Page 40 of The Executioners Three
Okay, so the first kiss had only been on the cheek, because Freddie had panicked at the last minute and turned sideways. The other, though, she had faced with determination. It had started as a peck, then quickly escalated into something slobbery that Freddie hadn’t liked at all.
However, she’d assumed her distaste for kissing had stemmed from her own inexperience (after all, Andy was allowed to watch PG-13s, and she was not). Plus, she and Andy were fated in the stars—she was sure of it. One day, they would progress to further bases and maybe even get married. That was how love worked.
Until Andy’s family moved away, and as devastated as Freddie had been, she’d forgotten about him three weeks later when a girl named Divya Srivastava had walked up to her and asked her if she wanted to join her book club. Who needed boys when Freddie could have a best friend?
Freddie’s second boyfriend, who had been awarded only four pages in her journal, was named Carl. It had really only been a summer fling,almostworthy of aGreasemusical number, except that John Travolta was much more interesting than Carl could ever hope to be.
Carl had been fifteen; Freddie too. And when he hadn’t been wearinghis Fortin Prep Math Camp polo, he’d worn T-shirts that said things likeNever Trust an Atom, They Make Up EverythingorThis Shirt Is Blue If You Run Fast Enough.
He’d also worn a hoodie that saidThe Truth Is Out Thereon the back, and that was what had first caught Freddie’s eye. A funny guy whoalsolikedThe X-Files.
With Carl, Freddie had had her first real kiss (many of them, actually). Including the kind with tongue. She had seen PG-13s at this point, and unfortunately, she’d learned that the movies made kissing lookwaymore exciting than it actually was. When the summer had eventually come to a close and Carl had been getting ready to leave, he’d asked Freddie if she would still be his girlfriend when he went away. She had answered with a polite “No, thank you.” (This had not gone over well, as one might imagine.)
After that summer, Freddie had decided that kissing wasn’t very interesting—and certainly wasn’t for her. Clearly other people enjoyed it, and that was great for them, but she had better things to do with her time. And for two years, she had stuck by this assessment.
Until today.
Untilright now,when she was kissing Theo Porter.
Of course, she hadn’t gone into this kiss planning to Kiss Him for Real. It was just going to be a pop kiss on the lips—a way to show Fortin Prep that she, Freddie Gellar, was in charge.
Except that wasn’t what was happening at all.
When Freddie had stretched onto her toes and brought her face to Theo’s, he had stiffened. Surprised, certainly, which she would have expected. But when he had leaned in, and when his lips had brushed against hers…
Well,thatshe hadn’t expected.
She also hadn’t expected her own body to react like it was—as if time were standing still and she’d forgotten how to breathe.
For several long seconds, they just stood there. Her cold lips on his warmer ones, their eyes wide open.
Then Theo gave the softest sigh, and Freddie felt her entire stomach explode. Like a thousand sparklers going off. And when Theo closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, she found herself doing the same. She didn’thear the audience cheering. She didn’t hear Mr. Binder shouting at them or her mom squealing.
It was just Theo. And her.
And god, heknewwhere to put his tongue. And his teeth. Why, it turned out the PG-13s hadn’t lied to Freddie at all, and if this was what kissing was supposed to be like, then she’d been missing out for two years.
It wasn’t until something smacked Freddie’s arm that she finally pulled away. She blinked, completely dazed, and found Mr. Binder standing there with a rolled-up script.
Behind him, the Fortin Prep kids were going wild. Standing ovations, wild applause, and a few cheers of “Woodchucks, Woodchucks!”
“That isquiteenough.” Mr. Binder flung a pointed finger to the backstage area. “Get off my stage, and please for the love of god, don’t kiss like that in the show.”
Heat erupted on Freddie’s face. Her chest too. And neck. Basically every organ inside her was awash with shame. Yet just because the kiss hadn’t gone according to plan (and just because her whole body was trembling and her lips were, for some inexplicable reason, craving more) didn’t mean she couldn’t salvage the situation.
She stepped away from Theo, resolutely avoiding his gaze, and with the cheekiest grin she could muster, she swooped a bow.
The Fortin students loved it. Oh, she might have gotten them arrested, but it would seem history could be forgotten in favor of some good old-fashioned hormones.
Her performance complete, Freddie fled the stage. Her mom was waiting for her beside the schoolhouse. “Whoareyou?” Mom asked, eyes bulging with delight. “And what did you do with my daughter?”
“Not now, Mom.” Freddie threw up a hand and marched toward a patch of maples, beyond which was the water mill. She needed silence. She needed solitude. She needednotto think about Theo Porter and the way he’d tasted.
Which had been like honey, and that made no sense at all. How could a boy possibly taste like honey? The PG-13s hadn’t said anything about that.
Freddie groaned, stomping past three scarecrows who all seemed to be laughing at her. She wouldnotthink about Theo. She wouldnotthink about that little sound he had made before deepening the kiss. She wouldnot think about the sounds thatshenow wanted to make remembering it all.
Freddie reached the stream that fed both the forge and the mill. It was even colder here than on stage, with burbling water to add a bone-deep chill. She scarcely noticed. She was boiling inside her skin.
