by Dean, Ali
A tiny smirk crossed Wyatt’s face. “Saints do not move…” he whispered.
The prompt triggered some unconscious part of my brain where I’d stored the dialogue for last week’s test. “Oh, right.” I pulled my hand away from his, and stepped back. It was easier to think when he wasn’t so close. “Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.”
Wow, I sucked. I sounded like a robot. Is there an award for worst actress? Because I would totally win it.
Wyatt stepped forward again, and gently grabbed me by the shoulders. “Then move not,” he declared. “While my prayer’s effect, I take.”
Oh, he took all right. The gentle grip he’d had on my shoulders became firm and he pulled me to him, smashing our mouths together passionately. I couldn’t see it, but I could tell that this kiss looked exciting to our audience. Something like you’d see at the end of a movie. Wyatt was giving it all he had. Which was a lot.
This kiss was definitely better than any I’d had so far. There was emotion in it. Acted emotion, but still, emotion that made me tingle on the inside. Just as I started to melt, Wyatt released me, and looked deeply into my eyes. “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”
Did I have another line? Hell if I knew. I blinked, and then Wyatt spun me toward the audience. Grabbing my hand, he had me take a bow with him while the class cheered. They were still clapping when Asher stepped between us, and took my hand from Wyatt. “Not bad,” he said to Wyatt. “Now, watch and learn.”
He didn’t give me time to reset before he spun me around once, gripping my fingertips with the barest touch. The delicacy of that touch made me shiver, and he took that as his cue. Pulling me close, he lifted his thumb to my lips. “O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”
My lips parted when he brushed his thumb over them, and I gasped softly. This was new. Wyatt hadn’t done this. But, oh, Wyatt should have done it because whoa. I shivered again.
Miraculously, or possibly because this was my second performance—so to speak—I remembered to say my line. But because of the whole amazing thumb-lip-brushing thing that had given me goose bumps, my words came out a little shaky. “Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake,” I breathed.
According to the play, Juliet should have moved away all cheekily here, flirting or whatnot, but I didn’t budge. I couldn’t. My feet suddenly weighed a million pounds.
Asher moved impossibly closer. His arm slipped around my waist, and he pulled me to him, chest flush against chest. Mine caved in on contact, all the air suddenly gone from my lungs. Our mouths were a mere inch apart as he said, “Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.”
Not going anywhere, I thought to myself, as I got lost in his deep gaze. His lips brushed over mine, so lightly I barely felt them. It made me gasp again and, when my mouth opened, he captured my lips in a soft sweet kiss. It was my first open-mouthed kiss, and I have to say this was a billion times better than anything I’d experienced yet. It ended much too soon. I wanted more, and I think Asher could tell because he gave me the tiniest hint of a smile as he said, “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”
His kiss scrambled my brain. That’s the only explanation for me blurting out the next line. “Then have my lips the sin that they have took.”
Surprise flashed in Asher’s eyes, and his grin turned real. We could have ended the scene where Wyatt had, but this kiss wasn’t finished—at least not for me—and once I went there, Asher was more than happy to oblige me. “Sin from thy lips?” he asked without missing a beat. “Oh, trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.”
Yes, sir. I met him halfway, eager for another taste of him. He crashed our mouths together this time with a little more aggression. Not quite with the gusto Wyatt had used, but definitely with as much passion. His hands found my face, and he tilted my head ever so slightly, changing up the angle of the kiss.
And, then, suddenly, I was kissing him back. His lips were moving; mine were working equally as hard. His hands slid from my face into my hair—so hot—and my arms found their way around his neck.
I finally understood why people liked kissing so much. Audience or not, I could do this with him all day. This totally rocked.
“And scene!” Ms. Schulenburg cried. “That was brilliant, you two! Positively inspired! Now, that is what I mean by chemistry, everyone.”
Asher pulled his mouth away from mine slowly, still holding me as I made my way back down to Earth from the clouds. When my eyes fluttered open, Asher grinned at me. “You earned yourself an A+, sweet Juliet.”
