by Cassie Mae
Okay… We’re doing this.
I think of all the YouTube videos I watched after I told Kaylee I would do this. All the research is about to pay off. I can do this. We can do this.
I nod back.
Walk, walk, triple step, triple step, rock step, inside turn and dip. I run my hands up to just beneath her shoulder blades and lunge to my left. Her arms wrap around my shoulder and my gaze settles on hers.
Our breaths are in short gasps, chests heaving with each exhale. My eyes linger on hers then drift to her perfect pouty lips.
This is what dreams are made of. What movies try to recreate. I have this beautiful girl in my arms, and she’s holding on to me, staring at me as if she’s waiting. I lower my head. I’m so close I can smell her strawberry lip-gloss, mere inches away from tasting it. She sucks in a breath and angles her head toward mine.
She wants this. Oh. My. God. She wants this.
“That is what I’m talking about.” Ava trots over to us and claps her hands. “The chemistry.” She kisses her finger tips. “Mwah. Perfection. You can’t create this chemistry. You either have it, or you don’t. And these two definitely have it.”
I’m about to pull a disappearing act. I was seconds away from kissing the girl of my dreams, and now Ava is telling the class about our amazing chemistry. She’s so over-the-moon excited you would think we just engaged in a pornographic act or something.
Not that I’ve ever seen one. Okay, maybe one. Ryan made me do it. Okay he didn’t physically force me or anything, but when something like that pops up on your computer screen you don’t exactly shield your eyes.
Ava steps in between me and Kaylee, throwing her arms around us. I shake any inappropriate thoughts from my head and focus on the dust bunny in the corner of the room.
“You guys just made my night. I know you were just doing this as a surprise for Kaylee’s dad, but you two have natural skills and amazing chemistry. A few more classes and you can be ready to compete. Would you be interested in something like that?”
“Yes!”
“Huh?” I say when Kaylee’s word registers in my mind. “Compete?”
Ava squeezes my shoulder. “You don’t have to decide now. Just something to think about.” She gives us a smile and skips over to Mark, who just went right when he was supposed to go left.
Kaylee takes my hand. A blond strand falls loose from her braid and sticks to the glimmer of moisture on her forehead. I want to reach out and push it off, but I can’t get my other hand to move. “I think we should do it.”
“Competition is like big.”
“I know!” Her face lights up like the Vegas strip. So how the heck am I supposed to deny her this?
“We’ll have to practice more. Which means we’ll have to spend more time together. A lot more time together. Is that what you really want?”
She glances up at me and slides her teeth over her lip before saying, “That’s exactly what I want.”
Chapter 7
I just found out there are over 750 guys in this school. And 90% are straight. Which means I’ve got competition where you’re concerned. So yeah, I’ve stepped up my game and I’m including a present. I know, I know. No need to thank me.
I reach into my locker and wrap my fingers around a button pin that says “Life is better when you’re laughing.” A big smile forms on my lips as I tack it onto my backpack strap.
“Finally,” Marcus says, jamming his saxophone into his locker. “He’s upgraded to cheesy gifts. It’s about time.”
“You’re just jealous.” I flip my braid off my shoulder. “Any luck on discovering who he is?”
“He is insanely sneaky,” he says with a tilt of his head. “I never catch anyone over here in BF Egypt. The man has got some mad skills.”
A double pump goes through my heart. A cute butt and a master at disappearing acts. Sounds like someone I know!
“If he ever makes an appearance, I want details,” I tell him, slamming my locker door shut and walking backward down the hall.
“Likewise,” he calls as I turn around and head to the gym locker room.
After I got home last night I talked Mr. Pippi’s ear off about Nate’s dancing, and his lips, and his eyes, and that freaking adorable hat he wears all the time now, and I love my gerbil. I do. But he is so not enthusiastic. And my whole body is on a buzz so much that I don’t care if I don’t really know Lexie that well, I need girl talk. So I got up early in hopes that I can catch her before class.
