Page 32 of Be My First

He shrugs.

“I’m shocked.”

“Not fair to let them have all the fun.” His mouth curves up just slightly on one side, and I notice he has a little dimple on his left cheek. How have I not noticed that before?

I reach forward and touch his cheek. His body stills completely. I’m sure he’s not even breathing. I say, “You have a dimple.”

His cheeks flush a little, and I drop my hand.

“It’s cute,” I say.

His face is completely serious when he says, “You called me Bo earlier.”

It’s my turn to blush. “Did that upset you?”

“No I liked it,Junie.”

I feel the heat grow on my cheeks.

“Does anyone call you Junie?”

“Sometimes my family calls me Junebug but not June or Junie.”

“Does it bother you?” he asks.

“Not when you say it,” I answer. There’s something charged between us right now. I like it, and I’m wondering if he does too.

“It’s been a really good day,” he says. I feel like I’m wilting under his gaze right now.

“It was,” I agree.

“I feel like I should kiss you right now,” he whispers.

I nearly jerk my head back.

He reads my reaction and says, “I feel like if you’re sitting on the Spanish steps with a beautiful woman who is staring at you with her beautiful brown eyes, you need to kiss, right?”

“What are you waiting for?” I ask.

He leans in and softly presses his lips to mine. I’ve kissed a few guys since him, but it’s never been like this. Maybe it’s because he’s older than the guys I’ve kissed at school? Maybe it’s just because he’s confident or he knows what he’s doing, but he’s turning me into an absolute puddle. This kiss is more chaste and not nearly as long as our first kiss, but still nearly melts my core and spins my brain into cotton candy.

He pulls back and then darts his eyes around like he just remembered who I am and that I drive him crazy. “Maybe we should start heading back.”

He stands up quickly and extends his hand. I take it and stand up. He drops it as soon as I’m standing.

We walk for a while in silence and then he starts talking about the history of Rome, and I’m completely confused. Honestly, if my body wasn’t buzzing right now and my lips still tingling, I would have thought I’d imagined that kiss.

I mean, he doesn’t like me, right? He normally stays ten feet away from me. Maybe it was just the romance of the moment – the beautiful city, the experiences of the day? I want to ask him, but instead I listen to him tell me in great detail about the aqueducts.

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