Page 63 of Snap Shot

“Got a D on my math test.”

“Ouch.” I swallowed. A gooey hazelnut and white bread mixture stuck to the roof of my mouth. “Your mom is gonna kill you.”

His head hung to his chest.

“Well, it's been nice knowing you. R.I.P.”

“How ironic. A D. D for dumb as a doorknob.”

“You're not dumb, Radek. Not for that, anyway—” Another chunk of sandwich found itself in between my teeth.Very nice. Kick the guy while he's down.

Ignoring my sad attempt to make him feel better, he continued, shaking his head. “D for dysfunctional. D for divorce.”

“What?” I lodged the too-ambitious, mostly chewed glob in the pocket of my cheek.

“My parents. They're getting divorced.” Landon's blank stare at the musty carpet was worrisome, his expression an unusual rain cloud for an otherwise sunny person. “They like each other but they're not ‘in love anymore.’” Air quotes emphasized what I guessed was his parents' explanation. “Whatever the fuck that means.”

I hadn't the faintest clue what it meant either. My parents were disgustingly in love and didn't hide it.Focus, Indi. Give him condolences or something. No! That's for funerals.

“How do you stop loving someone?” A sigh crept from his pursed lips as he closed his eyes and clasped his hands between his knees. Another question I had no idea how to respond to. His stoic expression remained for the next few placid moments. “You won't tell anyone, hey?”

My head shook left and right, unable to form words. It was a little due to the shock of the news, but mostly because I suddenly had a fear of choking on a Nutella sandwich in front of my biggest crush while he spilled his family secrets.

“Dad came out.” Landon sniffled. Both of those darkened blue eyes dropped a single tear, their trails streaking down his sweet face. “I thought they were best friends.”

A normal friend would have hugged him, or at least patted his shoulder or something, but the faintest thought of our bodies touching made my tween hormones rage so hard I practically felt my period start. Never having seen a boy weep before, I sat stupefied, incapable of doing anything appropriate for the situation.

Landon sniffled again and wiped his face with the sleeve of his gray hoodie.

My gaze dropped to the food in hand. “Want my sandwich?” I tilted it toward him.

His face broke out into a lopsided smile.

“I only took a couple bites.”

Landon chuckled.Worth it.One of his eyebrows perked. That lopsided smile reached his eyes as their concern and gratefulness reached mine. “What about you?”

“I already ate the first one. This was my second.” I dug a hand into my duffle and retrieved a round Pyrex filled with orange slices. “And I have these, too.”

He swiped the sandwich. “Thanks, Indi.”

Nothing more was said. When his sister pulled up and yelled for him, he gave her the middle finger, then turned to me with a wave goodbye.

“You gave me your Nutella sandwich.”

I facepalm with a groan. “I'm terrible at comforting.”

“No, you're not. It was one of the best days during one of the worst weeks of my life.”

His next words warble as I doze off mid-conversation. Whoops. Something in my gut tells me I should've been paying attention, but sleep takes me under.

I loll awake in the middle of the night to find his arm breaching the barricade of pillows from underneath. A sneaky maneuver. The pads of his fingers rest in the palm that used to be tucked under my cheek. A subconscious twitch introduces them to the gaps between my fingers, not daring to pass through. I expect my pulse to climb and goosebumps to sprout against my skin, but the contact is warm and uncontrived. Safe. I let it be. I've already given him a few pieces and Landon can have this piece of me, too.

When I wake next, the pillows smell of Landon. I inhale them, slow and deep. Their cool, fluffy quality has gone heated and firm. My fingers brush over smooth, shifting ridges. A low, approving noise hums from them.

Wait a minute.

I gasp with embarrassed surprise for spooning Landon Radek while we were both passed out. Panic replaces any sense of security, raising my pulse to unhealthy rates. I attempt to remove myself.

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