Page 99 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
Connor’s smirk into his cola widened.
Ashton came up behind us. “Jade, here, is curious how much your relationship’s progressed.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Isn’t that right, Jade?”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. No doubt it was Logan, teasing that my ten minutes were up, but I couldn’t leave now. Not when the room was silent, and Jade was circling the couple like a shark.
“Go on,” Ashton prodded, words twisting as he sneered. “I’ll give you five bucks.”
“I’ll give you ten,” Connor added, leaning forward to fish his wallet out of his back pocket. “Not that you need the incentive, but I’ll help fund date night.”
I wondered if Connor could see how visibly uncomfortable they looked. “You know how shy Landon is—” Lacey began.
But Jade cut her off. “You don’t want to kiss him?”
Landon looking awkward was nothing new, but Lacey, the embodiment of confidence, wouldn’t have batted an eye at the proposal. Not unless they hadn’t kissed before. They hesitated longer than they should’ve, and in that moment, Jade’s suspicions were confirmed—they totally were faking things.
A part of me wanted to butt in and save them, but the other part, the bigger part, knew to keep quiet. What could I say, anyway? If I came to their defense and wentagainstJade, it’d only make her suspicious. So, even though it felt wrong, I just held my breath.
Then Landon, without warning, surged forward andpressed his lips to hers. There was no shyness to it, and it definitely wasn’t surface level. Landon’s hand was at her cheek, holding her face to his while she tilted her head, eyes slipping closed.
Oh. Okay. So really together.
At first, revulsion shot through me, simply because watching anyonekiss was mega awkward. It was like watching a brother macking on someone. I realized then how much of a bullet I’d dodged when he’d turned me down over the summer—I’d never gotten further than just imagining the label between us. Anything more than hand holding?Gag.
But then curiosity sank in, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t pull my gaze away.
Was this what it would look like if Logan kissed me?
My mind’s eye went to work filling in the gaps for me, replacing the mildly horrifying image in front of me with a much dreamier one. Not Landon’s hand, butLogan’s, curling into my hair, drawing me into him. My hands wouldn’t be full of drinks, like Lacey’s were now, but they’d be twining up around Logan’s smooth neck, linking around him, fingertips trailing down the back of his shirt.
I’d imagined my first kiss plenty of times, but my imagination was nothing special. I was into sports; I wasn’t creative. Now, though, I had the perfect visual aid of what it’d look like if Logan Castle leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.
In my chest, my heart began beating faster, so loud that I was afraid Jade would hear it.
Lacey and Landon broke away from each other, both blinking dazedly, and she held her hand out toward the couch. “Pay up.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket again as Connor got up to pass her his ten dollars, and this time, I desperately took the reprieve.
Mom
you know how I promised earlier not to laugh at your babble posts?
You have to promise not to laugh at my friends
Not that I’m embarrassed of them
But they’re…
Not quite your scene
I mean, if you still wanna come.
It’s okay if you don’t
Oh my gosh, I’m the double texting final boss, aren’t I
Is this that anxious attachment style you were talking about
I laughed out loud at the last two texts, the sound shattering the quiet I hadn’t noticed had settled over the room. Everyone stared at me.
