Page 18 of Every Hidden Truth

The ends of his hair curled nicely around his ears and the back of his neck. His sweater stretched across his shoulders snugly, hinting at the broad muscles he would continue to grow into. He was in that in-between stage—we both were—no longer boys but not quite men. But he was going to make one hell of a man, I was sure.

“Earth to Silas.” Ben snapped his fingers in front of my face, and I blinked back into the moment.

“Sorry, what?”

A smirk played at the corners of his mouth. “You were staring.”

“You have a nice face,” I said, and his neck splotched with color.

“Oh. Thanks. You too. I mean, your face is also... good. More than good. It’s, uh”—he cleared his throat noisily—“it’s just very nice.”

I should not have been enjoying his stammers as much as I was, and I grinned like a fiend. “Thank you. I’m glad you like my face.”

“Stop distracting me. I have something important to ask you,” he said sternly.

“I’m not doing anything. I’m just existing here with my face, that’s apparently very nice,” I teased, and he glared at me.

“You know what, I don’t think I will ask you,” he sniffed haughtily as he took his last bite of food.

Playing along, I shrugged. “Fine. Doesn’t matter to me.”

With a mock kick under the table, Ben scowled. “Stop being a dick. You’re ruining this for me.”

I laughed. “Sorry, I forgot you like the cutesy stuff.”

“You’re so mean!” He crossed his arms across his chest. “Maybe I’ll just go date Alice instead.”

Even the sound of her name leaving his mouth pissed me off, and I frowned.

Alice had been a pain in my ass ever since she filled my locker with glitter my sophomore year of high school. And now she had her eyes on Ben. Given Ben’s way-too-nice personality, letting her down easy hadn’t exactly gone as planned. After she’d successfully kissed him at her Thanksgiving weekend party, she’d gotten it in her head that they were an item and practically stalked him around school.

Suffice it to say, I did not like Alice.

“I call bullshit,” I sneered as Ben arched a golden eyebrow. “You’re way too scared of her.”

His lips pursed in displeasure, and I cackled. He couldn’t deny it because we both knew he’d be lying. Ever since Alice’s party, he’d taken to hiding behind me anytime he caught sight of her in the hallway or lunchroom.

“She’s… tenacious.”

I snorted, and we both broke into childish snickers. Tenacious was a kinder word than I wanted to use.

“And you’re a wuss,” I said playfully

“Why am I even asking you out? All you do is abuse me.”

With a wicked smirk, I waved my hand over myself with a flourish. “Because I have a very nice face.”

The faux-fight ended as Ben burst into laughter, his cheeks apple-red. I joined him, reaching out to take his hand in mine, thumb tracing the bumps of his knuckles.

“We could be boyfriends,” I said, causing Ben’s laughter to fade instantly. “If you want, I think that would be kind of awesome.”

With the fondest smile, he stood and stepped around the table separating us. One hand clinging to mine, the other cupping my cheek, he bent down and kissed me. Soft and sweet. He tasted like coffee and chocolate chip pancakes. I sighed into his mouth.

When we parted, he whispered, “Told you you’d be good at the cutesy stuff.”

“Shut up,” I whispered back.

He pecked my mouth again before returning to his seat, fingers still twined with mine. “I think it would be kind of awesome too.”

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