Page 8 of The Kissing Challenge

Captain:Hey Anne, are you okay?

Captain:I think we should talk.

Captain:What was all that about?

Ugh. I could only imagine what Captain was thinking. First, I kissed him—and it was good. Oh so very good. And then, without any explanation, I ran like there were angry bulls chasing me. Why, you ask? Because I was scared to find out what he'd thought of the kiss, what it meant to him.

On the other hand, I couldn't stop wondering what was going on in his mind.

Sometimes I frustrated myself to no end.

It was Monday, and I'd hunkered down in the library to continue my avoidance of my best friend. I'd been dodging him all weekend and today at school—which wasn't too hard since he was a year older, but still. If Captain wanted to find me, I knew he would. Until then, I'd lay low. The library was my haven, and the awesome thing was, the books never judged.

Gemma had found me not twenty minutes ago.

"Oh my," she said, fanning herself as she watched the video. "That kiss was fire. I've already replayed it like five times."

"I know." I sighed.

The video was pretty freaking addictive.

"Why haven't you posted it yet?" she asked as she watched again.

I gave a shrug. It wasn't like I was ashamed. Actually, I hadn't posted because the more I watched the video, the more personal it felt. The memory of that kiss, the way Captain's lips had moved with mine, how it was our first and probably last kiss ever, everything about the moment was intimate. I'd been inspired by the challenge, but now, I kind of wanted to keep the kiss for just Captain and me. I didn't know if I could explain that to Gemma.

"It just feels personal," I said. "Plus, I kind of chickened out on posting. You know how it goes."

That was the other reason. Social media could be a terrible thing. I didn't want anyone's crappy commentary on our kiss. It was pure and completely ours.

"Well, are you over that yet? Because this is beautiful."

"I'm not sure I'll ever post," I said.

"Oh don't be scared, Anne."

"How can I not be? It's Captain, for goodness sake. I kissed him, Gemma. Iactuallykissed him. And then, I ran for the hills."

She scrunched up her face. "Yeah, I guess you could've handled the aftermath better. But so what? You did it! Now, all you have to do is share the results."

"But don't you get it? My well of courage has run dry." I laughed, holding out my hands. "I've got nothing left."

"Lucky for you," Gemma said, "I do."

The twinkle in her eyes made me nervous.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I decided to help you out," she said and handed me back my phone. "All I had to do was push a button. You can thank me later."

"Wha—Gemma! Oh my gosh, tell me you didn't!"

The librarian shot me a stern look to which I nodded a quick apology for my outburst. But come on! It'd been completely warranted. My eyes shot back to my phone. Without my knowledge, Gemma had pulled up my account and posted the video.

Not only that, she'd done way more than "push a button." She'd cut the video down to a minute, even added in some text and background music.

"When did you have time to do this?" I asked.

"Just now," she said as if it was no big deal. "While you were stressing. You're welcome."

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