The locker room smells like hairspray and lilac deodorant as I barrel through the doors, breath rushing out in relief when I spot Lexie already decked out in her gym attire.
I plop my tooshie right next to her. “Does Nate kiss girls?”
“Excuse me, what?” she says, blinking a few times before bending over to lace her shoe.
“Does he kiss girls? Inquiring minds want to know.”
“He’s straight, if that’s what you mean.”
I wave my hand at her. “I know that. I’m just wondering if he kisses a lot of girls. Does he pass them out like his deck of cards? Or is he pretty stingy with them?”
“What makes you think I know?” She sits back, fluffing her hair into a ponytail.
“You’ve been friends with him forever.” I blink my wide eyes and thrust my clasped hands out at her. “Please, Lexie. I need a girl to talk to about this.”
“Did Nate… did he kiss you?” She looks shocked from her open mouth to her knees. It makes me pout. Would that be totally unbelievable?
“No. Not technically. We had an almost kiss.”
“An almost kiss.”
“You know, the inches away from each other’s lips kind of kiss. The ones that make the audience go, ‘do it, do it, do it!’ during the movies. And the darn dance teacher interrupted us! But it was possibly the best freaking moment of my life, and I just want to make sure that it’s not just something Nate is used to—that he does this with a lot of girls, or if I’m special, you know? Don’t want to get in too deep when he’s not feeling it.”
Lexie’s lips turn up, and she swivels on the locker bench to face me head on. “Um, okay. Nate isn’t exactly the ‘player’ type. If he kisses you, it probably means he’s feeling it.”
“Really?” My voice pitches up an octave. “Oh my gosh, thank you, Bestie.”
“Don’t call me that,” she says as I swing my arms around her. She lets out an “oof,” and pats my back. I don’t care what she says, she loves the nickname.
And if this is all true, an almost kiss could mean he’s almost feeling it with me. I can work with that.
***
I adjust my braids and fix my camisole before knocking tap tappa tap tap on Nate’s door. He hurls the thing open like he’d been standing there at the peephole, and without even thinking about it, I throw my arms around him for a quick hug.
“Hey,” I say, quickly retreating in case that was too close too soon. His face is red, but otherwise, he looks like he doesn’t mind my physical version of “hello.”
“Hey.”
“Put me to work, Magic Man.”
He chuckles, tips his fedora, and a bubbly sensation rises up my chest into my brain. He leads me through his living room, down a hallway, past a bathroom, and to the top of the basement stairs.
“Uh… I want to work on the zig-zag box. I-it’s in my room.”
“Sounds good.” Sounds nerve-wracking. His room. Nate’s room. No big deal, Kaylee. No big deal. Calm your toes.
As we get farther down the steps, the smell of paint and wood filters through my nose. Along with Fierce by Abercrombie and Fitch. That’s totally Nate’s cologne. When I took a whiff of it in the last Cosmo it automatically brought visions of grey eyes, dark hair, and suspenders.
He opens the door at the bottom of the stairs. I slide past him into the room, which is jam-packed. It’s not a huge room, so I can’t believe how much stuff he’s been able to get in here. His bed’s a twin, covered in simple blac
k and white sheets. There’s a 3000 piece or more puzzle he’s done of the Las Vegas strip, glued together and framed along the far wall. There’s a dresser that looks stuffed full, bits of clothes sticking from the drawers. He has a three-shelf bookcase with one shelf dedicated to card decks. A small card table folded up and stuffed by the head of the bed. And the big six-foot vertical box, painted black with a woman figure on the front. There are two holes for hands and a hole for a face.
“Wow,” I say, running a finger over the edge. “It’s like you’re that guy from Pitch Perfect.”
“Haven’t seen that one.”
“You should. It’s hilarious.”
He clears his throat and plays with the rim of his hat. “Maybe after we practice we could see if it’s on Netflix. If you wanna stay, I mean.”
Did he just ask me out? Holy wow, I’m counting it.
