The Truth About Thongs (Mapleville High #1)

by Stephanie Rowe

  "So you put him on the Ledge instead of vice versa." Allie handed me a tube of lip gloss. "Try this. You need to clean up before your mom gets here."

  "No, I didn't put him on the Ledge. I made a total fool of myself and convinced him not to waste his time with me." I flopped back on the sidewalk, not even caring that dirt was grinding into my sweater. What did it matter? I was never showing my face in public again. I draped my arms over my face and tried to pretend I didn't exist.

  "I think you're wrong." Allie tapped the lip gloss against her chin, staring thoughtfully across the street at a man walking his German shepherd.

  Something about Allie's tone caught my interest, and I dragged my arm off my face so I could peek at her. "What do you mean? Wrong about what?"

  "Well, you were all sexy and hot tonight, and Heath was totally into you, right?"

  "If you say so." I rather liked her assessment of the evening, however, and yeah, he'd seemed pretty into me.

  "So just when he thought he had you, you ditched him."

  I groaned. "Don't remind me."

  "No, no!" Allie grabbed my arm before I could bury my face in my hands again. "It's good! Now he's wondering whether you actually like him or not. He's got one foot on the Ledge, and that's going to keep his interest. If you like a guy, you never, ever, ever kiss him on the first date. That's the fastest way to get him not to call you again."

  "You kiss boys all the time," Natalie pointed out.

  "But I don't like them," she said, as if that made sense. "If I liked them, it would be totally different. I'd never kiss a boy I like, not at first."

  I stared at her. "That sounds strange."

  "Of course it is," Allie agreed. "Boys are strange. They like a challenge, though, and that's what you gave him."

  I pursed my lips. Was Allie right? Had I not totally blown it?

  "Blue, you've put your first guy on the Ledge. Heath is standing there in the wind, peering down at Storrow Drive, wondering how much he needs his spleen. His darling Blue, leaving him in the middle of the dance floor. What's a boy to do?"

  I giggled. "That's what he's thinking?"

  "Yep. And you can bet he'll come find you first thing at your next rehearsal together. Just to check in and make sure you don't hate him." Allie grinned. "Louisa would be proud."

  "I'm proud," Natalie said.

  "Me, too." Frances nodded her head.

  "Congratulations, Blue," Allie said. "You are now a woman."

  A woman, huh?

  A guy on the Ledge and a thong riding up my bum. Who'd have guessed?

  "So you have rehearsal tomorrow night?" Allie was sitting on the feed bin, swinging her feet, while Natalie and Frances lounged on the pile of horse blankets in the corner. I was sweeping the floor, because Mom had told me that Colin couldn't make it today.

  Not a problem, because I didn't have rehearsal tonight. But tomorrow was a different story. "Yep. I guess I'll see him tomorrow, since all my scenes are with him and all." I hadn't seen him since the party. Five whole days to think about that night and try to decide whether Allie was right that Heath would be completely in love with me by the time I saw him, or whether I would be laughed at the minute I walked into the rehearsal hall. "How should I act? Should I apologize for leaving?"

  "No!" Allie stomped her foot on the bin for emphasis. "Remember, he's the one who needs to be unsure right now. Play it cool. Let him take the lead. Let him wonder if you're mad at him. Wear the thong. It'll put you in the right frame of mind."

  "I think I need more thongs. I can't keep washing that one all the time." I finished sweeping and leaned the broom against the wall. "And what if he tries to kiss me again?"

  "You should kiss him," Allie said. "Not a long one. Just a little one, and then cut him off."

  Natalie nodded. "Don't push him away too hard. He needs to see that you're worth the chase." When we all gave Natalie a surprised look at her Allie-type advice, she shrugged. "I've been listening to Allie for so long I know what she's going to say."

  "Well, okay, that's great advice, but there's one small problem with that." Or rather, one big problem. "I still don't know how to kiss! That was why I didn't kiss him in the first place. Not because I was putting him on the Ledge."

  "Who didn't you kiss?" Colin appeared in the doorway, a big, annoying grin on his face.

  Oh, God, I wanted to die right then, right there. Why, oh, why, did he keep walking into our conversations like this? This was completely humiliating.

