Page 1 of Kiss Collector
Junior Year
One Week before Spring Break
Chapter One
After eight months of gentle begging, I finally gave in to Wylie. Not as fully as he would have liked, but I did something for him I’d never done before. I can’t say I enjoyed it, necessarily, but he did. And Wylie had gotten plenty more than that from girls before me—girls who weren’t his girlfriends. Wylie is wild like that. The life of the party. The guy who steals beer from peoples’ garages and runs away laughing when an adult yells at him. But he’s good when we’re together. I get to see the sweet, tame side of him that others don’t.
I love him, and I wanted to show him.
That was a week ago, and this party will be the first time I’ve seen him since. We go to rival high schools. He lives in the richest part of our northern Virginia county. Every day is a fashion show at Hillside High where Wylie goes. I live inthe least wealthy and most multicultural corner of the county, where Peakton students wear sweats to school and have rap wars in the locker bay between classes. Just how I like it.
For all its flaws, I love Peakton. Wylie, on the other hand, has no school pride. He’s awesome at soccer, but got kicked off the varsity team last year in tenth grade because of bad grades. He just skates by like it’s all a big joke, waiting for it to be over.
I park our family’s ancient minivan down the street in front of one of the neighbors’ brick houses and walk past the manicured lawn. March weather can be iffy, but it’s nice tonight. Not too cold. I just wish my girls were with me—I hate rolling up at Hillside parties alone—but they all had family stuff, and this was a last-minute decision.
Wylie’s not expecting me. I’d been itching to text him and let him know I was coming now that I have my phone back, but I wanted to surprise him. I’m supposed to be grounded with no phone for skipping class—Dad’s punishment—but my mom is a huge pushover these days. Too many early morning shifts at the bakery. But whatever, I’m not going to think about family crap. Tonight I’m here to relax and surprise my man.
I’ve met a lot of Hillside kids through Wylie, but none of them are friends. I always feel the girls looking down on me with my natural brown curls pulled back in a ponytail, and knockoff jeans, which, by the way, flatter my ass just as well as their designer ones. I don’t need their approval because I know practically everyone at my own school, and when I walk down the halls of Peakton, I feel the love.
I’m only here for Wylie. His giant smile and infectious laughter make all the other stuff go away. After all this timetogether, I still crave his attention.
Rube is the first friend of Wylie’s I see when I push my way into the hot, crowded house. Ugh. It smells like pot, sweat, and potpourri, a sickly sweet-and-sour combo. Rube is hard to miss, towering over everyone like a scowling giant. He’s my least favorite of Wylie’s friends. He made it clear months ago that I was cramping his style by “not letting” Wylie go out and party as much as he used to. But I don’t control Wylie. He does what he wants, and chooses to hang out with me. Not that he’d admit that to the guys.
I don’t bother with niceties when I get to him. “Where’s Wylie?”
Rube’s grin turns my stomach. “Well, hey there, little Miss Not So Prude after all.”
“What?” I ask, and then it hits me like a wrecking ball and my cheeks flame.
Wylie told him?! Oh my God. I didn’t think to tell himnotto tell his friends because I assumed he would know better. These idiots have no boundaries!
“I mean, it took you long enough.” Rube tilts his head back to finish his beer.
I flip him off, something that’s uncommon for me, and he lets out a malicious dry laugh. I turn and switch directions, getting as far from that jerk as possible.
I’m going to kill Wylie for telling him. I can already imagine Wy laughing it off and saying, “Girl, don’t listen to that mess. You know he likes to tease.”Blah, blah.
Wylie is so dead.
I spot Jade, his other friend. Wylie and his gang are aneclectic group. Wy is Dominican and Haitian, with precious freckles across his nose and cheeks that make him appear innocent. Rube is a hulking guy who fools adults into thinking he’s a big, polite teddy bear. Jade is a heavy-metal rocker with a shaved head. They grew up on the same street, and the three of them have more money among them than I can fathom. Their parents never tell them no. It’s kind of sickening.
“Jade!” I call. He stumbles toward my voice, drunk already.
“Zae! What’s up, girl?” His voice is raspy from too many cigarettes, and he slings a skinny arm around my neck, giving me a wet kiss on the cheek. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
I discreetly wipe my cheek. “Neither did I. Have you seen Wylie?”
“Uh...” His eyes jerk toward the hallway and back to me. “Nope. Hang with me and have a beer. I’m sure he’ll find his way in here soon. Did you call him?”
“No, I wanted to surprise him.”
Jade runs a hand over his smooth head and laughs, sounding strange. A nasty feeling settles into my gut.
“Is something going on?” I ask.
“Huh? Nah. Have a drink.” He tries to hand me a can, but I shake my head.
See... the thing is, Wylie and I have been fighting a lot lately about his... recreational entertainment. He’s been sampling different drugs when we’re not together, so I don’t trust him. The boy has no self-control and he’s a thrill seeker. Now I’m nervous. He’s probably smoking pot or sniffing something somewhere in the house after swearing to me he wouldn’t do it anymore. My gut churns at the thought.
