Page 69 of The Last Kind of Kiss
All I do is nod.
Bristol wipes my damp undereye with his thumb, a soft smile embellishing his lips. “My beautiful girl.”
A hollow chuckle floats out of me. “I have snot all over my face.”
“And yet you’restillbeautiful,” he insists. “You’re the most beautiful girl to have ever walked this earth, Lila. And pretty much everyone knows that you’re out of my league.”
“Everyone?”
“The guys give me shit about it on a daily basis.”
A true laugh, born from deep within my belly, erupts. “I’m not out of your league, though I’m flattered you think so.”
Bristol nuzzles his nose into my neck, garnering some squeals from me. “Every time I see you, I’m astounded by how naturally stunning you are. You take my breath away, and you don’t even have to try. No makeup, light makeup, heavy makeup—none of it matters. Yoursoulis what’s truly beautiful. The outside is just an added bonus.”
I’ve never been told anything like that before. Sure, I’ve gotten compliments from people over my modeling pictures, butI never know if they really mean it. To hear that from someone so important to me…it really does change my perspective on things.
“You’re not too loud, and you’re not too emotional. You’reyou. Being loud and being emotional isn’t a bad thing. I fell in love with your very loud opinions—though they’re usually at my expense—and I fell in love with how big your heart is.”
Bristol pulls back so that he can caress the side of my tearstained face, and those callouses on his hands are not as rough as I remember them to be. “Not everyone’s going to like you, but the ones who matter will.”
He pauses, trying to work up the courage to finish his sentence, and his throat ripples with a nervous swallow. “I want to be your boyfriend. For real this time.”
Considering all my brain activity is offline right now, it takes me a second to compute Bristol’s words. “You—what?”
“I think I’m…I think I’m finally at a place in my life where I’m not tortured by Summit’s passing. I want the real thing with you, Lila. None of this fake dating crap. I want to have you in private and in public. I want to show you off. I want the world to know that I’m happily yours. I just wish it hadn’t taken me this long to realize it.”
Bristol wants the real thing? All I’ve ever wanted is the real thing with him, and now everything I’ve dreamed of is coming true. No more hiding. No more secrets. I want to start over. Withhim.
Honestly? I want to spend the rest of my life with him, but that’s a conversation for another day.
I don’t know what to say. And instead of boring him with some dumb, foot-in-the-mouth response, I answer him in the truest way possible. I lean forward, cradle his face in my hand, and press a gentle but passionate kiss to his lips. His mouthskates against mine in reverence, and he swallows up all my doubt and residual tears, endowing my lungs with fresh air. Air that’s no longer infested with a black, oppressive smog.
“I’d love to be your girlfriend, Bristol Brenner.”
23
THE BOYFRIEND SPECIAL
December 6th, Friday, 10:32 a.m.
LILA:Bristol, why did you add “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame to my preshoot playlist?
BRISTOL:I have no idea what you’re talking about.
LILA:That is NOT an emotionally empowering chick anthem.
BRISTOL:Have you heard the lyrics? Of course it is. I really do love the way your booty go.
LILA:I’m not trying to get “lit” before every photoshoot.
BRISTOL:Hey, I just wanted to remind you how sexy you are.
LILA:You make that very clear. You basically send me a message every day telling me how hot I am.
BRISTOL:It’s my job as your boyfriend to tell you. I even sent you my Lila photo album with all my favorite pictures of you.
LILA:Oh, I’ve seen it. You made the cover a picture of me in my unicorn onesie while I was inhaling my second plate of taquitos.
