Page 24 of Finding Delaware

“You run track and field, dude. This is easy for you. My legs feel like jello.”

He only grins, punching me in the shoulder before jogging ahead, leaving me in the dust.

Whatever. I’m walking the rest of the way. I’ll take the point. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve gotten lunch detention, anyway, plus it’s not so bad. They make you eat in a room beside the tortoise enclosure, and I get to watch the turtles move around. Not a punishment if you ask me. They’re cute,with little heads and tails that wiggle like a puppy’s, which is kind of interesting—

“Hey.”

A shadow blocks the sun, dragging me out of my thoughts, and my stomach does some weird, somersault thing when I see Huckslee walking next to me.

“Oh, hey, Huck.” He’s new this year; I guess his parents homeschooled him until now. And he also rides dirt bikes, so we’ve been hanging out more. We also have two other classes, but he’s usually with his friend Logan.

“You tired?” He eyes me sideways, curls a mess around his face, and I have to clench my fists to keep from reaching out to touch them. Honestly, it’s a problem how much I want to do that. It’s wrong. Boys don’t touch other boys’ hair.

“Yeah, man, I hate that they make us do this. The only time I’ll ever be running is if someone’s chasing me.”

He snorts before looking behind him, checking for the teacher. “You need to take a break.”

Yeah, right.

“I wish.”

We walk silently before he lightly touches my arm, drawing us to a halt.

“Let’s sneak under the bleachers, Tay.” He jerks his chin to where they sit a few yards away, and I widen my eyes at him.

“Hell, no. I heard they found a cougar under there last week.”

“Aw, are you scared? Need me to hold your hand?”

I open my mouth to swear at him, but then his palm drifts down my arm, and his fingers curl around mine, suddenly making ithard to breathe.

“Come on.”

Next thing I know, I’m being tugged off the field toward the bleachers quickly, and he doesn’t drop my hand when we climb under them. Neither do I, for some reason. Though I should, I really should. My dad would flip if he saw this.

“Well, no cougars.” Huck turns toward me with a grin, dark eyes glittering, and I can’t look away from him. We’ve never been alone before, usually surrounded by friends or peers, but here it’s quiet. Dark. Close.

His gaze drops to where I’m biting my lip, and the fingers holding mine flex. “So, I saw you hanging with Salem Vaughn in homeroom.”

“Uh, yeah,” I swallow hard, finally tearing my gaze away. “She’s cool. Hot, too.”

He shrugs in response, shoulders dropping slightly, but when he goes to pull his hand from mine, I tighten my hold, not ready to let go.

“She’s not really my type.”

“Oh, yeah?” I lick my lips, mouth going dry when his eyes track the movement. “What’s your type then?”

My heartbeat thumps wildly when he steps closer, backing me against a metal beam.

“Not Salem, that’s for sure.”

“Then what?”

There’s something in his eyes that I don’t understand as he dips his head, breath brushing over my ear. “Can I tell you a secret?”

In the back of my head, I hear my father’s voice telling me to say no and back away, but my mouth responds before I can stop it.

“Yes.”

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