His look of pleasant surprise made me proud. Whether it had been the acting or the kissing, I must have done something right to impress him. And that’s saying something, considering I suspected he was a god of both. “Then it’s an A+++ for you,” I replied, shocking myself because that was so totally flirty. “No matter what the class decides, you’ve definitely got my vote.”
Asher chuckled and then took my hand, making me take a bow with him the same way Wyatt had done just minutes before. Judging from the cheers of the class, I wasn’t the only one who thought he’d won the kiss-off.
I started to exit the stage, but Asher stopped me. He took my hand again, and Wyatt quickly took my other. “Let’s hear it for the birthday girl!”
I got a standing ovation.
Chapter 5
No one teased me about the kisses in drama. They actually respected me for it. Ms. Schulenburg had been serious about looking for the differences in styles and techniques for stage kissing, and she’d gotten the class wrapped up in a whole discussion about it. Wyatt went for passion while Asher leaned on sensuality. The vote ended up being closer than I expected it would, but Asher still won in the end, and Ms. Schulenburg tried to make me promise to audition for the spring play. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.
Dissecting my kisses with the class hadn’t been as weird as I expected it, but I was still relieved when the bell rang. Selena sighed as we made our way into the hall. “I can’t believe that happened. Talk about a stroke of luck. I’m so jealous. I mean, who’s next?”
At this rate? It could be anyone. Nothing would surprise me now. “As long as it’s not Kolby, I don’t care.”
“Hey! I’m standing right here.”
I grinned at him. “I know.”
“Jerk.”
“Rejection builds character, Sanderson. You’ll thank me someday.”
I was still laughing as I entered my next class. Spanish 2 was not my favorite class, but at least I liked the company. Aki and Dominic were already there, saving me my normal seat: behind Aki and next to Dom. As I slid into my seat, and met the curious stare of the guy across the room, I finally realized I had a new predicament.
Jared had waited to take his foreign language credits, and was one of the few seniors only in Spanish 2. We’d ended up in the same class this year. It was the first and only one we’d ever had together. It had never been weird before. We smiled, said hi, and worked well together when grouped, but he had his friends and I had mine.
Today, things felt different. Were we friends now? Like, real, genuine friends? And, if we were, was I supposed to acknowledge that? We didn’t have assigned seats in class, just sort of assumed ones we’d all claimed at the beginning of the year. Was I supposed to go sit near him now? Or ask him to sit near me? Was I supposed to keep acting like nothing had changed? Or was I completely crazy, nothing actually had changed, and I was just reading into something that wasn’t there? Ugh, now my thoughts weren’t even making sense to me.
Not knowing what else to do, I smiled and waved across the room to acknowledge him. That must have been the right thing to do because his eyes lit up, and he got out of his seat. My heart jumped into my chest when he crossed the room and claimed the empty desk to my left. I was a nervous wreck inside, but I willed myself to act cool. I knew Aki and Dom were both watching us, analyzing this new developme
nt, and I didn’t want to give them anything to tease me about.
“Hey,” Jared said, as he got comfy in his new seat.
Okay, the plan was to act cool. Instead, I punched him in the arm. “I can’t believe you did that!”
He laughed. “Did what?”
“Do not insult me by acting dumb. I will punch you again.”
“Hey, I warned you I was going to do whatever it took. The plan seems to have worked.”
His cheery mood was not helping me stay annoyed with him. Why did he have to have such a great smile? I had to look away or I’d forgive him completely. I started doodling on my notebook. “Worked a little too well,” I grumbled.
He winced. “Yeah, sorry about Melissa. That was not in the plan.”
I made the mistake of glancing his way again, and, when I saw the sincere regret in his eyes, I sighed. “It’s fine. I didn’t get in trouble.”
“Yeah, but I mean, I’m sorry you had to…you know…kiss a girl.”
I cracked a smile. “It’s really fine. It wasn’t gross or anything.”