“I’ll text my dad and ask.” I whip my phone out and shoot the text off, then circle around the box to examine it—and hide my blush.
“Is this like a totally legit zig-zag box?”
He shakes his head and takes a step toward it, leaning on the opposite side. “Those are pricey, so I… well, I made this one.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s uh…”
“It looks awesome.”
His lip twitches. “Well, Ryan and Pop-pop—that’s Ryan’s grandpa—they did most of the handiwork. And Lexie painted it.”
“She’s good.”
“Must be all that nail polish painting she does.”
I snort. Lexie’s nail color changes daily. It’s one of those things that make me think she’s not totally tomboyish. She just hangs out with the guys. “It’s cool that they help you out with this stuff.”
“They’re my best friends.”
His eyes drift over the front of the box, and my heart pounds thick and heavy.
“I’m jealous. I wish I had friends I’d known since like, preschool.”
“Yeah, but sometimes the ones you meet in high school get to see the real you, you know? So maybe they last longer.”
Butterflies are having a war in my stomach as he looks over at me. For once in my whole life, I’m totally tongue tied.
He lets out a breath and shakes his head again. His fingers wrap around the door on the box, and he pulls it open. “Let’s see if you fit.”
I settle my hand in his briefly as he helps me in. Tingles zip through my fingertips, and they stay there even after he lets go.
“Okay, so you’re gonna want to squeeze tight to the side of the box.”
“Which side?”
“The left side.”
“My left? Or your left?”
“Mine. No wait. Yours. No… mine.”
“What?”
We both laugh, and he taps the right side of the box. “Here.”
“Okay.”
“When I close it, suck in your stomach as much as you can. Rotate your hips so the blades don’t get you.”
My eyebrows shoot straight to the roof of this thing. “Um, blades?”
“It’s okay. You’re flexible. I won’t get you.”
I shake my head, ready to hop out of the torture box. “No, no. I thought I was just going to be holding scarves and handkerchiefs or something. Not get sliced to death!”
He smiles wide. “You won’t.”
“I can barely fit in here as it is.”
“Oh come on, there’s plenty of room.”
“No way.”
He pushes out a breath, and next thing I know he’s stepping into the box with me. I shove against the right side, pressing as much as I can next to it. But his legs hit my legs. His face aligns with mine. Warm breath washes over me, making me shiver, and that makes no sense because it’s blazing hot all of a sudden.
Nate gulps, like he just realized how close we are. But he sticks his hand in the face hole in the door and swings it shut, locking us in the semi-dark.
“See. Plenty of room.”
My heart is pounding, and that’s so not smooth because he can probably feel it punching him in the chest. He rests an arm over my head, flattening his palm against the box. He smiles, and I smile, then we let out this really bizarre laugh and knock heads.
“Ouch,” I say through my giggles.
“Okay, so you trust me? I won’t slice you.”
“I trust you. It’s me I’m not too sure of.”
He laughs. “You’ll be fine.” A shaky hand touches my ribs. “Suck in here.” Light pressure moves me flat against the side of the box. His eyes stay locked with mine. And my heart continues to pound and pound and I can’t seem to breathe, or hear, or move, or blink, or think, or do much of anything.
Nate grins a shy grin, drops his hand from my waist and pushes on the door, but it doesn’t budge. “Oh, shit.” He pushes again. Then again. Then I help him and nothing. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“Is this part of the trick?” I tease, hoping joking will take away the tension flying around us.
“Ha ha.” He tries to step back, but gets my toes. A hiss slips through my teeth, and he says, “Whoops,” and then he tries to scoot away, but his leg goes into mine, then his arm hits my boob, and even in the dark I see him go red. He spurts out apologies while I try to control my laughter.
“Okay, I’m gonna get my phone,” I tell him. “If I hit any body parts in the process, I’m sorry.”
He holds extra still while I slither my hand to my back pocket. My chest presses against his, my face a little in his neck, and I not-so-subtly take a deep inhale of his cologne.
