans through my window. “Nice to see you again, Lin.”

Her mouth is open and smiling and Marcus glances at me when she doesn’t say anything.

I push her shoulder. “Will you make sure my door’s locked?”

She blinks, then nods and turns toward the door, squealing at it before glancing over her shoulder at Marcus who’s easing through my window. He drops into my room, swearing at the ceiling as he holds his ribs. I slide the window shut and close the curtains.

I hold my finger to my lips, and he nods, then reaches for my waist but pulls back when Lin slides beside me.

“You two…” She shakes her head slowly, her eyes stuck on Marcus. “This is…”

“Secret,” I say, turning to her. “You promised.” I widen my eyes at her, sending the message loud and clear.

“Oh, it won’t come out of my mouth, but my head is nothing but raving about this entire situation.” She waves her hand between us. “A lot has happened since I left you two after the game, hasn’t it? Including that.” She points at Marcus’s eye. “Which I’m sure Mei Li kissed better.”

Marcus raises his eyebrows and laughs once as she takes a few steps backward, grabs her bag off my bed, and mouths, “Oh my gosh” to me while Marcus watches. She opens the door and I mimic zipping my lips. She holds an invisible phone to her ear and mouths, “Call me” as I close the door and lock it, then turn to Marcus.

“Are you crazy coming here?” I whisper.

He shrugs and grins. “Couldn’t help it. Told Dad I was taking a run, but he’s waiting for me to get back so we can do movie night. If I’m not there, he’ll send out an all-call.”

I stand on tiptoe and hover my lips close to his, smiling. “So, what do the numbers on your arm mean?”

He grips the hem of my shirt, pulling me against him “Let’s just say it changed from a 2 to a 3 this afternoon and kinda wanna change it to four right now…”

I laugh to the ceiling, then press closer until his shirt crinkles and I frown.

He pats his chest and whispers, “Massive amounts of tape. Like, two rolls.”

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