Page 48 of Breaker

She laughs as I butcher the last word and swipes her cheeks. “Just feeling sad. I was thinking about my mother.”

I step in close, raising my hand to touch her, but hesitate. Nanny used to rub my back as a boy when I’d cry, so I place my hand between her shoulder blades and rub in circles.

She gives me a watery smile, scooting in closer. “Do you miss your mother?”

I stiffen and drop my hand. We don’t talk about the school. No one does. We come to the village, gather supplies, everyone smiles and treats us well, then we leave. No one asks questions.

I overheard Reaper telling Hunter that Fallon paid to fix the old roads and the metal roofs on the big buildings and that’s why no one bothers to ask what he’s doing with us all up at the old prison. Hush money, he said. Like in those spy books Teacher reads.

“I’m sorry,” Sasha says and backs away. “I know better than to ask.”

“It’s okay.” My hand feels empty, now. I liked touching her. A lot. So, I do it again. This time I move my hand lower to the center of her back and make little circles. She bites her lip, and my insides heat and get jittery like I gulped down that nasty black coffee Cook drinks.

“You don’t look like anyone around here,” she whispers. “I really like your eyes.”

My insides turn electric, jolts of heat making my body spark. I’m taller than her, and she’s somehow moved so our bodies are pressed together. Her front to my front. My hand on her back. Her hands are now on my chest.

Now, one small hand with delicate fingers is moving higher toward my mouth.

“And these.” Her thumb presses to my bottom lip and I’m suddenly aware that my arm is around her and I’m still rubbing her back. Something earthy and clean invades my nose. Like right after it rains, but delicate and a little sweet.

I’ve never been this close to a girl besides Nanny. And I’m starting to wonder why.

“Is your hair dark?” she asks moving even closer, and then runs a hand over my scalp.

Shit.

Sasha’s eyes dart to mine. I attempt to back away so she can’t feel how much I like her this close but she stops me.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, pink lips pulling into a smile. That pretty smile she gives me when she says a word wrong, like she’s a little embarrassed. “I like you too.”

I lick my lips, because yeah, I like her a lot and she’s finding out how much since she’s pressed up against me.

“Have you ever kissed anyone?” she asks.

I’m about to tell her that I’ve kissed her cheek and Nanny’s, but that sounds pathetic. Admitting I’ve never kissed anyone sounds worse, so I say nothing.

When I don’t answer, she rises to her tip toes and her lips brush mine.

I must have decided at some point I was going to kiss her, because now we are. I’ve seen enough movies, those dirty movies Hunter found in Cooks room, and flipped through enough of those magazines Hunter stole from that run down store where we get gas, that I know what kissing should look like.

What it feels like is different. She’s soft and tastes like lemons and mints. Now that I have tasted her mouth, I don’t want to stop. She’s sweet and tangy. And her body is moving against mine, hands all over and then downward to—

“Oh shit,” I gasp. With a guilty glance I look back to the open door of the stockroom but close my eyes when her touch becomes too much.

“Do you like that?” she asks softly. Breathing is suddenly really difficult. I nod. “Let me see.”

Another glance over my shoulder, my body buzzing for several different reasons. “Right here? Now?”

She giggles. Then cool hair hits my skin.

“Wow,” she says looking down between us.

My throat starts to feel tight. Not in that way like it does with anticipation, but in a way that feels like I’m swallowing stones.

“Do you know what girls like?” she asks, moving away. My hand drops as I watch her sit down and lift her dress up.

My heart thunders but I’m frozen in place, something weird in my stomach making it difficult to move or breathe, much less think.

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