The Kiss List

by Sara Jo Cluff

  Kaitlyn’s shiny, curly hair basically looked like it should be on the cover of a magazine. Add in her button-down pastel dress with a thick brown belt, her long, silky brown legs, and she was stunning.

  Kaitlyn wrapped her arm around my shoulder and steered me away from Dylan. “Okay, seriously, what was that?”

  “What was what?” I asked.

  Hayley rolled her eyes. “You two were seconds from undressing each other right here in Brady Tucker’s kitchen.” She stared at the marble counter. “At least we can assume their maids do a decent job of keeping it clean. But still. Gross.”

  I glanced around and noticed that a lot of intrigued eyes were staring at me. I folded my arms close to me. “Just saying goodbye.”

  Kaitlyn frowned, highlighting her thick lips. “What do you mean, goodbye?”

  Taking their hands in mine, I escorted them outside and off to a quiet spot around the side of the house. There were tons of people playing around in the humungous rock pool, making it not much quieter than the music in the house.

  “Dylan and I broke up.” I stared at my two friends, wondering what their reactions would be.

  Hayley threw her arms up toward the heavens. “I’m so happy and completely sad. Happy you finally got rid of that sack of . . . garbage. Sad that I’ll have to come through on my promise to never swear again since God finally answered my prayers.”

  Kaitlyn scrunched her face in confusion, yet she still looked adorable. “That kiss didn’t look like a break-up kiss.” She put a hand on her hip and fanned herself with her hand. “I’ve never seen you with that much passion about anything before. Well, aside from softball.” She sucked in a sharp breath. That was one topic we hadn’t broached in a while, and I chose to ignore it for the moment.

  I lowered my arms, unsure of what to do with them. It was uncomfortable for me to talk about. While I was a deep romantic, I also was a ‘what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors’ kind of girl. I finally stuffed my hands in the pockets of my skirt. “I’m just sad to lose my first boyfriend.”

  “Do you mean in general?” Hayley asked. “Or Dylan specifically?”

  I shrugged, my hands moving up in my pockets. “I hate that this chapter of my life is over. I mean, I’ll miss Dylan, but I’ll miss having a boyfriend even more. Does that make sense?”

  Kaitlyn put her hand on my arm, her smooth skin soft on mine. Since her favorite things—basketball and doing people’s hair—required frequent use of her hands, she always made sure to moisturize like crazy. “Yeah, we get it. But you don’t need a boyfriend.”

  “Seriously,” Hayley said with an edge to her tone. “You have us. Boys suck.”

  I stared up at the sky. The sun was almost down, and the stars were waking up. “I just don’t know who I am without Dylan.” I leaned back against the side of the house, the stucco clinging to my shirt.

  Hayley leaned next to me, her body turned toward me. “You’re Camille Collins. One of the toughest, smartest girls I’ve ever known.”

  Kaitlyn saddled up on the other side of me. “Driven. Smoking hot. A good person. Loyal.”

  They paused. My eyebrows slid up. “You didn’t have to stop.”

  They both shoved me on the arm, squishing my body.

  “You’re not defined by Dylan,” Kaitlyn said, linking her arm with mine.

  Hayley fingered one of her daith piercings, something she often did but probably didn’t realize. “In fact, I think you’re better without him.”

  I turned to her. “Really?”

  She nodded, a fierceness in her eyes that gave me courage. “You kind of got lost as Dylan’s girlfriend. This will give you a chance to focus on you.”

  “I agree.” Kaitlyn rested her long arm on my shoulder. “I know I’m going on a date with Garrett, but it’s just one date. Let’s focus on some girl time for a while.”

  “Yes!” Hayley squeezed my arm. “That’s what I’m talking about.” She snapped her fingers. “Oh, there’s a new band playing at The Shack next Saturday. I’ve been dying to hear them play. Let’s go. No boys allowed.”

  “Perfect,” Kaitlyn said.

  The two of them wrapped their arms around me, and we stood there on the side of the house, hugging like I hadn’t just lost my first boyfriend. I was so lucky to have them.

