Page 42 of XO

“You have?”

“It’s like black silk.”

“We match,” I say, referring to his own dark hair.

Leaning against Jacob’s shoulder, we both stare up at the night sky, brilliant stars twinkling above as our conversation turns to all the times we’ve initiated war against each other.

“Remember the time you sling-shot an egg into my bedroom?” I ask, smiling as I recall the incident.

He kisses my temple. “In my defense, I thought the window was closed. I didn’t expect it to explode on your math textbook.”

“I had to pay for that, too, just so you know. Eighty dollars to replace it.”

“What!”

“Yep. When I went to return it, Mrs. Hearn the librarian, said there was a rank smell. Which it did have, but I’d also tried covering the eggy smell with my Brittney Spears’ perfume.”

“How’d that work out for you?”

“Well, it didn’t. It simply made it worse.”

“I honestly did think your window was closed. But don’t forget, you are queen of retribution. You got me back good by filling my locker with ten trillion Styrofoam balls. I was still finding those asshole things two months later.”

I laugh, remembering his face as he angrily searched for mine, a cascade of snow-like balls endlessly pouring from his locker around his feet. As soon as someone opened the corridor double doors, they blew everywhere and stuck to everything. It was an inside snowstorm in the middle of summer.

Jacob tickles my waist causing me to squirm and plead for mercy. “Stop,” I beg. “I’ll fall off the tank.”

He pulls me closer against his chest until we’re cheek to cheek.

“What about the time when we both ended up with a weeks’ worth of after-school detention because you threw your chair at me in science?”

I laugh, partly amused by the flashback and appalled by the fact I’d acted in such a way, but Jacob had made me so uncontrollably mad. “Because you chased me with mice intestines when I refused to participate in the dissection.”

“You were so scared running around the lab. But I was fourteen, so, of course, I found it amusing. The more you freaked out, the more fuel you gave me to keep going.”

“You were an asshole.”

“I do acknowledge that that particular prank escalated… rather quickly.”

“I still can’t believe I killed Harold.”

Jacob erupts into laughter. “Oh shit, I forgot about Harold.”

I sit up and face him. “How could you forget that part of the story. It was all your fault. Do you know I’m still traumatized over that? If you hadn’t jumped out the way when I flung the chair, it would never have knocked Harold’s cage off the counter, and he’d still be alive being the happy guinea pig he was that morning.”

“You’re right,” Jacob falsely concedes. “I should have allowed that laboratory chair to hit me in the face and break my nose. I don’t know what I was thinking when I expertly dodged it.”

I still feel remorse for the little guy who’d simply been minding his own business eating his morning lettuce before he indirectly became the victim of my raging temper. For weeks I was inconsolable. I jab Jacob in the ribs. “You brought out the worst in me,” I say as his hands circle my hips.

His eyes hood with lust. “Well, how about I make up for it.” Guiding me over, I straddle his lap, our lips instantly making a connection, drawn together like magnets. Jacob kisses me passionately, and I return the desire feeling something inside of me yearning for more. His hands snake up my back, holding me close, my nipples rubbing against his chest and sparking a sensation I have yet to explore.

“I want you to be my first, Jacob,” I murmur against his needy lips.

“And I want to be your first, more than you know.” Jacob kisses me once more before gently cupping my face. “When the time is right and when you’re ready.”

I nod, feeling excitement brewing knowing Jacob has left the decision in my hands.

“What if I say tonight?” I question curiously, even though I’m not yet at that stage.

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