Page 34 of You Had Me At Thirteen

‘What’s wrong?’ I say when he doesn’t look away.

‘You’re so goddamn beautiful. You know that, right?’

I roll my eyes, thankful the sun is heating my face so he can’t tell what those words are doing to me. ‘Please, I’m sure you say that to all the girls when you bring them here.’

Wren rolls onto his side and holds his head up with one hand. ‘I’ve brought no one else here. Just… you,’ he says, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he brushes my hair from my face with his free hand.

Seconds pass, while Wren stares at my lips. ‘God, I want to kiss you right now,’ he says, inching closer.

All I can do is nod until his lips are millimetres from mine. A loud whirling sound fills my ears before I realise it’s my racing heart pumping all the blood to my head.

Wren’s warm, minty breath dances over my lips, each second like euphoric torture. This is it. Wren is going to kiss me, and I won’t stop him. I want this.

But my bubble bursts when he pauses, closes his eyes, and pushes himself up, leaving me cold where his warmth was seconds ago.

‘We should get going,’ he says, running a hand through his hair, avoiding all eye contact with me.

‘Okay.’ My chin trembles as tears threaten, embarrassment and sadness feeding my emotional breakdown.

He doesn’t even wait for me to stand before he heads for the trail he’s memorised.

Wren remains quiet as we walk back home, him in front, me dragging my feet behind like a sulking child. I keep my eyes focused on his back, each muscle straining and flexing under his silky skin with each stride. Maybe I should ask him what I did or said that made him shut down.

No. Horrible idea.

Instead, I keep my mouth shut in fear he’ll sink further into himself and give me nothing else for as long as we live.

Whatever this fascination is that I have with him, I need to get a grip. When he’s mean, I can convince myself that he’s a total dick, but when he lets his guard down even just a little, I’m so drawn to his light. Just like Icarus and his stupid wax wings – if I fly too close to the sun, I’ll burn up and fall to my death. And Wren is a thousand suns.

We make it to the steps of my front porch before Wren looks at me again. My body twitches with the urge to throw myself at him, so I take that as my cue to leave. The three steps to my front door feel like the longest of my life until Wren calls my name.

Turning, I find him staring at the ground and rubbing his forehead. ‘Thanks,’ he says, lifting his eyes.

I feel like I understand what he’s saying, but I don’t want to read too much into anything he says, so the best I can do is give him a tight smile. ‘I had a great time. Thanks for showing me.’

A nod, and a brief glimmer of something in his eyes, are all I get before he turns his back to me and heads for his house.

I stare after him until he disappears inside, wondering if maybe there is hope and I’m totally wrong about Wren in so many ways.

FIFTEEN

Matilda

* * *

I’m waiting for Wren by his car when he walks out his front door tonight. It’s Thursday, and he’s right on time. We don’t have plans, and seeing as Mum is at work again, I made the decision to find out what Wren gets up to when he leaves here every week. I’m going whether he likes it or not.

With his head down while staring at his phone, Wren doesn’t notice me until he almost runs into me. ‘Jesus, Matilda. What the fuck are you doing?’ he says while stepping around me to put his bag in the back seat of his car.

‘I’m coming with you,’ I say, reaching for the door handle and jumping into the passenger seat, before Wren can drag me back out.

He’s in the driver’s seat in no time, leaning over me to open my door, his eyes darkening as he glares at me. ‘No. You’re not. Get out.’

Christ, he smells delicious. But, I steady myself with a deep breath and fold my arms over my chest to settle into the seat. ‘I’m coming. End of discussion.’

He’ll have to pry me out himself before I leave this car. Although, with his hands on me…

A trickle of a shiver runs over my body at the thought, but I keep my composure as we stare each other down.

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