  Chapter 5

  After ten more minutes, we wandered back into the house. There was a weird buzz below my skin that I didn’t know what to do with. I had my two best friends at my side, but I wasn’t sure I was in the mood to party. I’d rather be at home, curled up under a blanket, and watching Easy A for the billionth time. Add in a bowl of caramel popcorn, and I’d be the happiest girl in the world.

  But, instead, I was pretending like I was having a fun time. Which, really, after a few dances with my friends, I was enjoying myself. There was something freeing about being with my two gal pals, completely unattached to a guy, and just letting loose. Maybe I could survive. Maybe I didn’t need Dylan.

  Bruno Mars came on, and Hayley, Kaitlyn, and I all held hands, swaying and singing along at the top of our lungs. Nothing could ever come between us.

  Until a slow song came on, and Garrett batted his pretty brown eyes at Kaitlyn, and she all but swooned. They somehow melded together in the middle of the living room, and I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to pry them apart. He was tall and strong like her and played volleyball. Kaitlyn used to play, but she was having a hard time juggling between it and basketball, so she finally settled on basketball since she loved it more. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she found her love of volleyball again, though.

  “So much for girl time,” Hayley whispered in my ear. She squeezed my arm. “I’m going to go get some water. Want anything?”

  “No, thanks.”

  She left me standing there all alone in a sea of couples dancing. My momentary high vanished into the overly-perfume-and-cologne air, swirling among the sweaty bodies grinding on each other.

  I squeezed my eyes shut tight, wishing I could transport myself to my bedroom.

  Someone bumped into me. The giggle that followed made me dig my fingernails into my skin so I wouldn’t say anything mean. Sadie. I spun around to find her and Liam all cuddled up in a disgusting display. Liam winked at me when he saw me gawking at them.

  I snapped my mouth shut and whipped around, only to fall right into the arms of Brady Tucker. He thought it meant I wanted to dance, so his hands landed on my waist. I almost pushed him away, but thought, “why not?” It was just a dance. And Brady was hot. Plus, it was his house. It would be rude to deny the host a simple dance.

  Brady wore a dark blue button-down shirt, the long sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and the top two buttons undone, showing some of his smooth chest. His shirt was tucked into his jeans, showing off his thick brown leather belt. The guy certainly knew how to dress.

  “Your boyfriend is a loser,” Brady said. His sharp jaw was clenched tight, highlighting the muscles.

  “Then why did you let him win that fight?” I asked. “We both know you could have won if you wanted.”

  His muscles loosened. “Because I deserved it for saying those things about her.” He arched an eyebrow. “I was surprised it was your boyfriend that intervened.”

  I patted his shoulders. “He’s no longer my boyfriend.”

  Brady’s gorgeous brown eyes swept to mine, and his smolder took over. “Oh, really?”

  I intertwined my fingers behind his neck. “Yep. Totally over. He and Raelynn can hook it up all they want now.” The thought made my stomach roll, but I shoved the unease away.

  “So could we.” Brady wiggled his eyebrows. He probably had meant it to be seductive, but for some reason, I found it hilarious. I busted out laughing until his glare cut me off.

  “Yeah, I’m so not dating anyone for a while,” I said.

  “Who said anything about dating?”

  Sighing, I patted his cheeks. “Brady, it’s not going to happen. Deal with it.�
��

  He doubled my sigh, his whole body sagging. “I think she really likes him.”

  “Raelynn?” I didn’t want to picture her and Dylan together. No way he’d move on that fast. I mean, we’d only been broken up for less than an hour. Considering we’d been together over a year, no one moved on that fast.

  Brady held me close, like I was a stuffed teddy bear that would wipe away his worries. “I’ve seen them making eyes at each other at school.”

  What was he talking about? Had they? I’d never noticed. But then again, I’d never been looking. I didn’t think I had to look.

  “How could she move on so fast?” His eyes glistened. I had to lean in to see better. Was Brady Tucker crying?

  “That’s life for you,” I said. “One minute everything is fine, the next, someone breaks your heart.”

  He used a palm to massage his eye. “Sorry, there’s something in my eye.” He sniffed, wiping his nose on his shirt sleeve. I had to lean back so I wouldn’t get elbowed in the face. “Stupid allergies.”

