Page 159 of One More Kiss

“Hey!” I greeted as I walked up to Tori.

She was standing alone near the wall opposite of where my friends stood. It made me wonder if she always hung out right here, or just started to because of us.

I grinned and slipped her hand through mine. “You’re coming with me.”

“Hey, yourself. Where are we going?” Tori asked, giggling.

She seemed happy that I took charge and whisked her away from her spot.

“My group,” I responded, “I don’t want a beautiful girl like you standing all alone without anyone to talk to. So, you can hang with us.”

She clucked her tongue, eyes serious. The laughter seemed to melt away. “I’m totally fine hanging out by myself. I do it all the time. You don’t have to take pity on me.”

I knew right away she hated for someone to pity her, but I didn’t. I was just selfish and wanted to hang out with her.

“No. No. That’s not what I meant,” I quickly replied, “I want to hang out with you. I don’t pity you. I think you’re awesome and want my friends to get to know you too.”

And there went that blush again. She didn’t respond to my statement, but reluctantly followed me to the spot where Trey and the others stood. They seemed to be gawking at us. I figured they were wondering what I was doing with someone who seemed so poorly dressed. It wasn’t like I never had a girlfriend before, but by the looks of things, Tori didn’t seem like the girl I would normally go for. What my friends didn’t know was that she hid her beauty, mostly behind her oversized clothes and long hair. She didn’t deserve to be left out. She deserved to be part of the crowd, laughing and joking like the rest of us.

“So, is anyone else going to the upcoming Homecoming dance?” I asked, trying to create conversation.

Shelley said, “You know we’re going. I know a few people that are going too, but did you hear about Trisha? Apparently, her boyfriend broke up with her and now she doesn’t want to attend.”

Dax answered, “I heard she missed a lot of school because of the breakup.”

“Yeah. That seemed sad. Especially considering they’ve been together our entire high school duration,” Shelley said as she looked at Dax.

I knew who they were talking about, but I wasn’t curious at all. What I was nosy about was watching Tori in this element. She seemed genuinely interested in what my friends had to say. She even shook her head as Shelley was speaking as if to indicate she had no clue what was going on. Gosh, Tori was by far the best catch.

The bell rang implying classes were starting. I opted to walk Tori to her class once again. It seemed natural, her and I walking side by side.

Tori cleared her throat before saying, “I talked to my parents. They said they don’t mind you visiting as long as I clean my room. Don’t worry. My room’s never dirty. That’s just something they always say.”

Her fingers were clenched together as if she were nervous to tell me about their decision. “Good. I’m hoping I see you for lunch, but if not, I’ll see you after school.”

We parted ways, but I couldn’t help but grasp her hand and squeeze it before backing away and going to my class. Every time we were together it seemed I always wanted to touch her. I had a habit of gravitating toward her and couldn’t place why, other than my feelings.

I walked to my class with the biggest grin on my face knowing I was going to see Tori again, soon.

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