Page 21 of Between Never and Forever
“You stole my bike so I could ride the bus with you?”
My heart races a bit, and my stomach flips when she rolls her eyes, and her cheeks turn pink with a blush.
“Shut it,Leviticus.”
I swallow a laugh, but I can’t tame my smile. When she sees it, she smiles too, and our eyes lock. The moment stretches in the darkness, our faces lit up by the moon and stars and the neighbor’s outside porch light.
And then it really hits me.
I’ll never see her again.
This is the last time I will ever see Savannah, and suddenly, I want to cry.
“You could come with me,” she says quickly, her voice cracking.
For a few seconds, I consider it. Iwantit. I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything. But then the questions flood my brain, the reality of it all, and I shake my head no. She jerks a nod.
“Okay. Well...”
She lifts her hand to wave, her mouth in a forced, tight smile, and my body moves on impulse. I take two steps to close the distance, place my hands on her shoulders, tilt my head downward, and put my lips on hers.
They’re soft and warm, and my skin erupts in tiny goosebumps. I feel her breathe out through her nose, tickling my upper lip, and I realize that I’m kissing Savannah Shaw. And she’s kissing me back.
For a split second, anyway.
Until she shoves me backward and slugs me in the shoulder.
“Ouch,” I say with a grunt, gripping my shoulder and rubbing at the sting.
“What the hell was that?” Her hand is pressed to her mouth and her eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen them. “You just kissed me?”
I open my mouth to say something, and then close it. I shake my head a bit to clear the fuzz. I just kissed Savannah.
"Yeah,” is all I say.
“What the hell for?”
I shrug and decide to go with honesty.
“You’re leaving. I’ll never see you again. I wanted to know what it felt like. I...Well, I guess I wanted you to be my first one.”
She stares at me for a minute, eyebrows slanted, and my cheeks heat under her scrutiny. I start to feel bad. I start to regret it, even though I don’t want to, and then she smiles.
“Oh,” she says. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to ask first?”
I shake my head slowly. I didn’t know that.
“Well, go ahead.” She takes a step toward me. “Try again.”
I narrow my eyes with suspicion.
“Trywhatagain?”
She huffs and puts her hands on her hips.
“The kiss,Leviticus. Do it the right way. If we’re gonna be each other’s firsts, we might as well do it right.”
“That’s not my name,” I mumble on instinct, but I’m already taking the last step toward her, so we’re just a few inches apart. I take a deep breath and square my shoulders.
