Page 197 of Collided

“How do you know she feels the same way about me?”

“It’s her—” The bell rings and Sebastian shakes his head in panic. “Oh shit. I have a class. I’ll tell you later.”

“Get your ass back here, Bash!”

He’s already jogging away from me just to piss me off.

I check the library and infirmary, but Hope is nowhere to be found. Eventually, I go to the Math class knowing she’ll be there.

The strangest thing happens. Hope skips the Math class.

Later, I wait for her at the cafeteria but she’s not there as well. Marie is missing too, meaning they’re together somewhere.

Heath: Where’s Hope?

Marie leaves me on read which annoys the fuck out of me.

Heath: Is she with you?

Heath: Will you just fucking tell me?

Heath: I need to talk to her.

Heath: Fine, don’t tell me. Just let me know if she’s okay or not.

Blondie: She’s okay.

I release a breath of relief that I didn’t even know I was holding in. Since the girls are missing, it’s only Sebastian and I like the old times. We talk about anything but Hope and the kiss. I prefer to steer clear of that topic until I’ve talked to her.

I’m pissed that she’s ignoring me. She kissed me back which means she’s into me.

Also, one kiss was all it took for her to turn me on. I’ve never been that hard in my life.

It took every bit of self-restraint to not kiss her until my lips went numb or I was drunk off her taste. I knew it would be too overwhelming for her and that’s the last thing I wanted. Still, I stole a small kiss at the end just to savor her sweet taste for later.

I’ve kissed girls at the underground before. But nothing compared to the one I had with the pretty book nerd on Friday night. It was special in ways I can’t understand or describe.

Her lips, her touch, and her taste are stitched on my skin.

Whenever I close my eyes I can imagine her. The touch of her lips still lingers on my own.

She’s marked me.

Because she’s all I can think about all the fucking time—and it’s driving me nuts—Kelly had to repeat the same thing three times because I was zoned out thinking about Hope.

I’m so fucking down for this girl. I can feel it in my bones.

She thinks books are where you escape. She should take a tour of my mind.

She’s the owner of my every fucking thought where I find escape.

She’s my escape.

After a long fucking day, the school day ends. Surprisingly, I’ve been attending all my classes lately, and don’t pick fights withanyone. I want to be good, someone who’s more than just his bad reputation and cold attitude—for her.

The parking lot is filled with guys and girls, and some of them turn and look at me. Several groups of girls are checking me out with their seductive smiles.

Not. Fucking. Interested.

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