Page 83 of Through My Window
I look at the ceiling again. “Well, that night he told me, and he . . . kissed me.”
“Ohhh!” Dani sits up abruptly. “I didn’t expect that! How was it? Did you like it? Did you kiss him back? Did he use tongue? What did you feel? Details, Raquel, details!”
I roll my eyes, sitting up as well. “It was . . . good.”
Dani raises an eyebrow.
“Well? That’s it?”
“What do you want me to tell you? He . . . he’s always been there and I had come to feel things for him in a platonic way. I never expected him to like me. Kissing him was nice, but it was . . . unreal. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You liked it, but it wasn’t as mind-blowing as when you kiss Ares.”
“It was different.”
“You’re lost, Raquel. You are so in love with Ares.”
I lower my head, unable to deny it. Dani puts her arm around my shoulders to give me a side hug.
“It’s okay. I know it’s scary to feel so much for someone, but it’s going to be okay.”
“I don’t know what to say to Yoshi.”
“The truth. Tell him that you’re not ready to try anything with anyone right now. You have feelings for someone else, and they may not be reciprocated, but that doesn’t mean you can suddenly stop feeling. Tell him you don’t want to use him.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed him back.”
“And I shouldn’t have eaten that hamburger so late, but we all make mistakes.”
I burst out laughing, pulling away from her.
“Did you eat a hamburger without me?” I ask. Her phone rings with a message. She excitedly checks it, and a goofy smile fills her lips. “Okay, that smile is suspicious.”
She clears her throat. “Of course not.”
“Who are you talking to?”
She puts her phone, with the screen facing down, in her lap.
“Just a friend.”
I wrestle with her and snatch the cell phone out of her hands. I try to read the messages, but she attacks me, so I run out of the room. Barefoot, I run down the hallway and almost crash into Dean. He’s still in his school uniform.
“Raquel, what—”
“Dean! Stop her!” I hear Dani’s voice far down the hall. I run even faster toward the stairs. As I reach the top, I stop so abruptly that I almost fall forward.
Ares.
He’s just as surprised to see me. Like Dean, he’s wearing his black school uniform.
React, Raquel.
I regain my composure and give him a friendly smile.
“Hello.”
He smiles back at me, but it’s not just friendly, it’s that charming smile he has. “Hello, Witch.”
