Page 90 of You Had Me At Thirteen

‘I love you,’ Mum says.

‘I love you, too. But I’m still not talking to you about my love life.’

Mum laughs. ‘Well, you can’t blame a girl for trying.’

I put an arm around her shoulders. I don’t blame her for anything.

THIRTY-EIGHT

Matilda

* * *

Iskip into the kitchen the next morning, humming a song I don’t remember the name of, when Mum raises an eyebrow at me. Is this how Audrey felt the other day when she was doing the same thing?

‘Someone’s in a good mood,’ Mum says.

‘And what’s wrong with that?’ I open the fridge door to grab my orange juice. Mum ignores me when I take a sip from the bottle.

‘Nothing, you just seem happier than I’ve seen you in a while.’

I smile. ‘Yeah, I guess I am.’

Everything is perfect. I’m fast on the track, probably the fastest I’ve ever been. Wren and I connected last night on a deeper level. Although words weren’t involved, our bodies made up for that. I have nothing to complain about. How did I ever think that getting involved with Wren would be a bad thing? My life is better than ever.

When I arrive at school, I head for English, the same song from earlier still playing in my head. We have a double this morning, and my stomach is doing little flips knowing that I’m going to be next to Wren for two whole hours.

After the moment we shared last night, we finished dinner in mutual silence. Something transpired between us, our bodies connecting on a visceral level when we made – what I would call – love.

When Wren’s parents arrived home, his mum was so excited to see me and I imagined what it would be like to be part of his life, his family. His dad couldn’t even look at me, let alone say hello. I mean, I’ve been warned he’s a dick, but saying hi isn’t going to kill anyone. Maybe that’s why Wren hates him so much. He really is just a shit human being.

After that, Wren insisted on walking me home, and as we stood on my porch, he kissed me with such intensity, I thought my lungs would be sucked right out of my body. My head was spinning by the time he pulled away.

So, finding him at the back of the room by the window, has my heart beating fast and my stomach doing little somersaults. Four weeks ago, seeing him lit up by the sun had me wanting to punch him in the face. Now I can’t wait to be near him, to breathe him in. As I make my way towards the back of the room, he scans my body, licking his lips in a way that tells me he likes what he’s looking at.

I take the seat next to him. ‘Why are you sitting all the way back here?’

He presses his lips to my ear. ‘You’ll see. But there better be nothing underneath that skirt.’

‘Pig.’ A smile flirts on my lips as I side-eye him.

He growls, then nips my earlobe before Mr Hughes steps to the front of the room.

‘Good morning, class. Since you have all been working so hard on your assignments these last few weeks, I thought we’d watch a movie this morning.’

The class erupts in cheers and whistles. Wren grins as he leans back into his seat, draping an arm over the back of mine, while twirling my ponytail around in his long fingers.

Mr Hughes turns the lights off and pulls the blinds down on the windows before flicking the TV on and pressing play.

The Notebookstarts up.

Christ. Really? I roll my eyes. Audrey would be up the front of the classroom with Clive, popcorn in hand, as she drools over Ryan Gosling.

I rest my chin on my hands, my chest pressed against the table. Wren is still in his relaxed position, until he slides his hand up the inside of my thigh and under my skirt.

I clamp my thighs together, capturing Wren’s hand between them. ‘What are you doing?’

His mouth is at my ear again. ‘Relax. Sit back.’ He kisses my neck, sliding his hand further up my thigh before he parts my legs, skimming his fingertips over the fabric of my underwear.

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