Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Our mouths open, our tongues clashing, our passion erupting. I know I can’t pull away now. He pushes me even harder against the wall, his stiff length leaving me with no confusion. It’s pressing against my belly, huge and hard. I rub against him, instinct telling me what to do, not experience. It just feels so right.
We jump away from each other when the doorbell rings. He takes several steps back, his lips red from the kissing, his eyes manic. It’s like he’s just woken from a nightmare.
“It’s Riley,” I say. “The nurse… Her shift is about to start.”
Kaleb swallows and nods. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something—sorry or let’s do it again—and then closes it quickly. Then he marches to the door and opens it. He doesn’t look at Riley as he speed-walks from the house like he can’t get away quickly enough.
“Is everything okay?” Riley asks, looking at me sideways.
I hope she can’t read the flush in my cheeks, the spark in my eyes, the guilt in my soul. Most of all, I hope she doesn’t question why I’m smiling like a dork. Smiling after what I just did, the complete betrayal of it.
“Fine,” I reply. “I think he’s stressed about work or something.”
She fiddles with her bandana, staring, making me wonder if she suspects something.
“What’s up with you?” Gwen says around forty minutes later, sitting on my computer chair.
I’m sitting on my bed, my legs stretched out in front of me, passion blazing like a fire has started inside of me, and nothing will put it out. “Nothing,” I reply.
“Is it the video?” Gwen asks.
I texted her about that soon after Kaleb left, mostly to distract myself from what feels like the really important news. The video feels meaningless when I can still feel Kaleb’s lips against mine.
“No,” I murmur. “It only has a few thousand views.”
“Well, something’s up,” Gwen replies. “Is it Paul?”
I shake my head, biting my lip for a moment. “Somebody sent a letter to the house. It was addressed to Kaleb. There was a naked photo inside, as well as an invitation from the woman basically saying she’d do anything Kaleb wanted.”
“What the hell?” Gwen narrows her eyes. “Why would they send that here? How would they even know he’s here?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he has a stalker.”
“Have you told him?”
I shake my head. “No. I should, shouldn’t I?”
“Yeah, for sure. If there’s some crazy lady on the hunt for him, he should probably know.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him the next time I see him.”
My voice catches when I say him. I can’t even acknowledge him without thinking about the kiss.
Gwen leans forward, curling a strand of her blond hair around her finger. It’s like we’re in high school again, discussing the crush. Gwen was on my team back then since we were both starry-eyed kids with silly dreams in our heads. As we got older, she advised me to let it go. It was reasonable advice. I can’t blame her for it.
“Okay, what is it?” she says. “I know when you’re hiding something.”
“You probably won’t believe me,” I tell her. “I don’t even believe it myself, honestly.”
“Lay it on me, and we’ll see,” she says.
I pause, wondering how to explain it. It was so sudden and yet felt completely natural at the same time. “Kaleb kissed me.”
Her mouth drops open in a comical way. It’s like she’s a cartoon character, and her jaw has detached. “What? When? How?”
I explain about us sitting on the couch together. “He sort of just… touched my leg. It’s like he couldn’t stop himself. A lot of it was unspoken. Then he pushed me against the wall. Again, it was like he was obsessed. The kiss was so hot. Obviously, I don’t have much to compare it to, but it felt so right.”
Gwen is on her feet, pacing. “This is huge. This is insane. This changes everything.”
“I still can’t believe it,” I say.
“Can’t believe it?” She throws her hands up. “It’s up there with vampires and ghosts.”
“Thanks,” I mutter.
“No, not like that.” Gwen pauses. “I don’t mean it’s crazy to think he’d want you. You’re nineteen now, so it’s not too weird, but that he’d do that with Paul in the house…”
“I did it too,” I tell her. “It’s not like I tried to fight it. I wanted it. I still want it. It felt so natural.”
“Of course it did,” she replies. “You’ve been waiting your entire life for this, but that’s what worries me.”
“Worries you?”
She sits down again, leaning forward. I know this look. It’s the same one she gave me when she finally told me she thought the crush was a bad idea. “This is everything to you, but who knows how he’s been living on the East Coast? Maybe that letter wasn’t from a stalker. Maybe it was from one of his girlfriends. I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you, but I don’t want to see you get hurt, either.”