Page 94 of Class Clown

“This is getting strange.”

“Shh. I have to think about how to end this tale.”

He laughed softly, and his shoulders relaxed as he pulled his forehead away from my shoulder. His gaze was on the side of my face, and I looked out into the shadowed forest, avoiding his eyes so that I could think, but I felt his focus in the very center of my chest.

“Any way,” I continued, “he was obviously a bad dude. What that bad dude didn’t know, thankfully, was that once you have thirteen unicorns together, they can form a magical circle by touching the tips of all their horns together, and be returned to their human form. The fair maiden wasn’t only beautiful, she was smart, and she’d studied her magical history. She convinced the other victims to unite, and they all turned human again. She helped them all escape on the backs of humongous toads, and didn’t rest until everyone was safe – including the rest of the snails who were set to be cooked the next day.

The fair maiden realized she was better off making her own pastries, and she went home where she lived a long and happy life taking flower-scented baths and listening to Taylor Swift. The end.” I turned at last to meet his eyes and found his face inches from mine. My breath hitched. “Ta da,” I said softly.

One huffed laugh sounded in his throat as he leaned up and pressed his lips to mine. It was soft, so soft, and light and simple, but it traveled to that same spot in the center of my chest where I was already warm.

I inhaled at the feeling and he released one of his arms from around my waist to run his fingers along my jaw. “I’m sort of obsessed with the way your mind works,” he said as his thumb traced lightly over my skin.

He tilted his head up and kissed me again. Still light and gentle, as though he were doing his very best not to scare me. I could hardly breathe, orswallow, or move at all, and when he shifted away again my voice was weak when I responded.

“I think it’s broken.”

“Your mouth?” he asked, and I could feel his lips move as he spoke quietly.

“My mind. You said you like my mind.”

His lips twitched. “No. Not broken. Clever, and kind.”

He leaned closer and I bent to meet him, wanting the contact. The emotion was so tender and affectionate in a way I hadn’t experienced with any other kiss. The hand he’d had on my cheek moved around to lightly squeeze my neck and he deepened the kiss, adding pressure as I responded. My hand pressed to his chest where I could feel the dampness from his nightmare, and the heat and strength beneath that.

My heart raced and I fisted his shirt. Some girls say their thoughts flee when they kiss, but mine became clear and bright, and they spelled the name Nico in pulsing neon letters. I pulled back, surprised by the reaction.

“I’m really, really different from you,” I said.

He shifted a bit, his hand dropping to run down my arm, raising gooseflesh in its path. “In some ways, yes.”

“In most ways.” I clarified. “We don’t function on the same thought planet. How is this not something that worries you?”

“I’m not interested in being with my clone,” he responded with an amused look. “I like that you’re different from me. I’m nothing special, and can, in fact, be kind of irritating.”

“Well, now you’ve given me something to think about. Maybe I should be more cautious,” I teased, putting a fingertip against my lips. His eyes followed the motion before locking on mine again, and I knew the look. “It would be smart, though, to sample the goods some more before any decisions are made,” I stated.

His grin was crooked as he pulled me in once more. This time he didn’t give me time to overthink or worry, he gathered me in as he pressed his beautiful, tempting mouth against mine. My hands snaked up his arms and around his neck, the skin hot against my palms. I threaded a hand through the damp strands of his hair and held on as feelings I’d only imagined rushed through me.

The other kisses, the other men, they hadn’t meant it the way Nico did. Our first kiss had told me that, but this one cemented it. The others hadbeen interested in kissing, but he was interested inme. It changed the entire experience. I hadn’t known it could feel this way.

I used my own hold on him to hug him, wanting to be closer. Each pass of our lips was a discovery, and I wanted to learn it all. His hands roved up and down my back, sneaking into my long hair where his fingers weaved in and out, tugging and releasing until he pulled away entirely and watched my hair sift through his fingers.

“Your hair is incredible,” he whispered.

I smiled with tender lips. “You know, if we keep kissing, people are going to think there’s something going on between us.”

He shook his head, laughed, and with one last caress his arms looped around my waist and he rested his chin on my shoulder, his warm breath puffing against the skin on my neck. I held him around the shoulders and looked up at the sky, so beautiful with the full moon.

“Do you really think I’m afraid of people thinking that?” he asked.

“As a logic-based person, you really should be,” I replied.

“I’d take it as a compliment to have my name attached to yours.”

Well, heat up some honey and call in the bears, I was melted. “That might be the nicest and most naïve thing you’ve ever said to me.”

One of his hands landed on my knee and rested lightly. “I’ve known you for a long time, and your brother is my best friend. I know what I’m doing. Your friend Aryn told me that this is what you’d call a slow-burn romance trope.” He grinned. “I’d never heard the word trope until this past week.”

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