Page 24 of Lucky Sucker

I wrapped my finger around his, locked in that embrace, I was inclined from a twitch of my lips to lean in for a kiss. So, I did. We kissed again, and this time, there wasn’t anyone around to see it happen.

Time must’ve stopped because it seemed like hours had passed where fireworks and pop rocks had bubbled over in my body. “Does that make it an even stronger bond then?” I asked. Wren’s eyes were still closed with his lips pursed.

“Mmh.” He nodded, slowly reopening his eyes. “You have the softest lips.”

“Yours too.”

“No, no, I put ChapStick on because if we did kiss again, I didn’t want you to feel the bits of my skin that I bite,” he said in a giant jumble stew of words all at once. “I only had this old strawberry one that was part of this moisturizer set, so yeah.”

“Relax.” Both hands on his shoulders, I sucked in a couple of breaths with him. “It was good. And I am not against practicing with you, you know, just in case we need to kiss and make out in front of people.”

“Make out?”

I didn’t know if this was the overstep. “It was just a thought.”

A thought he leapt on. We both leaned in and kissed again. Mouths opening, his lips did taste of strawberry, and his tongue of peppermint mouthwash. It barely moved as my tongue occupied most of his mouth, he really was the submissive he’d blurted about being earlier.

Pulling away and out of breath, I must’ve had the biggest smile aching on my face. “That was nice,” he said.

“Your lips tasted great,” I told him.

Wren’s hand grabbed at his other forearm. “I need to make sure this isn’t a dream. Because it’s really beginning to feel a lot like a dream. Did we just—”

I took his hand away. “It’s not a dream.”

“Yeah, but you’re—still straight.”

“I never said that.”

In fact, I don’t think I’d ever announced my sexuality, maybe because it had never been up for debate before. Never questioned, never even a thought. But I currently liked a boy, and while it was a weird situation, I think he liked me back.

11. WREN

I didn’t know if I was the one giving him mixed signals, or if it was him. He kissed me, planted his lips on mine, and oh my god, his tongue. The way it was warm and tasted so sweet against mine. I had to snap out of it and remind myself that this was for all for show, I was simply in an agreement with him, and for whatever reason, I’d agreed to it. I know it wasn’t for the kissing, because I usually avoided having to be this close to anyone else.

The party for Jack was underway, a giant surprise, although the only people surprised were the other teammates seeing me and Luke holding hands and being a couple, which was so very surreal.

It meant the introduction I’d gotten as the team reporter was now replaced with, Wren, the guy who made their captain gay, or however my brain was phrasing it. And yet, nobody batted an eyelid at my reintroduction to them. It had my spidey senses tingling, if I had them, they would be tingling, but then again, that was my natural state.

Jack had a party hat forced on his head with the elastic tight under his chin. Everyone seemed to tower above me, which might’ve been more on me for the way my head seemed to naturally rest back. “I made you a present,” I said to him, and although quiet, he heard me and smiled.

“Happy birthday again,” Luke said, going in for a bro hug with Jack while I fished around in my tote bag for the gift. He stayed right by my side, and I think he knew I needed him there.

“Oh, there it is.” The gift was wrapped in some brown parcel paper and wrapped with string. “It’s just something I made, I didn’t feel right coming to your birthday without a gift.”

“You really didn’t have to,” he said. “You’re saving Luke’s rep; that’s as much of a gift as I need.”

I locked eyes with Luke. I didn’t know this was an open secret.

“Not saving it,” Luke said, “but he’s helping. And it’s crappy that I’m forced to come out like this. You know.”

My head hurt trying to play this back and forth wondering who knew what and what was the truth. It was impossible to know if he was coming out, and if he was, then those kisses in his bedroom might’ve meant something.

“Really saving it,” Jack laughed, finally attempting to open the gift. “You had any of the cake yet? It’s so good.”

“Oh. What kind of cake?”

“Chocolate,” Luke and Jack said at the same time.

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