Page 50 of The Second Kiss
I roll my eyes and reach for the door.
He moves between me and the handle. “You’re right.” He put his hands on my waist. “I’ve been a jerk. I owe you a kiss.”
I wait until he’s leaning in, his lips almost to mine, before I smash my hand over his face and push him away.
“Good night, Gage.”
twenty-five
Car Trouble
“You have the best view from here.” Jasmine is sitting on my bed looking out the window.
“What are you talking about?” I lean over and follow her gaze. Across the driveway, Jacob, Gage, and Nathan are tearing shingles off the roof of the old house. It's been an unusually dry December. They’re trying to get it done before the roofing company gets here or it starts raining.
“Too bad it’s not hot enough for them to take their shirts off,” Jasmine says.
“Yeah," I like the mental picture.
Jasmine rolls over on my bed dramatically. “And too bad they only have eyes for you.”
“You mean they only have eyes for you.” I go back to straightening my hair. Since the bowling date, it seems like Gage and Jaz are each other’s latest fling. Since both of them have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to romance, I’m not too worried about it.
“What about Nathan? He would probably be good for Taryn, but he doesn’t seem to have any interest in girls at all.”
“He spends all of his time at his computer when he’s not working on the house. He’s shy, not like Jake or Gage.” I unplug my straightening iron and pick up my purse.
“If there were a polar opposite of shy, it would be Gage,” Jasmine says.
“We’d better get going. I have to be back by six to teach my class.” We’re taking advantage of my morning off to go Christmas shopping.
“Maybe we should just stay here and window shop.” Jasmine leans her arms on the windowsill.
“C’mon, Jaz. Can you saynew clothes? Can you saysale? That’s better than guys any day.”
“Speak for yourself.” Jasmine reluctantly turns from the “view” and follows me out of my room.
Gage waves at us when we come out of the house. “Hey, where are you guys going?”
“To the mall,” Jasmine yells back.
“Can I come?” Gage asks.
“Yes!” Jasmine squeals.
“No.” Nathan clamps him on the shoulder. “Today you’re going to work.” Gage has a habit of skipping work to hang out with me and my friends. I think it drives Nathan crazy.
“Where’s Matt?” Jasmine asks as we climb in the car.
“Off with Kendra. Dad’s going to kill him when he finds out that he ditched working on the roof.” I turn the key to my car. It sputters for a minute and then roars to life. I wonder if Jacob notices the noise. My car sounds rough again, especially when I first start it. I don’t want to bother him with it.
“Do you think those two will get married?” Jasmine adjusts the car’s heater. Clear skies mean the weather is colder.
“Probably, but not for a while. Matt officially joined the Army.”
Jasmine makes a face. “Why did he do that?”
“He has to do something to pay for college. Jake talked him into it. I’m not sure how keen Kendra was on the idea. Mom was definitely against it, but it’s done. He leaves for basic training next month.”
