The Truth About Boys: A Stolen Kiss Novel

by Shana Norris

  Rory stepped closer to me and I dared to look at him. A deep frown creased the corners of his mouth and his forehead. “I kind of want to reconcile with my dad. But my brother Reid tells me to stay away from him. My dad isn’t the kind of guy he wants me to spend time with.”

  I reached out, putting my hand on his shoulder. His shirt was soft between my fingers. “Maybe people do change,” I said, though it sounded more like a question.

  He looked at me with those bright green eyes that seemed to see right inside me. “Our parents owe us big time for a lifetime of disappointment, Kate. They should be the ones making amends to us, not the other way around.”

  “Maybe,” I said, letting my hand fall back to my side. “Everything happens for a reason.”

  There was something else in his eyes, the same something that was in his eyes when he ditched me in the Mountain Dairy parking lot: anger. I looked away and started to walk again.

  I couldn’t imagine my childhood any other way than it had been with Mimi and Pop. Maybe Andrea giving me up was meant to be. Maybe I had a better life than I would have had with her.

  “What did you expect from this summer?” I asked.

  Rory shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess some help in figuring out what I should do this fall. School stuff. I just honestly don’t know where to start.”

  Rory’s stance changed and he stood straighter, pushing the sad look from his face. He craned his neck back, looking up into the treetops overhead. A thought popped into my head. My father’s brother was a dean at UNC-Greensboro. Maybe Rory needed to talk to someone like that to help him figure out what to do in his life.

  “Have you ever noticed how nature has its own music?” he asked.

  “If you can make a career out of changing the subject, that’s definitely what you should do,” I quipped. He laughed. I tilted my head, listening to the different birds singing their various songs and the squirrels chattering to each other as they searched for nuts. The wind made the leaves over us shiver and add their own whisper to the world’s tune. Nearby, brush crackled as possibly a rabbit or another forest creature skittered over it.

  “As much as we try, we can’t ever replicate the earth’s natural music,” I said. “I think I read that in my bio textbook.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Rory pursed his lips and let out a high whistle. It almost sounded like one of the bird calls around us. A bird answered back and Rory whistled again.

  “Impressive,” I told him. “You’re a natural Bird Whisperer.”

  “Let’s hear you,” he said, flashing me a wide grin.

  I laughed, shaking my head. “Oh, no. I can’t whistle. Never could.”

  He poked me in the side and I shrieked, twisting away from his touch. “Come on. Just try once,” he urged.

  I rolled my eyes, but I pursed my lips and attempted to whistle. Nothing came out at first, so I blew harder until just a rush of air and spit came flying out between my lips.

  I wiped at my chin with the back of my hand as Rory laughed. “See?” I asked him. “There’s a reason why I leave my music to my instruments.”

  “You just need to practice more,” Rory said. “Hold your lips like this.” He pursed his lips and I found myself staring hard at them. They were perfectly pink and just full enough to make me imagine what it would’ve been like if he had kissed me the other night. To have his hands around my waist, his chest pressed against me.

  “Kate?” Rory asked. “You listening?”

  I blinked and realized how close he had gotten. My gaze traveled from his lips up to his eyes. Those green eyes that had already become so familiar.

  He was so close that if I leaned forward slightly I could probably feel his breath on my cheek. Rory stared back at me, his mouth partly open. He looked frozen in place. What were we talking about again? Something about nature and music?

  He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. I bit my lip as my heartbeat thundered in my ears.

  A voice behind me yelled. I whipped around to see a little boy staring at us, followed closely by his family coming up the trail. His red-faced mom mumbled “sorry” before taking him by the hand and dragging him away.

  When I looked back at Rory after the family had disappeared down the trail, the moment between us—whatever it was—had gone. Rory pulled a water bottle from my bag, taking a long swallow.

  “Ready to head back?” he asked.

  I didn’t trust myself to speak. I wasn’t sure that I even remembered how. So I just nodded and fumbled in my bag for my own bottle of water to wet my suddenly dry throat.

