Page 75 of Bending Under Pressure

“Science isn’t your strong suit, huh?”

“Nope. Give me math or literature any day over science.” She sighs, giving me a glimpse into how much the subject frustrates her.

We begin filling out the basic information on our worksheet like our name and date and period. “Well, let’s get it over with, so we can do something more fun.”

A flush of pink fills her cheeks. I wasn’t specifically talking about anything, but it makes me really happy that her mind went to the gutter. Our teacher gave us a two-page worksheet, front and back. We silently get started,;Haley stops me every so often for me to help her figure something out. I finish first and start spouting off the answers in an attempt to get her to copy them.

Haley giggles. “Stop it. How am I going to learn it if you keep telling me the answers?”

“Because you know he’s going to review it before a test. You can learn it then.” I trail a finger from her shoulder blade to her spine and then down her back.

She shoots me a dirty look. “No. I don’t like cheating.”

“You’re one of those girls, huh?”

“Yep, I don’t want to do all the work and hand it over to someone else, but also because I’m scared to death of getting caught.”

Her shirt rose up when she shifted under my touch, so I brush my knuckles over the bare skin on her lower back. I must give her credit for mostly ignoring me. There’s been a shift in her breathing, it’s more controlled and cautious, but it’s there. The weather has dropped, so she’s in a hoodie. No skin for me to kiss aside from that showing on her lower back and I can’t do that. Haley would freak out on me; I just know it.

She clears her throat and sits up, removing her hoodie. She must be getting hot. I grin.

“What’s the smile for, Keelan?”

“Nothing at all, Hales. Need any help?” I scoot closer to her. We’re now shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, and leg to leg. She turns her head to answer, but I lean over and kiss her softly. Her lips are already parted, and I push my tongue into her mouth, feeling as if it’s been forever since we’ve made out. While Haley isn’t ready for more, I don’t think she has a problem with kissing. The weariness in my bones fades into the background. I want to kiss her. A lot. For a long time.

Haley has other ideas. “You’d be helpful if you didn’t do that yet,” she chides playfully.

“Yet. So...once you’re finished?”

“Maybe,” she shrugs, turning her attention back to the worksheet. At least she’s on the last part.

“Maybe? Are you saying you don’t wanna kiss me, Hales?” I begin dragging my fingertips over her back again, barely brushing over the cloth of her shirt. A shiver runs through her, making me grin.

“I’m saying I’ll have to think about it,” she quips. “Or you’ll have to convince me why I’ll want to.”

Oh, that sounds like fun.

“Because you like me,” I begin my list. “Because you like kissing me. Because I’m good at it.” She laughs at that. I lower my voice, leaning closer toward her. “Because knowing you’re going to kiss me the moment you finish that last question excites you.”

She drops her pencil, officially done. I reach for her hand, so we can move our heads to the other side of the bed. We lie on our sides. Haley’s eyes dart over my face, waiting. Her breathing has already hitched, and all I’ve done is rest a hand on her hip, my thumb moving back and forth underneath her shirt.

“Well?” she breathes.

“I said you were gonna kiss me, Hales. Not the other way around.”

Her eyes widen, but otherwise she shows no emotion. She loves the anticipation. I want to see how long she’ll draw it out to up the ante and the hype she’s building in her head. She wiggles closer until our bodies are pressed together. One of her hands comes to rest on my chest, her eyes dropping there for a moment.

Haley presses her forehead against mine. God, this was a terrible idea. She’s going to kill me before she kisses me! Her breath is hitting my lips. She’s so close and yet so far; I’m trying my hardest not to just close the distance and kiss her. Our lips are right there. My tongue darts out of my mouth to swipe across my lower lip. I groan and squeeze her hip when I brush over her mouth. That’s how close she is to me.

“Keelan?” she whispers.

“Yeah, Hales?”

“Feeling crazy yet?”

I chuckle. “Insane.”

She smiles. “Good. Now you know how I feel when I’m around you.”

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