Page 16 of The Kiss List

Again, ugh.

*******

I'm up in my room—finishing the book I'd been reading before Iris interrupted me—when my phone buzzes with a message.

"What now?" I say with a groan, dropping my book on the bed next to me and frowning at the ceiling.

Is Iris not satisfied with everything I told her? I didn't even leave anything out. She made sure of that. So why the heck is she texting me?

But it's not her.

Hey, it's me. Denton. I hope you don’t mind, but Jase gave me your number.

My heart skips a beat. He’s texting me now? And how did Jason…

I shake my head and type a quick response.It’s fine. But how did he get my number? I don’t remember giving it to him.

Denton: He got it from Iris. Turns out they're texting now.

“What?!” I gasp out loud, sitting up against the headboard. My fingers move furiously.No way!

Denton: Yep.

Me: She was here this afternoon and she didn't tell me.

That little sneak. Is that the reason why she kept on grilling me about Denton? So there was no way I’d ask about Jason? I never even had the slightest idea. At all.

Oh, I’m so going to call her out on it.

Denton: Uh-oh. Did I just get her in trouble?

A giggle bursts from my lips before I can stop it. Because apparently, Denton’s making me giggle now.One kiss and you’re acting silly.

But it wasn’t just a single kiss, was it? It was two kisses. Two good kisses.

I’m full-on smiling now.Oh, yeah. And I’ll point her to you when she asks who the snitch is.

Denton: Really, Perry? After the night we’ve just had? That’s cold.

I bite my thumb as I stare at the text. How should I respond to this? I can’t believe he brought it up so casually. Isn’t he feeling awkward about it? Because I am.

Honestly, I don’t even know what I’ll do when I see him at school on Monday. Whether I like it or not, last night changed everything between us. Denton was supposed to help me find the right guy out of my kiss list—not kiss me himself. But that’s exactly what happened, and now I’m dealing with the aftermath.

Looks like I’m the only one feeling conflicted about the kiss though. Because judging from the text message, Denton doesn’t even seem affected by it. Heck, he’s just probably going to downplay it when I see him.

And I should do the same.

But why does the mere thought upset me?

Chapter 8

"Shouldn’t you be happy right now? All you wanted was a kiss before your seventeenth birthday, right? You said you didn’t even want a boyfriend.”

I glance up from the pasta I'm playing around with my fork and frown at Iris. "What makes you think I'm not happy?"

"Because you're being all mopey. You've barely even touched your food."

I shrug. "Maybe I'm just not hungry."

---