  "Heath Cavendish," Allie announced.

  "Allie!" Okay, I was wrong. Now I was completely humiliated.

  "Really?" Colin leaned against the doorjamb and folded his arms across his chest, as if he was going to stay and join the conversation. "I can't imagine many girls refuse to kiss Heath. How'd he take it?"

  "I don't know," I muttered. "I left."

  "You refused to kiss him and then took off?" Colin grinned. "I love it."

  I was not getting into this discussion with a boy. "Why are you here? Mom said you weren't coming today."

  "Plans changed, so I thought I'd swing by and see if there was anything to do. I could always use the extra cash."

  "Well, I'm covering it tonight, so you can leave."

  Something flashed in Colin's eyes, then he shrugged. "Fine. I'll see you around, then."

  "Wait a sec." Allie jumped off the feed bin and grabbed Colin's arm. "You should stay. We could use your advice."

  Was she insane? "No, we can't. He should leave."

  "No, no." Allie tugged Colin back into the barn. "Colin, I have a question for you."

  I had to feel a little sorry for him. He didn't really look like he wanted to be subjected to Allie's interrogation, but he was too nice to reject her. Because he was nice, even if he did have a habit of catching me in embarrassing moments.

  "Anyway," Allie continued, "if a guy kissed a girl who'd never kissed before, would he be able to tell?"

  Colin narrowed his eyes. "Tell what?"

  "That she hadn't kissed before." Allie rolled her eyes in exasperation, while I contemplated pretending to pass out so I would have to be rushed off to the hospital, and therefore spared this incredibly humiliating discussion of my kissing talents.

  Granted, I wasn't interested in Colin, but he was a boy. Which meant I didn't want him listening to my kissing failures.

  "Oh." Colin glanced at me. "That's why you didn't kiss Heath? Because you were afraid he'd think you weren't good at kissing?"

  If only the earth would swallow me up now. "I really don't think we need to be having this conversation." I turned away and began filling feed buckets. "I have work to do. You all should leave."

  "And I thought you refused to kiss him because you just didn't want to kiss him," Colin said, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Dumb idea, I guess. As I said, what girl would turn down Heath Cavendish?"

  "So he's popular," I snapped at Colin. "What's wrong with that?" Personally, I thought it was kinda cool that he was popular.

  Colin shrugged. "Nothing."

  "You didn't answer Allie's question," Frances interrupted Colin. "We really want to know."

  "Frances!" What was with my friends? Since when had it become their goal to embarrass me so badly? "I don't want to know!"

  Colin turned away from me and looked at Frances, the corners of his mouth turned up in amusement. "You mean, would I be able to tell if I kissed a girl who wasn't experienced? You guys really want to know that?"

  "Yes," she said.

  Natalie nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, could you tell?"

  "No, we don't want to know!" I grabbed Colin's arm and tried to push him out of the barn, only vaguely noticing that the muscles in his arm were pretty big. "Colin, leave. This conversation is killing me."

  He deftly stepped out of my path and spun back into the barn, still sporting his amused grin. He turned to Frances. "I might be able to tell that a girl was inexperienced, but if I liked her, that would be cool. I'd rather kis
s a girl who hasn't kissed a lot of guys."

  "Really?" Allie twirled her hair, no doubt trying to recall the countless boys she'd kissed. Guaranteed she was contemplating feigning ignorance the next time she kissed a boy.

  "But if I just wanted some action, I'd probably be more interested in someone who knew what she was doing," Colin added.

  Well, thank you, Colin, for muddying the waters.

  "So what about a guy like Heath?" Allie asked, rubbing her own lips thoughtfully. "What would he want?"

  Colin's tone became a little less friendly. "I'm not Heath. I don't know."

  Allie looked at me, still wearing that look that indicated her wheels were turning. "Heath has been around a lot. I bet he's looking for the experienced type."

  I threw up my hands. "Oh, great. Now I'm really going to avoid kissing him. Thanks a lot, Allie."

  "That can be addressed," she said.

  Trepidation slammed my gut. "What can be addressed?" I didn't like the expression on her face, like she was plotting my downfall.