Once I get my phone in front of my face, I send a text out to Lexie, thankful I asked for her number this morning during gym, and doubly thankful that she gave it to me.
Nate’s kidnapped me in a magic box! Locked us both in and now we can’t get out. Help is needed… but honestly, take your time because he’s like, inches from my face again ;)
I tuck the phone in my front pocket and flick my gaze up. Nate’s laughter is gone, and he gulps.
“Um… so you… noticed what happened last night, too?”
I want to smack my forehead. Of course he could see what I was typing.
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Oh gosh. “I’m sorry. Please don’t get weird on me. I wasn’t thinking when I sent that text. Just like, joking or something. Forget it.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why forget it? I want to know.”
“Want to know what?”
He gulps again. “If you… like having me inches from your face.”
My heart should go out for the track team. I can’t seem to get my mouth to form the answer, even though it’s right there on my tongue. Nate licks his lips, settles his hand above my head against the box again. We’re trapped in here. So freaking close. And what if I say heck yes I want his lips that close to mine, and he goes, “Sorry, but you’re just too wild or too ditsy or too whatever for me. But thanks anyway.” Holy mortifying.
“Kaylee?”
“Yeah?” I croak like my throat is giving birth to a deranged frog.
“I like you.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, reach out, and pinch.
“Ow,” he says, rubbing the leg that’s pressed with mine.
“Sorry.” I laugh. “I thought that was me.”
“Why would you pinch yourself?” he says through a chuckle.
“Because I really like you. And I just wanted to make sure I heard you right, or if I’d run out of oxygen and passed out and started dreaming—”
Warm, moist lips graze my mouth and stop me mid-sentence. Breath catches in my throat, and Nate’s forehead comes down on mine while his mouth retreats.
“Sorry, I—”
What? No sorries. That was the most amazing kiss I’ve had… and it was only like, half a second.
I yank on the back of his head, stumbling a bit because it’s dark and I have no aim, but our lips mesh into a groove. Fire sc
orches my neck and cheeks, and my heart gets its workout. His hands tentatively touch my waist, and I slide my arms around his neck, pressing my chest flat against his. He’s warm like summer in California, and he kisses like his whole soul is wrapped up in his lips, and he’s sharing it with me.
It’s better than I imagined—and I imagined it a lot. Tucked away in a corner at school. On the track during gym class. In his car. On the street by my house. In a fancy restaurant. During dance class. In the cafeteria. Everywhere, really. But not a single one of those fantasies measure up to the actual real life thing—trapped inside a magic box right after he said the words “I like you.”
I really hope Lexie takes the long way here.
Chapter 8
I’m happy Kaylee pinched me because if she didn’t I’d also think this was a dream. Her lips are like two perfect cushions pressing against mine. And her tongue. My. God. The things she’s doing must be illegal in some countries.
We can’t possibly get any closer, but I feel the need to try so I shift toward her. My elbow goes right into her boob. Her lips leave mine, the cutest squeal comes from her throat, and her neck is mere centimeters from my mouth, so I close the gap and trail a path along her skin.
Her hands tighten on my shoulders and instead of a squeal, a moan tumbles out. I run my fingers up the back of her head and pull her lips back to mine.
I hear noise outside, but I ignore it. All I care about is Kaylee and how she’s making me feel. How much I’ve wanted this and how I never thought a girl like her would go for a guy like me. I’d be a fool to let go now.
The darkness fades and light consumes me. What is this girl doing to me?
“I knew it! You owe me five bucks,” Lexie’s words penetrate my happy circle. “And uh guys, can you stop making out now? You have an audience if you haven’t noticed.”
I pull away from Kaylee and blink my eyes open. Lexie and Ryan stand across from us. Lexie’s hands rest on her hips. Her purple painted nails, drumming against her jeans. Ryan nods at me with that smirk of his, and I know in his head he’s saying “Yeah boy!”
