Page 11 of Kiss Me Again

"But we're gonna be late," I say in a last-ditch attempt at ruining their plans.

"I'll drop you at the hospital and take Mia to the library afterwards." Marco smiles at me. I want to punch him in his smug face. "I'll be back before you’re done, I promise."

The whole way there, Marco is shamelessly flirting with Mia. She giggles and flirts back, making me want to throw up.

When I am getting out of the car, I hear him asking her, "What are you doing tonight?"

Fuck my life.

CHAPTER SIX

MIA

"I want to see you again," Marco says when the car stops at Ben's house.

We've spent almost the whole day together: talking, walking around the Grove, and dining at the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar, where he found out I don't eat raw fish. He apologized, but I assured him it wasn’t a big deal and ordered chicken fried rice.

When Marco asked if I'd like to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant after he drove me to the library, I agreed without hesitation. And not because I wanted to spend more time with him or because I love Japanese cuisine. I just wanted to spend as much time away from Ben as possible. So I agreed, and Marco came back for me when he was done with Ben.

Last week, I confessed to Di that I'm ready to lose my virginity, and I want to do it before I go to college. We made a list of criteria that a guy must meet to be my first: handsome, tall, good-looking, with toned muscles and thick hair that I can dig my fingers into during sex. Diana asked me to promise her that I wouldn't pay attention to the guy's IQ. I did. When we finished the list, I realized that all of the criteria matched Ben...

Of course, I didn't say that to Diana. Even though Ben would also meet my 'smart' criteria because I love talking to him, but I know considering him is out of the question. The last time we even had a real conversation was before that kiss. Maybe he's not that interesting of a companion anymore; who knows, right?

Oh, who am I kidding? I know he's still intelligent, charming, and unbelievably handsome.

Ben is the main reason I agreed to give Marco my phone number. Not just because he doesn't want me in their house, which is obvious. It’s also because while I was at the library, I received a text message from him.

"Please, don't go on a date with Marco.

He is not suitable for you."

I reread it a thousand times before I replied:

"This is none of your business."

And then I received some bullshit that'he isn't serious about his dates'and'I only want to protect you'and a couple more messages I didn't respond to.

It made me so furious I couldn't think clearly.

What the hell? Who does he think he is? He isn't my brother or—more importantly—he isn't even my friend to give me that kind of advice (which I wasn't asking for, anyway). So I told Marco that I'd be glad to meet him today when I finish my work and he drives Ben back home.

That's how I managed to spend so much time with Marco. It's not like it was a hardship, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it either. Each time he talked about his football team, I thought about Ben. Of course, it wasn't Marco's fault. He really tried to make the date enjoyable for me; it was just too predictable: sushi bar, ice cream, and romantic comedy. And while we watched the movie, he put his arm around my shoulder and kissed me.

Yes, I responded to that kiss. It's not like I've never been kissed, so it's not a big deal. It was okay—no butterflies or anything, but not bad, especially for the first date. And it was okay until he tried to cup my breast, and I pushed him away, saying it was too early. He apologized, and we continued watching the movie, which was also okay, by the way.

I don't blame Marco for doing all the predictable things. No, I don't. I blame Ben for being so fucking perfect that I compare all other guys to him.

"So what do you think about tomorrow?" Marco asks once again, interrupting my thoughts.

"I'm busy tomorrow." I shrug, making an apologetic face.

And then I remind myself that I promised Diana I would give Marco a chance. Maybe he could be the perfect guy for my first time; who knows?

"But I'd love to see you after that," I add, and Marco smiles.

The house is dark and quiet, as if everyone—which means only Ben for tonight—is already asleep, even though it's only half past ten. Ben is an early riser, and he may be already in bed, but I don’t buy it for some reason. I think he turned off the lights to watch us.

"Great," Marco says with a satisfied smile and leans closer for a kiss. And I let him.

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