Page 18 of The Kiss List

I still have your kiss list. Do you want it back?

I still haven't responded. I don't even know what to say. Should I get it from him? Or just tell him to simply throw it away?

I'm done with the list anyway. Not that I even managed to use it in the first place. But it still served its purpose. I still got a kiss out of it.

"What are you staring at?" Iris demands, pulling me from my thoughts, reminding me that we're in the girls' bathroom for a quick touch-up before going home. In fact, she's currently reapplying her lip gloss.

Before I change my mind, I shoot a quick text back to Denton, then shove my phone inside my bag. "I have to do something before we go. Can you give me fifteen minutes?"

She's my ride home so she'll have to wait for me.

"Okay, but hurry."

"Promise." I give my reflection a quick glance, making sure my hair is still neatly tucked in my ponytail. Good thing I already glossed my lips before I got the text.

And don't I look pretty in my red floral romper?

Yeah, I'm not going to think about why I'm checking myself out right before I meet him.

Iris arches an eyebrow at me through the mirror. "You're meeting Denton, aren't you?"

Two fellow junior girls turn in our direction at the mention of his name, so I shoot my best friend a warning glare. But I don't bother denying it.

She smirks. "I knew it."

"Whatever. Just wait for me," I say, leaving the girls' bathroom without waiting for her response.

Denton told me to meet him outside the swim team's locker room so I head in that direction.

I shouldn't be nervous. It's not like I'm going to do something worth being nervous about. Yet my heart is pounding a little faster than usual. And I feel my hands getting clammy.

Maybe I'm feeling this way because—save for those texts—I haven't really talked to him yet. It's not that I was avoiding him or something. I just didn't know how to approach him. And it's not like he's been making an effort to look for me either. This is the first time I've heard from him all day.

Maybe because you stopped responding to his texts last night.

Wait. Was that why he was flirting with that girl at lunch?

I have no time to ponder that. I've already reached the swim team's locker room.

And sure enough, Denton's outside waiting for me.

My heart is thumping even faster now. It doesn't help that his eyes are determinedly fixed on me as I close the distance between us.

"Hey," I say awkwardly.

His mouth tilts at the corner. "Hey yourself."

"So, you're not in your swim trunks yet."

He's still wearing his school clothes—a black turtleneck shirt and blue jeans. And is it just me or does he look incredibly good right now?

He smirks. "Why Perry? Is that your way of saying you want to see me in them?"

I feel a blush warm my cheeks. "W-What? Of course not. That's not what I—" I cut myself off and shake my head. "You know what? Never mind. You can just throw it away." I spin on my heels to leave.

But Denton quickly grabs my arm, stopping me. "Wait. Just wait."

Slowly, I turn to face him.

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