Aki and Dom interrupted, as if they could no longer resist. “So you liked it?” Dom asked. He was containing his excitement better than Kolby would have, discussing this particular topic, but only slightly.
I rolled my eyes. “No. I didn’t like it. I just wasn’t grossed out by it. It was awkward and that’s it. Other than that, it was just a kiss that didn’t mean anything and didn’t do anything for me.” I smirked and added, “Honestly, I don’t get what all the hype is. Kissing guys is so much better. You should all give it a try.”
None of them were very amused. “How ‘bout it, Dom? You and Aki?”
Aki held up his hands, warding off the advance that wasn’t about to come his way. “Hey, I already did my kissing for the day.”
Dom shook his head too. “No way.”
“Come on, I bet Jared would.”
We all turned Jared’s direction and he wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, I think I’ll pass.”
“Wimps.” I shook my head in shame.
“I’m not a wimp,” Dom said. “Two dudes are not the same as two girls kissing. Two chicks are hot. I guarantee no one in this room would appreciate it if Aki and I started making out.”
“Aki might.”
Aki rolled his eyes at me. “Funny.”
I flashed him my best grin.
“Besides,” Dom said, “I’m still waiting for my turn with you. You owe me a birthday kiss, so pucker up, hot stuff.”
I snorted a laugh instinctively, but quickly remembered Jared was sitting right next to me and there were rumors that he might like me. And, then I remembered that I might be crushing on him, and I almost blushed. Sneaking a glance at Jared, I caught the hint of worry in his eyes before he could hide it behind his surprise.
I felt the need to reassure Jared that I wasn’t interested in Dom. But I couldn’t just blurt out, Hey Jared, in case you’re thinking of asking me out, Dom and I are only friends. “Yeah, right,” I said, laughing. “I’ll kiss you right after I kiss Kolby.”
“Kolby Sanderson?” Jared asked.
Dom, Aki, and I all laughed at Jared’s horror. Dom shook his head. “No way. Sanderson doesn’t have a prayer. I’m different. You thought about it this morning. I know you did.”
Now, I did blush. I had thought about it. And I’d decided to go for it. I’d have totally kissed him had Melissa not beat him to it, and he knew it. I felt Jared’s eyes burning a hole in my head, but I refused to look at him. Dom smirked at the pink in my cheeks. “You’re busted, Caldwell. So, let’s do this before the bell rings and I have to wait another fifty minutes.”
If there was one thing I really hated, it was feeling embarrassed. And, right now, Dom was making me squirm on purpose. I knew he was well aware that there could maybe…possibly…be something between Jared and me. He was the one who’d said as much this morning. Was that why he was being so bold now? Was this his way of trying to intimidate Jared? Or did he just enjoy making me blush? My stubbornness kicked in, and I simply couldn’t let him beat me at whatever this game was that we were playing. Summoning all my confidence, I narrowed my eyes and leaned across the aisle toward him. “You’re one of my best friends, Dom. What if we kiss and it’s weird?”
Dom leaned forward to meet me, leveling his gaze with mine. There wasn’t a hint of uncertainty anywhere in his expression. “And what if it’s totally hot?”
My mouth went dry. Where had my plan of not encouraging him gone? Why couldn’t I pull away from him? All I had to do was sit back, and I’d be in a safe zone. Dom didn’t go anywhere either. “You’re up to five, now, right?” he asked.
“Five?” Jared muttered behind me.
I refused to be embarrassed again. “Yeah. Five.”
Dom gave me a grin so big, it showed all of his teeth. “Perfect. Six is my lucky number. It must be fate.”
The lie broke me from his spell, and I sat back with a laugh. “Your lucky number is sixteen. That’s why it’s your soccer jersey number. Nice try.”
“Maybe I don’t want to wait until sixteen and risk someone beating me to it.”
Saved by the bell. The familiar buzz filled the air, announcing the start of class, and pushing our teacher into motion. I pointed at the air, and gave Dom an apologetic shrug that was anything but sincere.
