Page 40 of Every Hidden Truth

He captured my jaw before I could curse at him again, and he squished my cheeks until I made fish lips. “I’ll pick you up, but you have to dress nice.” Apparently, my nonchalant head wiggle wasn’t good enough, and I whined when he squeezed my cheeks harder. “Silas?”

“Fine.” The word was garbled, barely escaping my squashed lips. I batted his hand away, rubbing my cheeks, and he laughed. “I’m not wearing a fucking tie. And I don’t dance.”

“Kim says you’re a great dancer.” He gulped his Gatorade, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“Yeah, Drunk Silas might be a good dancer, but this is Sober Silas and Sober Silas doesn’t dance.”

He mulled over my words, worrying the inside of his cheek. “Maybe. But I bet I can convince you.”

“Cocky.”

This time, his smile was arrogant as well as adorable. “Confident.”

12

Penetrative Sexual Intercourse

After school, Ben leftme at my truck to go to practice, but not before shoving me against the metal body and kissing me breathless. Our tongues parried until my lungs cried out for oxygen. I pulled away to suck in air as he panted against my neck. Condensation billowed from my lips as I rolled a piece of spearmint gum around my tongue.

His head rose, eyes narrowing. “Did you steal my gum?”

I held the gum between my front teeth for a moment before slurping it back into my mouth. “Maybe. Why? Did you want it back?”

Shaking his head, he grimaced. “I can’t decide if that’s sexy or gross.”

“That’s where I aim to be. Right in the middle of sexy and gross.”

He laughed. “Maybe aim higher.”

I waggled my brows and rose onto my toes to peck his lips. “See you after practice?”

“Yeah, I can bring dinner,” he offered.

I nodded enthusiastically. “Okay.”

After a parting kiss, he smiled sweetly and headed back to the school building. I waved, my heart pitter-pattering as I leaned on Mabel for support. My knees shook, and I scrubbed my face with my palm. I’d never had a guy make me weak-kneed before.

I drove home, ignoring my chirping phone as I navigated the slick streets.

Once I’d safely parked in my driveway, I opened my text messages, hesitating over an unknown contact.

The message was only one word.Test.

Maybe the phone company was testing their alert system again. Weird.

With a shrug, I deleted the message before opening the conversation with my brother.

Will and I had been texting more than ever the past month. After surprising Dad and me with a visit for Thanksgiving and blowing us away with the pregnancy reveal, he hadn’t stopped talking about his girlfriend, Cora’s, growing belly and their plans for the baby room.

It was still surreal, the thought of my brother being a dad. I remembered him blowing condoms up with his nose and sneaking girls into his room behind Dad’s back only to get caught in the morning. I’d cleaned up his puke when he drank too much at his friend’s graduation party, and the kitchen still bore the scorch marks from the time he and his friends cooked firecrackers on the stove.

But that was a long time ago, and he’d grown up. He was in a committed relationship and holding down a job while finishing his degree. If he was anything like Dad, he’d make one hell of a father. I just wouldn’t think about him jumping from his bedroom window with a sheet as a parachute.

Yeah, we’d leave that in the past.

I scrolled to the beginning of the one-sided conversation he’d had while I drove, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably as I read.

Will: Mom called me today. We talked.

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