Page 18 of Kissing is the Easy Part
We watch the city in silence. Faint laughter drifts through the air in the distance. The night breeze is gentle as satin, whispering secrets as it stirs my hair. Sean sits down first, then tugs on my hand and pulls me down beside him. I sip my drink, eyes on the lights reflecting off the water around the bay. I smell the sea, and I also smell the pleasant scent of his skin. He reminds me of clean laundry and fresh air.
He catches my eyes, and his gaze falls on my lips before he turns away. “We’re so lucky with the weather.”
“Yeah, and you can kiss me already. Skip the small talk.”
“Oh, I have to. At least for five minutes. It’s common courtesy.”
I laugh.
“Seriously, though. I like talking to you.” He brushes my hair with his fingers. “You’re witty. Your sense of humor is the sexiest thing about you.”
I’m a girl who’s been called beautiful all her life. I’m used to getting daily reminders about how my nose is too flawless to be real, but here’s this perfect guy who sees beyond that, who thinks I’mwitty. A warm glow expands in me, and it’s not the caramel latte settling in my stomach.
My phone lights up with a message. “Josie wants to know how our date is going,” I say. “What should I tell her?”
“She texted me, too, when I was getting us coffee. I said it’s going really well.” He bumps his shoulder with mine lightly. “You better tell her the same thing to keep our stories straight, button.”
This guy. This guy totally made out with me, gave me a nickname, and now grins at me like we’re in on some inside joke together.
“I’m going to say it’s even better than I expected,” I say.
“She’s always telling me to get to know you.”
“Really?”Thank you, dear Josie.She claims she doesn’t want to play matchmaker, but she put in a good word for me after all.
“Yeah, she thinks you’re great. That day you offered to help create an image for her band? That was the highlight of her freshman year.”
Josie’s band is awesome, but they lacked something to connect the group visually. These days, it’s all about branding. Since they’re called Fishnets, I bought fishnet accessories for everyone—tights, long black gloves, scarves, and wraps—and threw in a crash course on basic makeup. Not that I didn’t have an ulterior motive.
“I have a confession to make,” I say. “This was two years ago. After I’d known Josie for a few weeks and felt the friendship was solid, I said something like, ‘Josie, you know how much I value your friendship, right? You’re a wonderful person and I’ll never regret this,’ and she’s like, ‘Are you breaking up with me?’ and I’m like, ‘I want you to know what we have is real.’
“I told her that I noticed her because she’s friends with you. But that was just in the very,verybeginning. I said to her, ‘Once I got to know you, I can’tnotbe your friend. And Mads adores you too.’ I threw in Madison to make this friendship more appetizing, although Mads would never say she adores anyone in a million years.”
Sean laughs. “I bet Josie took it well. She never said anything to me.”
“Yeah, she was superchill about it. She admitted she wanted a free makeup tutorial, too, in the beginning, so we’re even. And to be fair, I never bug her about you. Everything’s on a need-to-know basis.”
Some girls get a sense of pride when they give guys a boner, which I completely understand. I get my pride from seeing Sean laughing with his eyes bright. He pulls me close.
“I should’ve asked you out sooner,” he says. “You’re so interesting and easy to be around. I can listen to you talk for hours.”
If my life were a movie, this would be the part where I realize things can’t possibly go this smoothly. Something bad is bound to happen, otherwise how are they supposed to fill ninety more minutes?
But this is my life, so I snuggle against Sean’s jacket and savor the touch of his hand on my upper arm. And then we totally make out. I figure I’ve earned it.
* * *
After the Viewpoint date, the next two weeks fly by. Sean and I spend every spare second catching each other between classes and after school, and squeeze in as many kisses as possible. Each one makes it a little harder to let him go. We couldn’t hang out as much as I wanted since he has a packed schedule, but he made his best effort. When he wasn’t available, he sent the dorkiest texts to make up for it.
Exhibit A:
Sean:Here’s a biology fun fact: no two Holstein cows have the same spot patterns. They’re unique, like snowflakes and fingerprints
Sean:You’re my Holstein’s spot because you’re one and only
Swoon.
On the plus side, my parents are finally spending more time at home after their product launch, and Jeremy’s back for the weekend. This evening we’re all in the family room, a rare sight in the Morgan household. My parents are on the sectional with me, and my brother is hunched over his phone, tapping away.
