Page 147 of Be My First

“What?” she says. “Aren’t you coming?

“Yeah, I’m coming,” I mutter, following after her.

Before we leave the woods, she turns back to me and says, “I need you to do something for me.”

I stop walking. “Sure. Whatever you need.”

She steps closer to me. “I need you to kiss me. Just once.”

Well, of all the things she could have asked, I wasn’t anticipating this. “Kiss you?”

“Just once. I just need to feel it. I haven’t...felt like that in a while.”

My heart thuds in my chest.

She slides her hands behind my neck. “I’m not asking anything else from you. I know you can’t give more. I just want this moment.”

I can’t give more.What is she talking about? Before I can dwell on it too long, she looks up at me with her big brown eyes and says, “Please.”

And so I do. I kiss her like I’m dying. Like this is the last chance I’ll ever have to kiss her again. Like this is our last moment on earth. I feel her knees buckle at one point, and I wrap my arm tightly around her to hold her up. When we pull apart, she stumbles away. I know she felt that. I know she felt it as much as I did.

“Thank you.” She turns quickly and rushes back to the house, and I’m left in the woods wondering what the hell just happened.

Sterling Family Group Text

Olivia: I saw your newest video, Juno!

Maggie: The chocolate chip cookie one?

Zadie: The molten lava cake?

Olivia: No, the grilled cheese one.

Keene: Oh god, that was good.

Maggie: Yeah. I didn’t know I needed to up my grilled cheese game so much.

Juno: Thanks everyone. I’ve been having so much fun filming. It’s tough though with my class schedule, but I’m doing what I can right now.

Elizabeth: They are really taking off. I saw theMorning Showtalking about it the other day.

Juno: Really?

Maggie: Yeah. I listened to a whole podcast about it.

Juno: What? A podcast about my cooking videos?

Maggie: Yes. They did a whole episode on you.

Keene: Wow. Juno. You’re famous.

Declan: She was already famous, you derp.

Keene: She was? Wait - am I?

Eli: No. No one cares about you.

Keene: It’s cause I’m not as pretty, right?

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