  I had a feeling it wasn’t allergies, but I wasn’t about to say anything. “Looks like you could use some water.” I dropped my arms and stepped away from him. “Want me to get you one?”

  His chin fell to his chest. “No.”

  Moping Brady was not attractive. It gave me all the more reason why I wouldn’t cry over Dylan in public. He looked like a sad puppy. I kinda wanted to hold him in my arms and rock his worries away. Honestly, I think he would have let me, even though we were in the middle of his living room surrounded by all the other juniors.

  Liam’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Always making the boys cry, aren’t you, Cam-Sam?” He scrunched his nose. “I don’t like that nickname. I’ll take it off the list of options.”

  I shrugged away from him. “There shouldn’t be a list.”

  “I’m not crying. There was something in my eye.” Brady took in all the guests dancing around us. “I shouldn’t have had this party. I thought it would be a good distraction.”

  Liam’s smirk dropped, and he stepped in close to his friend. “Say the word, and I’ll get everyone out of here.”

  With a slow nod of his head, Brady patted Liam’s arm. “I’m gonna go watch a movie in my room.”

  Liam leaned in close to Brady, keeping his voice low, but I still heard. “Please tell me you aren’t going to watch The Notebook again.”

  “Of course not!” Brady’s eyes flickered over to me, and I did my best to pretend like I hadn’t heard, which was hard because I kind of wanted to laugh. “Why would you even ask that?” He huffed and pushed Liam away from him before he disappeared up the stairs.

  Liam turned to me. “I feel bad for the guy. Raelynn really did a number on him.” He glanced around the room. “I’ll go outside and shut it down out there. Want to do the inside?”

  “On it.”

  With a soft smile, Liam headed out the back door with his hands in his pockets. When he wasn’t teasing me, he was a pretty good person and a real good friend to Brady.

  I stared around the room. There were so many bodies moving to the rhythm. There was only one way to end the party. Muttering apologies, I shuffled my way to where DJ Ice, aka Isaac Lee, was set up. He had his headphones pressed up against one ear, his whole body moving along to the beat. He didn’t like to wear his headphones over his head like a normal person because that would ruin his perfectly gelled black hair. He currently had question marks shaved into the sides of his hair, wrapping from ear to ear behind his head.

  I waved my arms in front of him, trying to get his attention. He answered with a head nod, like I was some buddy of his. I pushed my way around to Isaac and stood on my tiptoes.

  “Turn off the music,” I shouted.

  Isaac narrowed his brown eyes. “What?”

  With the speakers blasting just feet away from us, he couldn’t hear me. Even if he had, Isaac wasn’t one to just turn off the music and send his partiers packing.

  I followed the extension cord running along the wall until I found the outlet. With a mighty yank, I removed the cord, and the whole sound system shut down. Immediately, shouts rose up, demanding that the music be turned back on. On the down side, I was finally able to hear Isaac’s voice, the profanity stringing from him so unattractive.

  Ignoring him, I stood on the coffee table in the middle of the room and cupped my hands over my mouth. “The party is over. Go home.”

  “Why?” Garrett yelled. He was right below me, so he flinched when he realized how loud he’d been. He rubbed a hand over his slick, close-cropped hair.

  “Uh, because.” No way I was telling our junior class that Brady was having a sulk fest with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling and needed some privacy. Especially since I needed to do the same thing. Just with Emma Stone. “The cops are coming.”

  “There’s no alcohol,” some guy said.

  “Sure.” I winked at the crowd. “Of course not. But seriously, leave.”

  Kaitlyn tugged on the bottom of my skirt to get my attention. “What’s going on?”

  I yanked her up on the table with me. The juniors might not listen to me, but they’d listen to Kaitlyn Hawkins. I whispered in her ear. “Brady needs everyone to leave. I’ll explain later. Just get them out of here.”

  With a firm nod, Kaitlyn clapped her hands. “Alright, everyone, the party is officially over.”

  A bunch of moans echoed through the house. They all sagged out like she’d just announced she was taking away their prized pony.

