Page 26 of Matched Up

OK, there was this one time when Niall was driving so I decided to see what the big deal with vodka was and I did kiss some guy at one of Hunter’s house parties.But both ofus were drunk, and all I remember is that there was way too much saliva.

He kissed me again.Slowly, not hungry and desperate like at the pavilion, but gentle and deliberate.I kissed him back, slipping my hand round his waist and standing on my toes.He had his hand in my hair, then both hands on my face, cupping my cheeks that were flushed with heat.And then the panic set in.I inhaled and looked back towards the house, looking through the trees to see if anyone else had come out.That was the last thing I wanted.To be seen.For Niall and Hunter to find out and cause even more drama.But it was more than that.Being with Shane would be the ultimate betrayal for Niall, and even though he’d hurt me more than I thought he ever would, I didn’t want to do the same to him.

‘You OK?’Shane looked down at me and I turned to him, letting my eyes settle into his gaze.

‘Yeah, just freaking out in case someone sees us.’I gave a small laugh.‘Stupid.’

‘Your feelings aren’t stupid,’ he replied, and it made my heart swell.I was shocked at how easily he said it, with no hint of embarrassment.Like I couldn’t imagine Hunter ever saying something like that.

‘Yeah, it’s just complicated with Niall, you know?’

He reached down and pushed hair behind my ear, like he’d done at the pavilion.

I closed my eyes and the voltage surged through my veins.

‘Complicated families?Yeah, I get it.But you know what?I don’t usually do this either.So maybe it means something?’he mused.

I smiled.‘Can we not tell anyone about us?I just can’t be bothered with dealing with all the drama.’I tried to keep it light.

‘Sure, of course.’

I looked straight up through the trees to the sky full of stars.‘Have you heard of binary stars?’I asked him.I’d read up about them when we did this random module on astronomy in physics, and I’d wanted to impress Mrs Lee.

He shook his head.

‘Stars that are gravitationally bound to each other, they orbit round the same centre of mass, and if they get too close, they can gravitationally distort each other’s atmospheres.’I looked away, embarrassed.

‘You’ve definitely gravitationally distorted my atmosphere,’ Shane said with one of those smiles that wasn’t full but wanted to be.And it was something that would have sounded ridiculous if it had come from anyone else.‘Whatever that means.You must be really clever.’He stepped back and turned away before coming back to me with a football at his feet.

‘Hey, where’d you find that?’I asked.I’d been scanning the grass when we’d started walking.‘And I’m not.I just work really hard.’I kicked myself for not just leaving it out there that he thought I was super clever.

‘Can’t you be both?It was under that wee bench over there.’He held the ball on his toe and started doing keepy-ups.

‘How many can you do?’I asked.

‘Never counted,’ he said.But judging by how easily he bounced the ball up and down on both feet, I guessed about a million.My efforts capped at seven.

He passed the ball to me, and I moved back to the other side of the fountain so I could control it.I concentrated, trying to impress him.

‘OK,’ he said.‘If you have the ball, you have to answer questions.‘What school do you go to?’

‘Blackport.’

I passed the ball back just shy of his left foot.

He grinned.‘Terrible pass.We’ll work on that in the morning.Blackport?Of course.’He cocked an eyebrow and laughed.

I put my hands on my hips.‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Posh school.Posh girl?’He shrugged and waved his hand around the garden as if to make his point.

‘Not necessarily … Do you not like posh girls?’Because right then, I’d be anything he wanted me to be.

‘You’re the first one I’ve met, and I like you …’ He looked up from the ball and gave me a slow half-smile.I was glad he couldn’t see me blush.We were getting closer to each other again, and closer to the fountain, the stream of water drowning out the thud of my heart.

‘What school doyougo to?’I asked, ignoring the ball that was at my feet again.

‘St Anne’s,’ he replied.

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