  Our walk back down the mountain was the definition of awkward. We talked a little as we walked back down the trails to Rory’s car, but I couldn’t get that intense moment we shared out of my mind.

  “Hey,” Rory said after some silence, “you want to go to that Shindig Under the Stars thing tonight? It sounded pretty cool when you told me about it.”

  Heat flushed up my neck at his invitation. This was definitely a date. Right? It had to be.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “We could hang out with your friends and listen to the music.”

  My stomach fell. Just a bunch of friends hanging out. “Yeah, totally. It’ll be awesome. I’ll text Ashton,” I said as we climbed into this car.

  “Sounds good,” he said, his face blank.

  But as I pulled my phone out of my pocket, it began to ring. A look at the screen showed Miguel’s name. I hit the Ignore button as quickly as I could. Rory’s forehead scrunched into a scowl, but he didn’t say anything. He just rammed the keys into the ignition.

  “Everything okay?” I asked as I texted Ashton to let her know about the night at the Shindig. Rory snatched his seatbelt around himself, clicking it into place with a grunt.

  “It’s fine,” he muttered.

  I drummed my fingers on my lap at his sudden change in attitude. My phone buzzed and I looked down to see a reply back from Ashton.

  Sounds great! C U there!

  “Do you mind dropping me off at Ashton’s? I want to pick out an outfit,” I said quietly.

  “No problem,” he answered before cranking up the music.

  When I got out of the car in Ashton’s driveway, he didn’t say a word. Not even good-bye.

  Chapter 13

  “Boys are really the worst,” Ashton confirmed. She tossed me a pair of cutoff denim shorts. “Especially that one.”

  I held the shorts against my waist. They had cute pink-and-green patches sewn onto them, salvaged by Ashton herself. I pulled them on and yanked a handful of wooden bead necklaces from Ashton’s crowded dresser and put them around my neck.

  “Rory?” I asked, my voice a little too high pitched. “What makes you say that?”

  My best friend looked at me in the mirror, clutching a different worn denim vest in each hand. She was dedicated to embodying Shindig Under the Stars’s folksy spirit. Her eyes fell before answering. “I dunno, Kate. I just think if you’re going to have a fling, why not stick with Miguel? You know him.”

  “I don’t want to have a fling with anyone!”

  “Could have fooled me,” she smirked. “You’re kind of flinging with two boys right now.”

  “I’m not out to just make out with some guy before the end of summer,” I said. “Rory is …” I tried to find the right word. “Interesting. Passionate.” When her eyebrows jumped halfway up her forehead at my words, I added, “Not that kind of passionate. Your mind is stuck in the gutter these days, isn’t it?”

  Ashton winked. “Hot guys get my mind thinking.”

  I looked down at my shorts. “These things are so short they might get Rory’s mind thinking, too.”

  “They look great on you,” Ashton told me. “You have the long legs to pull them off.” She

  shoved a white peasant blouse in my hands. “This will look perfect with them. Now go home and finish getting ready so you’ll look hot and knock every guy’s socks off. Then you can have a do
zen summer flings if this thing with Rory doesn’t work out.”

  Ashton let out a squeal of laughter when I flung the blouse back at her head.

  As I was leaving Mimi’s bathroom after finishing my makeup, I spotted Paisley in her room sitting on the bed. Her face was red and puffy, like she’d been crying. She stared down at her phone in her hands.

  “Hey,” I said, leaning into the doorway. “Are you okay?”

  Paisley swiped at her eyes and tossed her phone on the bed beside her. “Yeah, I’m good.” She sniffled again.

  “You sure?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Just some stupid people saying stupid stuff about me on Facebook. No big deal.”

  But it obviously was a big deal. “Do I need to beat someone up for you? Ashton and I are very good at that. Just ask the kid who called her a big butt in fifth grade.”

  Paisley laughed, already looking like she felt better. “I’ll keep you guys on speed dial.” She looked me up and down. “Where are you going?”

  “Shindig Under the Stars,” I said. “With that guy, Rory. And Ashton and Carter,” I added quickly.

