Page 24 of Every Hidden Truth

“Yeah, fashionably late is kind of my thing.”

A few pity chuckles sounded from the rest of the group, and I tightened my grip on my backpack straps as Ben jumped into introductions. “Everybody, this is Silas. Si, that’s Julian and his girlfriend, Iris.” He pointed to the Latino diver from the team and a tall, raven-haired girl beside him, before moving on to the others. “David, Troy, and Kelly, and the twins, Hollie and Brent. And you know Ronnie.”

I waved with a closed-lip smile. “Hi.”

They offered friendly greetings, but I felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny, anyway. Plus, there was no way I was remembering their names. Hopefully Ben wouldn’t quiz me later.

“Listen, I gotta hit up my locker,” I said to Ben. “See you at lunch?”

“I’ll walk with you.” He bent to snatch his rucksack from the floor.

I shook my head. “No, it’s cool. You don’t have to.”

With a droll stare, he pushed a noisy breath through his nose. “How about I want to.”

“Okay,” I agreed readily, a genuine smile spreading across my lips, and he beamed at me.

“Argh, get a room.” Ronnie coughed the words, holding his hands in mock apology as he cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I think I’m coming down with something.”

“Yeah, I hear being a dumbass is incurable,” I said as I pushed Ben in the opposite direction.

He feigned a shot to the chest. “If only Ezzy was here. She’d defend me.”

“Except she would totally side with me, ’cause she loves me more than you.”

Ronnie laughed as Ben dragged me away.

“I still can’t tell if he likes me or not,” I confessed as we made our way to my locker.

“He does. He’s just... protective of his people, I guess. He wasn’t sure what to make of you at first.”

Instead of taking Ben’s hand like I wanted to, I kept a hold of my backpack straps as he buried his hands in his pockets. Our elbows knocked at even intervals, and my heart pitter-pattered pathetically in my chest.

“Sleep okay?” he asked as we passed the cafeteria, and I side-stepped to avoid a collision with a group of giggling freshmen.

“Yeah, pretty good. You?”

He shifted closer to me as the hallway grew congested, dropping his volume. “Yeah, but I liked our nap better.”

Yesterday, we’d napped on his bed, tangled together for nearly an hour. “Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because you were there with me, of course,” he said without an ounce of shame.

Spinning, I walked backward as I cooed, “Aw, you missed me, Adams?”

“Always,” he said, cheeks turning rosy.

“Oh my God, I cannot with this cutesy shit.”

“Too bad,” he said with a flick to my nose. “Because I like the cutesy shit.”

After stopping by my locker, Ben walked me to my first class, the back of his hand grazing mine. The seven-minute bell rang, and his index finger curled around my pinkie, squeezing gently.

“I’ll see you at lunch.” He hesitated, searching my gaze, then focusing on my mouth.

Before I could second guess and chicken out, I popped up onto my toes and pecked his mouth quickly. “See you at lunch.”

Without waiting for a reaction from him or the other students around us, I scurried into my class and plopped into a desk at the very back. I ignored everyone around me as my face heated to surface-of-the-sun levels. Hopefully, no one noticed our kiss, but I doubted it.

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