Page 36 of Withered

I whip my head around with wide eyes, wondering how I didn’t snap my neck. He doesn’t say anything; he only looks at me with an unidentified emotion that confirms my thoughts: It wasn’t a dream. I did kiss him.

I ball my fists and hide my face in a nearby pillow. I’ve never felt so angry and disappointed with myself in my life.

I can’t believe I kissed him. Not that I regret it because he’s a fabulous kisser. I couldn’t possibly want it to be with someone who isn’t experienced in this kind of stuff. But how did things escalate this quickly?

More memories come rushing back. How I agreed to let him teach me, and after that, I took the lead by kissing him.

I groan and lift my head to see him looking anywhere but at me.

Taking a deep breath, I plead, “Let’s just forget that happened, please?”

Even though it was just a kiss, I don’t want others to know about it, especially when the other person involved here is Jake. I don’t want the spotlight on me and for people to mistake me for someone who I'm not.

“Yeah, okay. It wasn’t anything big anyway.” He nods.

I don’t know if I am still high or not, but I do see a flicker of hurt in his eyes before he masks it up quickly.

Obvious to him because he must have kissed more than a dozen girls. It's something for me. I’m at a loss for words because I’m so mortified right now that I want the earth to open up and swallow me whole.

Jake is already on his feet and making his way toward the desk, so I must’ve zoned out. He opens the drawer, pulls out some tablets, and hands them to me before leaving.

I stare at the tablets, thinking about how my life has changed in the past few days.

Jake returns with a glass of water and hands it to me. “Drink it. The aspirin will help with your headache.”

I gulp down the two tablets and wait for a few seconds before breaking the silence again. “Where are Esme and Aria? The house is so quiet.”

“Mum must have gone to work. Aria, unlike us, must be at school.” He smirks.

I throw my best glare at him. I can’t believe I’m skipping school. There are many things I don’t seem to believe nowadays.

“How come you have a hash brownie in your room? What if Esme found it, or worse, Aria ate it?”

“That would never happen,” he states this with a little shrug of his shoulders.

I raise my eyebrows and ask, “Why is that, Henderson?”

“Because no one ever comes into my room,” he says this, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

“What?”Does that mean I am the first person to ever enter his room?

He reads my mind and answers, “You’re the first.”

I nod mindlessly, not showing any emotion like happiness or self-satisfaction. Although my insides feel a sense of joy and relief, I had the privilege to enter his room first. The thought itself makes me blush.

“Can I ask you something?”

I scoff. “If I said no, will you change your mind?”

He smiles. Jake Hendersonsmiled!A genuine smile that shows a dimple on his left cheek. Gosh! He is adorable. Why does he have to hide that cute dimple behind that stupid smirk?

“Huh?” He presses.

I zone out. I shake my head and say, “Uh, sorry. What did you ask again?”

“Were you even listening?” He asks with amusement flickering in his eyes.

“No.” The blush on my cheek, which was starting to fade away, returns. I bite my lower lip.I'm too distracted by his dimple.

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