Page 23 of Never Have I Ever
I need to focus on the task at hand and not get carried away with how I could teach her so many things other than smoking.
“Now what?” she mumbles with the cigarette between her lips.
I grin. “Suck.”
Yeah, this no longer sounds like I’m teaching her how to smoke, and definitely sounds more like I’m teaching her something completely different.
She must have caught on because her cheeks redden as she blushes, but she complies. She sucks, inhaling the cigarette until she’s coughing uncontrollably.
I can’t help but laugh. “That’s enough, newbie,” I tell her, reaching for the cigarette.
She bats my hand away. “Teach me, then.”
I almost laugh again. She’s eager to learn. “Okay, try again. This time, inhale and hold it.”
She nods and brings the cigarette back to her lips, trying again. She sucks and inhales, keeping the smoke there for a bit before she blows it out and coughs.
“Much better,” I tell her. “You did so well.”
Her eyes light up at the praise, shining as she smiles at me.
“You’re not wearing white tonight,” I tell her, taking the cigarette from her and bringing it to my lips.
She laughs. “Nope, no white. I didn’t want to get dirty.”
I inwardly groan. Heat floods my groin at those words, and I swallow the temptation to reply with something less than friendly.
“So, New York?” I say instead.
She sighs, and I instantly feel shitty for bringing it up when she was trying to forget it and her mom.
“Yeah. My mother invited me to some charity gala event and basically threatened to drag me back there if I didn’t go.”
“And you didn’t want to go?”
She shakes her head. “No. She wanted to set me up with her friend’s son, a hotel owner who wants to find a wife.”
My eyes widen. “A wife? Aren’t you eighteen?” I assume she’s a freshman since I hadn’t seen her before last week.
“Yeah, but according to my mother, I’m running out of time. ‘these are my prime years.’” she says, using air quotes.
“Jesus.” I can’t imagine marrying anyone at eighteen. Hell, I can’t ever imagine marrying at all.
“I just want to get through college and live my life how I want. Even if it ends up in a loveless marriage and a rich husband who’s always on business trips.”
I scoff. “Isn’t every marriage loveless?”
Her head snaps towards me. “You don’t believe in love?” she asks.
“No,” I tell her, honestly.
“Why?”
“Why do you?” I retort.
She shrugs. “Because love is beautiful.”
I lift my brow. “Have you ever been in love?”