  “Wow.” I put my hands on my hips. “They ignore me, but one word from you, and bam, they’re gone.”

  She flipped her hair back. “Technically, it was six words, but you know, who’s counting?”

  “You.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me. Garrett helped her down from the table, even though he didn’t need to. It was a coffee table. It wasn’t like we were high off the ground. Which was why I jumped, landing on both feet at the same time.

  “You’re adorable when you leap.” Liam grinned. “Almost everyone is out of the pool. I’ll go check for stragglers in any of the bedrooms.”

  I blanched. “Have fun with that.”

  He groaned. “Yeah, I’m pretty afraid of what I’m going to find.”

  I put my hands on his shoulders and turned him toward the stairs. “You got this, champ.”

  “Thanks, sport.”

  There were still some voices coming from the kitchen, so I rounded the corner, ready to tell them to jet when I saw it was Dylan, his friends, and none other than the reason the party ended: Raelynn.

  My feet thought on their own and scooted back until I was out of sight. I had this itching urge to hear what they were talking about.

  “So, it’s over?” one of Dylan’s friends said. Pete. I so wouldn’t miss him.

  “Yep.” Dylan almost sounded relieved.

  Pete hollered. “So glad. She drove me crazy.”

  What? Pretty sure he was the one who drove me crazy. He was always hovering around like an annoying helicopter mom.

  “What are we doing?” Hayley whispered behind me. I turned to see her and Kaitlyn staring at me. I held my fingers to my lips, pointed at the kitchen, and mouthed Dylan. Both their mouths went into the shape of an O, and then they stepped forward, pushing into me so they could hear better.

  “She’s such a prude,” Pete said. That didn’t bother me. I had no qualms with being a virgin.

  “What do you mean?” Raelynn asked. Her tone was sweet, bordering on high-pitched annoying.

  “She wouldn’t do anything other than kiss,” Pete said.

  All their other friends snickered. Raelynn gasped. “Seriously? That was it? You only kissed for what, over a year?”

  Hayley pushed forward like she wanted to run into the kitchen, but I held her back. I really didn’t care what Raelynn thought of me.

  “Crazy, right?” Dylan said. “I’m ready for a real relationship.”

  My hands balled into
fists.

  “Not to mention,” Dylan continued, “she wasn’t that great of a kisser.”

  I gasped. I hadn’t realized I was moving forward until both Kaitlyn and Hayley wrapped their arms around me and pulled me away from the kitchen. I dug my feet into the ground and tried to push forward. That good-for-nothing tone-deaf prick. I wasn’t a good kisser? Please. He enjoyed it. He always did. I could tell.

  “Leave it,” Kaitlyn warned.

  “He’s not worth it,” Hayley added.

  “You were just about to take down Raelynn!” I cried.

  Hayley jerked her head back like I’d said something stupid. “Yeah, because she is worth it.”

  They shoved me back, keeping me from raining down destruction on Dylan and his stupid friends. Oh, Pete. I swear, if I ever got my hands on that guy, he’d never be able to walk straight again.

  They fought against me until they pushed me into the wall. Only, it wasn’t a wall. It was Liam.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  I swatted at my friends. “They won’t let me go kick Dylan’s butt.”

  Liam chuckled. “Since you used the word butt, you shouldn’t be allowed to kick him anywhere.”

  “Not helping,” I said through gritted teeth. “I can’t believe he said that. I’m a bad kisser? Really? That’s just insane.”

  Kaitlyn’s eyes were soft. “He didn’t mean it. He’s probably just trying to make himself feel better about the break-up.”

  Liam whistled, rocking back on his heels. “He said you were a bad kisser?” He tapped Kaitlyn on the arm. “From what I hear, you’re amazing. Maybe you could teach her a thing or two.”

  I rounded on him, ready to throw a punch, but Kaitlyn and Hayley ruined all my fun.

  “Not tonight, Camille,” Hayley grunted as she pushed me toward the front door. “We are getting you home, into something incredibly comfy, and watching movies until we fall asleep.”

  Kaitlyn helped her get me outside of the house and onto the porch. “We’ll stop and get candy and Dr Pepper on the way home.”