Page 76 of Sweetheart

Pulling me closer, he buried his nose in my hair.

"Also get to check #8 off your list."

"Hmmm," I said, "but what about #3, the back hug?"

Without missing a beat, Sam spun me around, and I couldn't help the airy laugh that escaped my lips as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, his front pressed securely against my back.

"You give good hugs, Bishop."

"I know. And don't worry about Brisa," Sam said right next to my ear, causing my breath to hitch. "If it was a cage match, I'd put my money on you, Kent."

"Because I'm so tough?" I asked.

"Because you're you. Younever give up, always get what you want."

Not always, I thought.

CHAPTER 11

"Remind me why we're doing this again," I said.

Sam cocked a brow."Because we want Scam to succeed."

"Okay, but it's already going well. People think we're legit together."

"Yeah, that's because we got lucky."

I twisted to face Sam more fully, no easy task in his Mustang which had a center console separating us and not a lot of leg room. Sure, there were fantastic things to be said about the car. It was beautiful, for one. Sporty, nice sound system, and the heated seats really did come in handyon a cold day. But, as I'd come to find out, there were drawbacks as well.

Super confined space.

Again, very little leg room.

Hard to get in and out of because it was so low to the ground.

We were currently parked in the Chariot High parking lot. More people would be comingsoonbecause the soccer team had a game tonight. But for now, Sam's car and mine were the only twohere.

"Go on," I said.

Sam mirrored my position, facing me with a slight grin on his face. "Our first kiss was hot and had a ton of witnesses who went out and spread the word."

Cheeks flushing, I nodded. "Band members—and high schoolers, in general—love to gossip. What's your point?"

"It was unplanned, them seeing the kiss," he added, "but it worked to our advantage. Like you said, we're killing it with the PDA."

Yeah, we are, I thought.

"But who's to say that wasn't a fluke?"

My smile fell as quickly as it appeared. "What do you mean?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, that was your first kiss, our first as a couple."

The way he said 'couple' sent a happy flutter through me.

"In science, for an experiment to be consideredsuccessful, you have be able to recreate the results.So we scored a ten on our first kiss—"

More like a 100.

---