Page 12 of Carter's #Undoing

She smiled. “I guess you’re right.”

After my parents left, we settled more comfortably into the couch and continued our normal conversation. Being around Serenity was usually like second nature for me, but tonight, something felt different.

I was fidgeting in my seat, and it seemed the more I tried to get comfortable, the closer she dipped into the couch toward me. I noticed her try to scoot back to her seat a couple times, but it was no use. Either we didn’t want to separate or we were drawn together more than usual.

“I almost forgot,” Serenity said. “Did you hear that your brother got caught kissing in the alley outside of Mack’s Wings a couple hours ago?”

“Who was he kissing?” I didn’t have to ask which brother because I knew it was Crayson. Anytime a brother of mine was doing something he shouldn’t have been doing, it was always Crayson.

“He was kissing Shelia, but last I heard on the walk over, Linc hadn’t found out about it yet.”

I shook my head because not only did my brother not know how to keep his mouth to himself, but Linc was one of Caden’s best friends. “All the girls in the county and my brother chooses to kiss Shelia.”

“I wasn’t surprised to hear it. Your brother likes every girl he sees,” Serenity said.

My ears perked up. “Has he ever made it seem like he likes you?”

She scrunched her nose. “Do you mean in a friend way? Or the like me, like me way?”

“Definitely the second one.”

She shook her head. “No, he hasn’t. Pretty sure I’m the only girl Crayson sees like a sister.”

Because he knows I’ll kill him if he touches you.“Good.”

“Right.” She searched my eyes. “Good.”

She didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t turn back to the TV either. I wasn’t sure if it was how soft her lips looked after she’d put on some cherry Chapstick, or if it was all the talk about kissing and Y2K that suddenly made me want to be bolder than I ever had before and finally make the move I’d been too nervous to make before this moment.

I’d thought about kissing Serenity more times than I could count, but we were friends. Best friends. And best friends didn’t kiss. Or at least, I didn’t think they did. My brain was getting fuzzy as the two of us continued to get closer to each other, neither of us seeming to have much control over the situation.

There were times throughout our friendship where Serenity and I would just sit in silence, and I never thought too much about it until Caden hung out with us one day and waited until we got home to tease me about all the times Serenity and I would stare at each other.

I remember he asked me how we were able to just look at each other without even speaking for so long, and I told him I hadn’t even noticed we did that. After that day, though, I paid attention to what Caden had said, and after hanging out with Serenity a few times, I realized he was right. Granted, we did a lot of talking and there wasn’t a sport we didn’t enjoy playing together, even if that only meant drawing in silence since Serenity loved to draw. But we also did a lot of staring and non-verbal communication. Like now …

“I want to ask you something,” I told her.

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Um.” I cleared my throat. “I don’t really know how to ask you.”

“Just ask me,” she encouraged.

I scooted closer to her on the couch, my heart beating out of my chest. “What if I ask you and you say no? What would happen to us?” I was talking in code, but it was Serenity. She knew my codes. Hell, she practically helped me create every one of them.

She smiled, gently touching my arm and sending a ripple of shocks through my body. “Carter, if you’re going to ask me what I think you’re going to ask, then the answer would be yes. And our friendship will be fine.”

“Good to know.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Serenity, is it okay if I kiss you?”

Her smile widened. “Yes, you can.”

Yes? She said yes?I almost jumped off the couch, but didn’t want to look like a lame. Instead, I settled for a non-committal, “Cool.”

I wasn’t even sure who leaned in first, but the next thing I knew, my lips were on hers, and I felt every hair on my body stand on full alert. It only lasted a few seconds, but man, were they an intense few seconds.

“Wow,” I whispered.

“That was my first kiss,” she admitted bashfully.

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