Page 41 of Fake It Till You Break It
He let out a short laugh. “And I think we both agree that it wasn’t that great. Or are you talking about the time when we were eight? Either way, it was not good.”
With a scowl, I poked his shoulder. Hard. “Whatever, dude, I bet I could kiss circles around you.”
Snorting, he grabbed my hand before I could try to poke him again. Instead of letting go, though, he brought it down to his side. “That’s some confidence you have there.”
My feet automatically took a step closer to him just as he took one toward me. Then another. Until finally, our arms ended up pressed against each other as we leaned against the fence. Side by side. From our shoulders to the back of our hands.
He leaned toward me for a bit and paused. “Are you sure about this? I mean, we don’t have to actually kiss. We could make it look like we’re kissing or—”
“We have to get the first kiss out of the way. Might as well do it now.” Before he could say anything else, my other hand wrapped around the nape of his neck, and I tugged him down for a kiss. Nice and quick.
As soon as our lips touched, a jolt went through my body. It was like one of those cartoons when someone puts their finger in the socket. When the lightning zaps their entire body from their toes to the tips of their hair.
Letting go of my hand, Jake braced both hands against the fence behind me to kiss me harder. Longer. His entire body pressed against me so closely that my back was practically bent over on the fence. The only thought that flitted through my head was thank God for all those yoga classes Aly dragged me to all summer.
It was both weird and kind of comfortable at the same time. Our bodies knew each other. It was natural. The way my arms automatically wrapped around his waist and my palms pressed against his back, his shoulder blades. Melted into him. Our lips molded together. Over and over and over. It was almost like neither of us needed to stop and breathe.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, his left hand moved down my arm, lightly scorching a path as his fingertips caressed me from my elbow to my wrist. By now I had to literally hold on to his forearms so I wouldn’t melt into the ground like an embarrassing Mia blob.
Where did these muscles come from? I saw Jake every single day, but I definitely didn’t see these. Then again, I never held him tightly like this, either, so maybe they were always here and I just never noticed.
Jake pulled back slightly, and the cool air hit me in my face, bringing me back to reality. My head swirled like I had stood up too fast. What the heck just happened?
Breathing heavily to calm my racing heart, I gulped and myhand tugged at the right strap of my dress, which had fallen off my shoulder. “So… yeah, I think that works.”
“I guess so.” He let out a slow deep breath, and it was like I could feel it.
We both stared at each other for a minute longer before jumping away from the fence. The last few minutes were weird. More than weird. That was crazy. Like something took over me.
I shook my head to snap myself out of it. His hazel eyes reflected the shock I felt, but when he bit his lower lip, I had the urge to kiss him again.
Seriously, what was wrong with me?!
“Mia?”
“Yeah?”
His face was turned upward as he stared at the stars. It was clear tonight. Barely any clouds in the sky, just twinkly stars against the midnight black sky. “Do you think maybe—never mind.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing. I forgot to tell you that you look really nice today.”
Taken aback by his compliment—especially since I rarely ever got one from him—my cheeks automatically grew warm and I self-consciously brushed my bangs back out of my face. “Oh. Thanks.”
“No problem.” A small smile played on his lips. “Good night, Brat.”
“Good night.” The way he said “Brat” this time didn’t sound like an insult anymore. It almost sounded… nice. Sweet. Like an endearment.
Oh God, what was wrong with me? This wasJake. He wasn’t nice or sweet. Ever.
After Jake left, I came into the quiet house through the kitchen. Mom’s light was off, but I swore it had been on as I walked up the walkway. I was glad she wasn’t here, though. I was still confused about what just happened.
My cheeks were still flushed and warm, and I was nervous and anxious for some reason. My brain was yelling at me to snap out of my weird funk. But I couldn’t do anything more than gulp down the water before pressing the cold wet glass against my forehead.
Ah, that felt good.
It took a little while for my head to clear. And even longer to make sense of what just happened. For a moment there, by the fence, we weren’t Brat and Ass. We weren’t forced to be together by our moms. We were just Jake and Mia. And to be honest, I actuallylikedhaving him around sometimes.
