Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
He hauled me so tight against him there was scarcely any space between us. “Fuck, feels so good.”
As I dragged a gratifying moan from him, I had never felt so powerful, so on top of my game. Not even on the field. It was as if I’d never been kissed before, and essentially, that was the truth.
Not like this. Never like this.
When we finally came up for air, I felt raw, flayed open, the threat of tears stinging my eyes. Fuck, what was wrong with me?
“Hey, it’s okay,” Lark said, smoothing back my bangs as if he understood perfectly why my emotions would be so close to the surface.
This time when our mouths met, the kiss was slow and tender, and my eyes shut on a sigh. The way his hand circled my nape, his thumb brushing my throat, made my stomach feel like it had dived off a cliff.
Lark’s lips and hands caressed me with such tenderness; I never wanted it to end. I felt a seismic shift so completely I was dizzy from it. From a simple kiss. A simple, melty kiss from a guy.
But he knew as well as I did that it was getting late, so when we finally drew away to catch our breath, Lark said the quiet part out loud. “Better get going.”
“How about I drive you?” I offered, mostly because I didn’t want our time to end.
“No thanks.” He stood and offered me a hand. “I’m good.”
I didn’t push it. It was almost like a pride thing for him, and I got it.
“Is it okay if we exchange phone numbers, you know, just in case?” I asked as we turned toward the steps.
“Just in case what?”
“In case…I don’t know. The bus breaks down, or you need extra pre-calc help?”
His face flushed. “Okay, sure.”
We punched our numbers into each other’s phone and headed back down into the cool night air.
“Well, see you,” Lark said as he turned toward the road.
“Yeah, see you.”
I stood frozen, watching him walk away from me and doing everything in my power to not call out to him and ask him to stay.
15
LARK
It was Sunday night, Star was in bed, and I used the ladder to climb up to the roof of our mobile home, where I felt like I could do my best thinking. Sort of how Henry felt about the bell tower. I’d almost made the comparison to him, but then I’d have to talk about living in a trailer park, and I was being stubbornly private about that. I knew there was nothing to be ashamed of; this was our home, and we were doing the best we could. But I’d been feeling raw and vulnerable enough as it was when Henry melted my brain with those amazing kisses.
“I’ve kissed girls, but never a guy…unless you count me and you saying goodbye at the hospital.”
Before I could sink any further into my Henry thoughts, I heard shuffling from down below.
“You there?” Pete asked.
“Yup. Come on up.”
It’d been our thing in high school, especially when we needed time away from our families or to hash something out. Pete appeared a few seconds later, and once he got himself situated on the blanket, we sat silently for a minute, just looking at the stars.
“Well, how was last night?” He smirked. “Are you a proper Roosevelt snob now?”
“Ugh.” I placed my face in my hands.
He squeezed my shoulder. “That bad?”
“Only parts of it. But also, so fucking good.” I sighed dreamily.
“Okay, no more beating around the bush. Tell me everything.”
“Well, the football game was as good as you could imagine,” I deadpanned. “Except for the tight uniforms.”
He laughed and nudged my shoulder. “Maybe I should’ve tagged along just to spy on the cheerleaders.” When I rolled my eyes, he said, “What? How is that any different from what you just said?”
“Touché.” I crisscrossed my legs to get more comfortable. “Anyway, there was a party at the clubhouse afterward, the place where the players hang out.”
“Christ, it’s like high school all over again.”
“Pretty much.” My cheeks felt warm as I admitted, “And I had eaten an edible.”
“Look at you being all daring,” he teased, probably because I would never take more than a couple of sips of any drinks in high school. I didn’t want to give Mom anything to worry about. So maybe Henry and I had that in common. “So, how was the party?”
I shrugged. “Okay, I guess. We danced, which was fun, but it was crowded. Plus, Mr. Popular Quarterback had one of your cheerleaders on his lap some of the time.”
He scoffed. “Yep, exactly like high school.”
“But I started feeling hot and clammy and went outside to get some air,” I said, not acknowledging it might’ve been the edible, “and all of a sudden Henry was there, asking me if I was okay.”