He pursed his lips, trying not to smile at me. “This isn’t over. We’re finishing this conversation after class.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Dang. There I went, being all flirty again. That was twice. I couldn’t help but feel proud. As our teacher dove in to the wonderful world of verb conjugation, I shot an excited grin at Jared and whispered, “Did you see that? I totally flirted.”
For a moment, Jared seemed at a loss for words, but eventually his chest shook with silent laughter and he whispered back. “I saw. Good job.”
“Man, I’m on a roll with this girly stuff today.”
“¿Hay algún problema, Señorita Caldwell?”
Oops. “No, Señor Sandoval. Lo siento.”
I faced forward in my seat and halfheartedly started taking notes. A few dreadful verbs later, Jared slipped a note onto my desk. I suppressed a grin. So, we were note-passing friends now? This was getting serious. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just nodded for me to read the paper. I indulged him.
Five??? Were they everything you dreamed of?
I nearly gasped out loud from shock. Was he kidding me with this? I glared at him, and he smiled as if he’d expected that reaction. He pointed to the paper with a stupid, award-winning grin on his face as if telling me to write my answer.
I was forced to retaliate.
Actually, yes. One of them was. Asher Pepin is a kissing god. He turned me into a puddle of goo in front of our entire drama class. I will be dreaming of that kiss for the next fifty years. I’m tempted to offer to have his babies now.
I handed the note back and watched with sick satisfaction as Jared’s eyes popped wide open and his eyebrows flew to the ceiling. He was blinking at me, and I was giving him my best shit-eating grin, when our teacher plucked the paper from his fingers. That wiped the smile from my face real fast. Señor Sandoval was the read-them-out-loud type.
I knew it was coming, so I did the only thing I could to save my dignity. I owned it. When he got done telling the class that I was considering having Asher’s babies—which they all found hysterical—I shrugged. “You would have too if it had been you. Holy crap, can that boy kiss!” I fanned myself.
The class was rolling on the floor now, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning smugly at my teacher. His plan to punish me through humiliation had severely backfired. He frowned at me, and sighed his defeat, as he crumpled the note and threw it in the wastebasket. “From now on, Miss Caldwell and Mr. Clayton, gossip on your own time or you will make it up to me in detention.”
“Si, Señor,” we both muttered quickly. We were getting off easy,
and we knew it.
We were model students the rest of the hour, but one look at each other after class and we burst out laughing. Dom and Aki hurried ahead toward the cafeteria for lunch, but Jared, like this morning, fell into step beside me as if he planned to walk with me to lunch. “Sorry,” he said with a sheepish shrug. “That didn’t exactly go as planned either.”
“You don’t say.”
“Nice recovery, though.”
I snorted. “Desperate times, desperate measures. Besides, it was absolutely true. I’ve got no shame admitting it.”
Jared cast me a sideways glance. “A kissing god, huh?”
“If there is such a thing. I mean…wow.”
We took a few steps in silence. Jared’s demeanor shifted to something a lot less playful, so I broke down and told him the rest of the truth. “Still…it wasn’t really what I wanted.”
He looked at me again, waiting for me to elaborate. I sighed. “He was acting, you know? Yeah, it was good, but it wasn’t real. He didn’t mean it. None of them have. At least, the anticipation of wondering how and when is gone. I’m not”—I glanced around and lowered my voice—“I’m not Kissless Cassie anymore. But still. I could get all sixteen kisses by the end of the day, and still not get a single one that really counts.”
Jared slowed his pace as we neared the cafeteria. “You never know. Maybe Dominic…?”
My stomach fluttered. He was feeling me out, and it didn’t seem like simple curiosity. I shook my head. “No. Definitely not. Dom’s mostly talk.”
“So, you guys aren’t…?”
“No. There’s some attraction there maybe, but that’s it. He’d kiss me, no problem, but it wouldn’t go anywhere.”
Jared was skeptical. “You’re sure?”
I shrugged. Honestly, I wasn’t so sure anymore. “For my part, anyway. He’s just a friend.”