Page 67 of Tiny Fractures

I get up off the ground and slide into my mom’s car, then turn the key to the ignition. The engine immediately turns over, and I smile broadly when I get out of the car and go to meet Ronan. “You did it,” I exclaim. “Good job.”

He gives the hood a shove to lock it into place and turns to me. There’s a grease spot on his forearm and his hands are filthy, but his smile is bright and inviting. When I reach him, his smile falters and his gaze is intense as he wets his lips with his tongue.

“If you knew what effect you have on me…” Ronan says as he moves his lips closer to mine. His breath feathers against my skin, and my eyes shut of their own volition. I angle my chin up, wanting Ronan to caress my lips with his.

He meets my need when his soft lips touch mine, beckoning me for more. My lips part and his tongue enters my mouth, gently massaging my tongue. My hands find his chest and grab onto his shirt, pulling myself closer to him. He deepens the kiss, slowly tasting me. Heat flows through my body as I savor him, the tingling sensation pooling deep in my core, pressure beginning to build.

“Woah!” Vada’s voice tears through the moment like ice water.

I pull away from Ronan, who’s breathing shallowly, his hooded eyes resting on my lips a moment longer.

Vada stalks toward us, her mouth open, eyes wide. Her index finger is pointed at Ronan. “Oh. My. God! You two are totally making out!” she says, her voice pitchy and excited. “What’s going on?”

I have a feeling she already knows the answer to her own question.

“Are you guys, like, together?” She stands with hands on hips, eyeing Ronan, then me, a look of incredulity on her face.

I turn toward Ronan, blushing.

“Yeah,” Ronan says to Vada, but he’s looking at me, his eyes soft.

“Holy shit! How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell anyone?” she asks, her voice a mixture of excitement and accusation.

Ronan shrugs. “Have you ever had a dream that was so damn good, you wanted to keep it all to yourself?”

A wide smile makes its way across my face.

“Well, yeah, but those were usually dirty dreams.” Vada grins, then hops up and down, clapping her hands, obviously happy that her mission has been accomplished. Though I’m not sure really how much she had to do with it, other than that she was why Ronan and I met.

“Ah,” Vada squeals as I gently wrap my arms around Ronan’s waist and lean into him. His greasy hands are still by his side, not wanting to dirty my clothes. “I’m so excited right now! Does anyone else know? Ran, I’m gonna kill your brother if he knew and didn’t tell me.”

Ronan shakes his head. “I haven’t told anyone.”

“Me neither,” I say, and he smiles at me. “But I guess the cat is out of the bag now.” I shrug against Ronan. “No pun intended.”

The three of us make our way into the house, where Ronan disappears in the bathroom to scrub his hands. Vada and I wander into my room, where I lounge on my bed while Vada sits facing me.

“For real, how long has this been going on between you and Ran?”

I feel a little guilty not having shared something so big with her before now. “Since the night I kissed him at Murphy’s,” I admit sheepishly, and tell her what really happened when Ronan stumbled upon my house in the middle of the night while Vada was spending the night with Steve.

“Oh my god!” she exclaims. “I knew it! I knew he looked happy when he got home that night, but he didn’t say shit. And this whole week while you were gone, he didn’t give anything away. But I knew something was up.” Vada is on her feet now, pacing in my room as she puts two and two together, connects the little dots. “And I asked him yesterday who he was talking to on the phone, if he was talking to a girl, and he was totally evasive. And here I was just laying into him about how I thought he should ask you out. Everyone agreed with me, too!” She smacks her hand against her forehead. “Well, almost everyone. Cheyenne will not be amused, but whatever.”

“I know,” I say. “When we hung out at Shane’s on Ronan’s birthday, she told me not to get involved with Ronan because he would leave me high and dry.”

Vada lets out a huff while shaking her head. “I told you, she’s had a thing for Ran for a while. But don’t let that get between you and Ran.”

“I’m not. I just don’t want things to be weird with her since we hang out so much.” And I certainly don’t want a repeat of what happened in North Carolina, where people picked sides and I ended up getting the short end of the stick.

“What’s weird?” Ronan steps into my room and looks around.

I sit up on my bed, very aware that he hasn’t been in my bedroom, and I feel weirdly self-conscious.

“Nothing.” Vada stops pacing. “Cheyenne is just being difficult, but I told Kitty Cat not to let it affect”—Vada forms a heart with her hands—“what’s going on with you two.” She winks and grins at Ronan.

He chuckles as he walks over to my bed and sits down, then finally pulls me toward him.

Vada looks at us for a moment and smiles. “I’m gonna give you two some space. Steve and I are heading to a movie tonight. Oh, and Ran, your brother is staying over at my house again.”

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