Page 46 of You Float My Boat

‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘Can I have my books back now?’ she asked, her tone filled with amusement.

I placed them gently into her outstretched arms. I don’t know what came over me – maybe it was Gordon, maybe it was the lack of sleep – but this moment, I’d decided, constituted an appropriate kissing moment. I leaned in as she gripped onto her books, and softly pressed my lips against hers. She stilled against me, and I couldn’t stop myself from breathing her in, not even a little bit.

It seemed I had absolutely no self-control this morning, though I did manage to keep my tongue to myself which I was counting as a win.

She moved back with a smile, ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘See you later. Bye Gordon.’

‘Bye Violet.’ Gordon waved, and we watched her walk towards the revolving doors. ‘Can we go now?’

‘Sure,’ I replied, though my eyes stayed trained on the girl in the green coat until she’d totally disappeared from sight. Now we could go. I turned to him with a sigh, patting his shoulder. ‘Lead the way, my friend.’

He was silent for a second as we walked off, then, ‘I like Violet, she seems very nice.’

‘Me too, mate. Me too.’

9. Violet:

(Every day’s a school day. Or, Charlie Masterson learns something new)

Charlie:

Did you know Shakespeare wrote 39 plays?

Violet:

I did.

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