Page 9 of Forget Me Not

When I’ve turned down the fourth consecutive hall lined with floor to ceiling lockers, I start to slow down. I’m about to whine out loud, for satisfaction purposes only, when a guy cuts in front of me, bringing me to an instant stop. I have big plans to tell him to shove off, until I look up.

Angels are singing.

Sparkling rays of sunshine intertwine with glittering streaks of rainbow.

All the world has disappeared. Or, at least it will, if I don’t inhale, like now.

“Hey.” Bright pearly whites flash me with a smile so hot I can feel my insides melting.

“Uh-huh.” I clear my throat, as if I have real words stored up and on hand to use. I don’t. And the pounding in my chest is making it impossible to hear my own thoughts, provided I’m having any of those. I feel so lightheaded right now, brain activity of any kind may be impossible until further notice.

He tilts his head to the side, his broad shoulders leaning in toward me ever so slightly and his wavy blond hair is suddenly very much in my reach. I don’t know why I notice this other than I have an inexplicable need to touch it. To run my fingers through it, down to the back of his head. To pull him closer.

“You’re new,” he says, stating the obvious. I don’t care though because his voice is velvety smooth.

“Hm.” Another friggin sound. I pry my eyes away from him. I’m not going down like this. No way. Not today. Doing my best to make stalling look like lack of enthusiasm, I finally reconnect with my inner rebel and quip, “Are you sure? Maybe the years of avoiding you have simply caught up with me.”

He laughs. It’s a great laugh. A whole body laugh, causing him to step into my space even more. Now I can smell him on top of everything else and he smells delicious. I am so screwed.

“Trust me, no amount of effort on your part could have kept you hidden from me for the last three and a half years.” Charm. I can’t take it.

“Is that so?” I place one hand on my hip and jut it out in one last ditch effort to seem aloof and unimpressed. I’m neither. I’m pretty sure he’s aware.

“That smile and those eyes?” Most definitely.

“I haven’t smiled yet.” Haven’t been able to feel my face long enough to do much of anything outside of staring.

“Sure you have. The whole time I watched you wander down this hall, you were smiling.”

I was? Hard to believe, considering how frustrated I was. But more importantly, “You were watching me?”

“Hard not to.” He grins broadly, a sort of excitement dancing in his gorgeous eyes. “Would have said hi to you sooner, but it took me a minute to remember words. And how to walk. Almost like you put a spell on me or something.”

“Oh, please,” I roll my eyes. But I’m smiling. Definitely smiling now.

“I’m serious. When I did figure out how to put one foot in front of the other again, I did it with such limited grace I ran over three freshmen on my way to get to you. Had to stop and pick them up, then apologize. Then, hand one of them some cash for lunch since I smashed his in the collision. You are a serious safety hazard to these halls and you don’t even know it.”

“Apparently only when you’re around. Pretty sure I made it through the last four periods without incident.”

He bites his lip. I want to bite his lip. “Guess I’m special then.”

“Guess so.” I didn’t mean to say that.Dammit.

He dips his head again, raising one brow and going full on puppy-dog eyes. “Maybe I’m even special enough to sit with you at lunch?” Oh, my GOD, could he be any cuter?!

“It depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether or not we make it to the cafeteria before lunch is over.”

He takes my hand, catching me completely off guard, then starts tugging it to follow him. I do, surprising myself for the second time in the last ten seconds. “Who said we were eating in the cafeteria?” He winks. I don’t know where he’s taking me and I don’t care. The moment my palm met his I had the distinct feeling I’d follow this boy just about anywhere he asked.

CHAPTER SIX

“Mags?” I ask, bouncing back and forth between my heels and the balls of my feet. “You ever been in love?” As soon as I say it I feel dumb. I can’t imagine Mags getting all moony over anyone. Ever.

She drops the green bean she just snapped and drapes her wrists over the rim of her large bowl, glaring at me with a semi-annoyed smirk on her face. “You really want to talk about me? Or would you rather talk about whoever it is making you so particularly unbearable this afternoon?”

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