Page 53 of Crazy for this Girl

“Have you done this before?”

“No,” he sharply fumes. “Geezus, keep the stereotypical jock crap down.”

“This is bad karma, Cal. I don’t want that going into my senior year.”

He exhales loudly as if I’m being unreasonable with a simple thing. “I’ll fight it off for you.”

“Oh, really?” I prop my hands on my hips. “How will you do that? You can’t even double knot a shoe.”

“I choose not to double tie my shoes. Big difference.”

“Cal!” Hallie’s voice shouts from the direction of the docks from where I left, and I start to have a mini freakout.

Cal and I just stare at each other, and I’m not sure I can pull something like this off. It’s wrong, and it’s a mild fantasy that I’ve thought of, and... no.

“Well?” he presses a little more urgently. “You wanna do your best friend a solid?”

“No—”

“I’ll owe you, and it’s not going to change anything.” He shuffles his hand between us. “You’re still always going to be my best friend.”

I don’t answer.

I can’t.

Because everything is going to change for me.

“We can act like it never happened.”

Right...

“Would you do this for me?” I ask. “Because what you’re asking me to do…this is so messed up.”

“I’d do anything for you,” he says without hesitation. “You know that. Nothing ever happened with us in the next ten seconds.”

“It never happened,” I repeat more so for myself, fidgeting nervously with my fingers.

He erases the rest of the space between us, and I can’t move.

I can’t breathe.

This can’t be happening like this...I mean...it is, but I’m about to kiss my crush, and what if I completely suck at this?

What if he throws up?

“Right,” he whispers, his intoxicating scent filling my nostrils and causing goosebumps to run up my arms. “Ready?” I bob my head, but no words still want to leave my throat. “Nothing...will ever change with me and you. I promise you on my life, okay?”

“Okay,” I whisper as Hallie’s voice becomes louder, alluding that she’s still on the search for us now.

His large hand suddenly sears into my left hip as he sluggishly lowers his head. His greens latch easily onto mine as if to silently tell me again what he just said before falling to my lips.

“Kiss me like you mean it, Laynee.” And before I can overthink this all over again, his lips press into mine, causing an explosion of butterflies to take flight in my stomach.

I, Laynee Reese, am kissing my best friend, Cal Harper.

His mouth immediately moves, owning my bottom lip almost needily as he lapses it over and over again. Moving his head to the other side to take our kiss deeper as I allow him to take the lead while everything in me malfunctions.

He pulls me closer, cupping the side of my face with his other hand and coaxing my lips to open wider for him. To give up this vendetta of fighting what I feel and giving him what he may already know.

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