Page 33 of You Had Me At Thirteen

‘I stumbled across it one day,’ Wren says while following close behind me.

‘It’s amazing.’ I sink onto the dew-covered grass, running my hands over it and pressing the dampness to my hot skin.

Wren plants himself beside me, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. He picks at the grass and clears his throat. ‘I found it a few months ago, after a massive fight with my dad. The dick took my car keys, so I couldn’t drive to the place I would usually go. So… I just ran, not caring where I ended up. Then I stumbled across this place.’

I’m a little taken aback due to the fact that’s the most he’s ever said to me. And without being a total dick.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say, scrunching my nose.

He frowns. ‘For what?’

‘The fight with your dad.’

He lifts a shoulder, forcing me to take a deep breath so I don’t stare at his golden skin literally shimmering in the sunlight. Edward Cullen, eat your heart out.

‘Not your fault,’ Wren says. ‘The guy’s a dick. What else can I say?’ He falls back onto the grass, covering his eyes with his hands to shield them from the sun.

Would he care if I used him as a pillow?

I take back what I said about snakes. Wren makes me more nervous, so I pry my eyes away from his body and back to the surrounding bush. ‘How did you find this place again without a path?’

‘With great difficulty. It only took me a couple of hours. Now I just know.’

‘Only a couple of hours?’ I giggle. ‘What do you class as a long time, then?’

Wren squints and throws some grass at me. ‘Shut up, smart arse.’

With my hands clenched into fists in front of my face, I pretend to throw a punch. ‘You better watch yourself Stevenson, I know how to throw a great right hook.’

One side of Wren’s mouth pulls up in a lopsided grin, instantly melting my underwear from my body. ‘Okay Rocky, calm down,’ he says before throwing an arm over his eyes.

My smile lingers as I tilt my face up to the sun, letting its warmth heat my cheeks. ‘I can’t believe something this beautiful exists, and we may be the only ones to know about it.’

‘Pretty cool, huh? But beauty exists everywhere if you only look hard enough. Here, look at this.’ He grabs a blade of grass and holds it up to my face. ‘It’s just a piece of grass, right? But look around you, all these tiny little pieces sprouting and growing into this lush landscape, each piece knowing exactly what it needs to do. Nature is the smartest living thing there is.’

All I can do is stare at him. Who is this person and what’s he done with Wren? I’m not even sure what to say to that. All I know is my heart is in my throat, and I’m struggling to swallow it down.

‘Anyway, it helps me think.’ He gives me a tight smile, dipping his chin to his chest.

The air around us shifts, heaviness settling on my skin as I try to figure out the real Wren. Why isn’t he like this more often? All I usually see is the arrogant version of him. But I like this version so much better.

‘I can see why,’ I say finally, before laying next to him, making sure our bodies aren’t touching, even a bit. It’s quiet for a moment, until I can no longer hold in my laugh.

Wren looks at me as though I’ve lost it, so I point to the penis-shaped cloud hovering above us. When he notices what I’m laughing at, a laugh rumbles from his chest, the sound prickling the back of my neck and sending goosebumps crawling over my skin the way music, or a runner’s high does.

We spend the next half an hour side by side, joking about the shapes of the clouds and our interpretations of them. Who knew Wren could be so much fun?

I take a quick glance at him when he goes quiet, to find he has his eyes closed, a sliver of sunlight dancing over his face when the branches of the tree move in the breeze.

My stomach twists, and I swallow down the urge to touch his face. I’m feeling a little lightheaded, so I suck in a deep breath and ease it out to the count of five.

‘Stop staring at me, Maxwell,’ Wren says, a grin on his face, his eyes remaining closed.

Busted.

‘I’m not,’ I say before clearing my throat and pretending to pick at the grass.

‘Liar,’ he says as he faces me. His grin disappears, replaced with something else. It’s as though he’s searching for something. What? I don’t know.

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