  "Your lack of experience," she said.

  Somehow I felt this entire discussion was heading in a dangerous direction. "What? Am I supposed to practice kissing on the dog?"

  "No." She pointed to Colin. "On him."

  "You want me to kiss Colin?" My stomach flopped and my hands instantly broke into a sweat.

  "No, let Colin kiss you. Let him teach you how to kiss. Then you can kiss Heath and wow him." Allie grinned. "You have to learn somewhere, right?"

  "Oh, yes!" Natalie said.

  "Perfect," Frances exclaimed. "Do it!"

  "I can't kiss Colin," I gasped, not even daring to look at him.

  "But he's cute, and he's nice," Allie said. "Why can't you kiss him?"

  "Because...because..." Because having someone teach me how to kiss would be the most embarrassing thing ever. And Colin? Granted, he was moderately cute, but he wasn't my type at all.

  No way could I kiss him.

  No possible way.

  But I'd never admit I was too wimpy to kiss him. That was even more embarrassing. So, instead, I simply said. "I'd never ask Colin to do that."

  He looked at me, and for the first time I realized that his eyelashes were really long and thick. "I'll kiss you, Blue."

  And I could tell he meant it.

  Chapter Nine

  For an instant I wanted to say yes. I wanted to learn how to be an incredible kisser, and Colin was pretty cute. But not so cute that I'd feel any pressure or anything. I mean, he'd already seen me with a thong in my shopping bag and in stable-cleaning clothes. There was nothing I could do to make him think I was cool, and he already knew I didn't know how to kiss. And since I didn't like him, then I wouldn't have to worry about making a fool of myself. Best of all, the next time Heath tried to kiss me, I wouldn't have to dodge him.

  Yes, I definitely wanted to take Colin up on his offer. But how could I? The whole thing was completely embarrassing. "Um, thanks, but no thanks."

  He lifted his brow. "All right, then."

  "Wait a sec." Allie jumped between us. "You guys can't wimp out. Blue needs to be kissed. And Colin agreed."

  "He didn't agree," I said, my knees beginning to tremble. "He was just being polite."

  "What guy would turn down the offer to teach you how to kiss?" Allie asked me. "Guys love to kiss girls, and Colin's no exception. Right, Colin?"

  He shrugged. "Whatever."

  Be still my beating heart. The boy was magical with his words. Complete mystery why he didn't have girls falling over him. Or did he?

  Allie grabbed Colin's hand and nodded at Natalie, who grabbed my arm. Then they started dragging us across the barn floor.

  "Um...Frances? A little help here?" I implored.

  But Frances was up ahead, unlocking a stall door.

  Colin was going along with the whole affair, looking completely amused. Of course he'd find it funny. Three freshman girls were manhandling him into teaching their friend to kiss in a horse's stall? No doubt he was going to tell all his friends about this hilarious episode next time he saw them. If it weren't my life, I'd be laughing too.

  But since it was my life, I was pretty sure I was about to start crying.

  Well, not really, but close enough.

  Allie pushed Colin into the stall, which I'd just cleaned and loaded with new shavings. It smelled like cedar, a scent I'd always found refreshing and soothing.

  Except today. Today it just made me feel like vomiting. Especially when Frances shoved me in behind him, then shut the door and slid the lock.

  Oh, great. They'd locked us in.

  "We'll be back in ten minutes," Natalie called out. "Keep yourselves busy."

  The lights over our head went out, and then it was silence.

  Us.

  Alone.

  In the dark.

  With kissing on our minds.

  Or at least on mine. He was probably trying to figure out how he was going to get the door unlocked from the inside.

  "Charlie's out in the paddock?" Colin asked.

  "Yes." Obviously. There was no horse in the stall, was there? Okay, so the tension of the moment was making me a wee bit snippy. What else would you expect? "I'm… Um…sorry about this. I really… Um…had no idea…" Oh, my gosh. What if he thought I'd set it up because I wanted to kiss him? "I mean it, Colin; I had nothing do with this. I'd never ask—"

  He laid his hand across my mouth. "Shut up."

  But he said it so nicely that a trickle of warmth slid through my entire body.

