Page 16 of Ten Kisses

"I was going to say wrestling."

"Oh yeah, same guy. Wrestling and golf."

"Are you dating him?"

"No. We're just friends. He's helping me out, I'm helping him out."

"He's not cute," she said, staring straight ahead and shaking her head at me like she had me all figured out.

"No, he is. He's a stud, actually."

She made a face. "Married?"

"No."

"Too old?"

"No. He's a few years older than me, but no."

"What, then?" she asked, squinting.

"I don't know. Maybe he thinks he's too old. Plus, he's in love with a missionary."

"Oh, he's in love? Then he's married, basically. You should've just said he was married."

"He's not, though. I don't even know if they're going to end up together. He likes the idea of being this groom. I was talking to him about it the other day. It's about Christianity. He wants to be a good husband for someone who does all this work for God, gives her life to God and the church."

"Oh wow, he's a really hyper-Bible dude, huh? I see why you don't like him."

"No, he's not. And I’m not saying I don't like him. That's why he doesn't like me. First of all, he thinks I'm too young for him and second, he just wants that other girl. I asked him about her the last time we hung out, and he was talking about how much he respected her and how he wanted someone like that to raise his children. He was sweet about it. He wasn't trying to diss me. He thought we were just having an objective conversation. He doesn't see me that way."

"You're, like, the most Christian person I know. You're the only one who didn't get wasted that night when we all went out."

"I just didn't want to get—that definitely doesn't make me a—I am a Christian, but this girl is different than me. She's next level. I think she like, works directly for God. Salem likes that about her. I think it's the main thing he likes about her. I just make chocolates. That's my passion. It's not the same as someone like her. I don't think he respects chocolate the same way."

"W-what does he do? Carpentry?" She knew what he did, and she was asking to prove a point. "Are you interested in him?"

"No. I mean, we kissed so it's hard not to think of him that way, a little—"

"You kissed him?" she asked cutting me off and looking shocked.

"Yes. You would've too, if you had the opportunity. He's… really… hot? I never even use that word, but I couldn't think of anything else to describe… he is really good looking. He's a handsome guy. You're going to see that in a second. I'm sorry to put it bluntly. His face is good."

She laughed. "Me and you might have different taste. You kissed this guy, Molly? You skipped over that like it was nothing. I thought you said you were just friends."

"We are. But we also kiss sometimes. Not every time we hang out, but sometimes we do."

"That's so weird. Do you do that with other guys?"

"No, I've never randomly kissed a guy I wasn't dating, except for Salem. It's different with us, it's like this different dynamic where… I don't know what it is. It's innocent. He's innocent. It feels like we're fourteen, sneaking around at middle school."

"Does he kiss like a fourteen-year-old?" she asked, tilting her head at me, on the verge of being horrified.

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying… it's innocent."

"Maybe, but I still can't get over that he talks about another girl and then he kisses you."

"He doesn't. Definitely not when we're about to do that. We didn't kiss each other the last two times we hung out, and it was probably because I asked about her."

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