  "I know this wasn't your idea," he said.

  "Oh."

  Silence fell.

  What was a girl supposed to say to the boy she was locked up with for the purpose of learning how to kiss?

  "So …" he said.

  "You don't have to kiss me," I blurted out.

  "I don't mind."

  My heart started to hammer. "You don't?" I wished I could see his face. Or maybe I didn't. I was freaking out.

  "Nope."

  "Oh." Well. Now what?

  "So do you want me to?" he asked.

  "To what?"

  "Blue." I could hear the smile in his voice.

  "What?"

  "Do you want me to kiss you?"

  "Um..."

  "It's okay to say yes. It's also okay to say no. Whichever you want."

  I felt like stomping my foot. "Can't you just decide?"

  "You want me to decide whether you want to be kissed?" He sounded amused now.

  "Yes. That would be much better." Of course I wanted him to kiss me. At the same time, I was so nervous that I didn't want him to kiss me. Therefore, I was completely unable to make a decision.

  "Can't do that."

  "You can't kiss me?"

  "I can't make the decision for you," he said.

  "Why not?" God, he was infuriating. Didn't he understand that I could never ask a boy to kiss me?

  "My mom."

  His mom? We had just been talking about kissing, hadn't we? "What are you talking about?"

  "My mom's really into women's lib. And I have six sisters. They'd kill me if I ever kissed a girl who didn't want to kiss me. And trust me, they'd find out."

  Oh, great. This was just spectacular. "Well, I can't ask you to kiss me."

  "Why?"

  "Because it's embarrassing." My eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and I could faintly make out the expression on his face: amused, yet serious. I relaxed a little bit, realizing that he wasn't making fun of me. He looked sort of mysterious in the dark. And anonymous. I felt like I could kiss him and no one else would ever know, and we'd never mention it to each other again. It would be our little secret.

  Plus, then I'd learn how to kiss. And he was pretty cute. And he was a senior. And there was no pressure, since I wasn't trying to get him to like me.

  So maybe it would be okay.

  I took a deep breath. "I want to learn how to kiss. With you. Now."

  There
. I'd said it. I couldn't say it again. Please don't make me say it again.

  But he didn't. He walked over to me and stopped just about six inches from me. At this angle he was really quite tall—probably as tall as Heath.

  He smiled. "Relax."

  "I'm relaxed." Not. I took a deep breath. "Where do I put my hands?"

  "Here." He grasped my wrists and set my hands on his chest, sort of up near his collarbones. "Then you can slide them around my neck if you want."

  His chest was solid and warm beneath my hands, and it felt amazing. "Do I want to slide them around your neck?"

  He chuckled softly. "Blue, you need to relax. There aren't any rules. Just go with the flow." He laid his hands on either side of my face, like he was cradling it. He was so gentle, and my knees were starting to wobble just a little bit. "How are you doing?" he asked.

  "Fine," I whispered.

  "Are you going to faint?"

  "I don't faint."

  "Good." He laughed again, a deep chuckle that made goose bumps rush down my arms. Or maybe the goose bumps were from the feel of his hands on my face, or the warmth of his breath on my cheek, and the fact that I was pretty sure that Colin was about to give me my first kiss. "Ready?"

  I nodded.

  And he leaned toward me.

  He was going to kiss me.

  "Close your eyes," he whispered.

  I closed them.

  And then I felt his lips on mine.

  It was like sparks were shooting through my body. His lips were so soft and warm. Gentle, yet confident. It felt like we were the only two people in the world. Just me. Just Colin. His breath mingled with mine. Everything else disappeared, until he consumed my awareness. All I could smell was the faint scent of his soap, mixed with the cedar chips. All I could feel was the amazing sensation of his lips on mine, of his hands on my face. All I could hear was my heart pounding.

  Then he kissed me a little harder, a little deeper, and my stomach started jumping around. Oh, God. This was a real kiss now.

  "Kiss me back," he whispered.

  "How?" I had no idea what to do, but I didn't feel embarrassed about it. Somehow, Colin had taken away all my self-consciousness and my worry. I could just be me, and admit how I felt, and ask for help, and it was all going to be okay.