  “Oh,” Paisley said. “Sounds like fun.”

  The doorbell rang. “That must be him,” I said. “See you later.” Rory stood on the front step, in his skinny jeans and white T-shirt.

  “Hey,” I greeted him. “You look good.”

  He looked me over and then said, “Thanks. Ready to go?”

  I stuck my tongue out at him while he climbed into the driver’s seat.

  The festival was already alive with excitement and music when we got there. Ashton and Carter waited by the spot we’d agreed on, and Ashton waved wildly when she saw me.

  “You look good, girl!” she gushed as we drew close. “I dressed her,” she said to Carter. For herself, she had chosen overalls over a blue tube top. A big white silk flower was tucked into her hair just over her left ear.

  “You do, too,” I told her. “Stunning, darling.” I glanced over at Carter, taking in his cargo shorts and Carolina Panthers T-shirt. “You could use a makeover, Hawthorne.”

  Carter shook his head. “No way. I’m not letting the two of you touch my hair or clothes, thank you.”

  Ashton rolled her eyes. “Scaredy cat.”

  The three of us laughed while Rory just stood off to the side, his hands buried in his pockets and his gaze roaming over the people around us.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Ashton whispered in my ear as we started toward the entrance to the park.

  “I don’t know,” I said. But I did know. I leaned into Ashton. “He’s been this way since he saw Miguel calling me earlier.”

  Ashton raised her eyebrows. “What is he, your boyfriend? He needs to loosen up and enjoy the fun,” she said. “Or actually make a move.”

  The four of us bought lemonades and then walked across the grass into the crowd. Music pulsed from the band onstage and people around us danced or sat in groups on blankets spread out on the grass. I took off my shoes so that I could feel the warm earth beneath my feet.

  I sucked a deep breath of fresh air into my lungs. “I love this place!” I exclaimed, unable to keep the big grin off my face.

  “This lemonade is awesome,” Ashton said, after taking a big sip from her cup. She pushed her purple hair behind her ears. “I should create some artwork to memorialize it.”

  “You want to memorialize everything,” Carter commented, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

  Ashton elbowed him in the stomach. “Well, good things in life need to be immortalized in art.”

  Carter looked at me, raising his eyebrows. “Should I feel insulted that she hasn’t made any artwork immortalizing me yet?”

  I laughed. “Yes. She made artwork for me years ago.”

  Ashton rolled her eyes. “I haven’t found the right piece for you yet,” she told Carter. “When I do, I’ll let you know.” Rory stood a few steps away from us, sipping his lemonade and watching the band. He stood rigidly, his shoulders tense and his fingers gripping the plastic cup.

  I remembered the feel of his shirt between my fingers, how warm his shoulder had been. For a second, I wished I could go back and stop that moment between us that had turned everything weird.

  “Oh, there’s my teacher from the art class I took last month!” Ashton exclaimed, waving to someone in the crowd. “Let’s go say hi.” She grabbed Carter’s hand and they disappeared into the mass of people, leaving me alone with Rory, who still didn’t look at me.

  I bit my lip, trying to think of something to say.

  “You want to move closer to the stage?” I asked at last.

  Rory shrugged, shaking his head a little. “No, this is fine.”

  Okay, so we were back to awkward silence again.

  “Hey, Kate!” Paisley broke through the crowd. She was dressed in a striped maxi dress that flowed loosely around her body. She too had several necklaces of wooden beads around her neck and a straw hat perched on top of her auburn hair that had fallen out of the loose bun at the back of her neck. Paisley glowed as she moved through the crowd, like she radiated the last of the evening sun as it sank toward the mountains around us. The red splotches on her face had totally disappeared.

  Things were so awkward with Rory, I was even happy to see Paisley again. “Hey,” I said. I gestured toward Rory. “Do you remember Rory?”

  Paisley nodded, grinning wide. “Yeah. Hey.”

  Rory smiled at Paisley. “Hey,” he said.

  So he could look at Paisley, but he wouldn’t even meet my eyes?

  “The festival sounded like fun, so I walked down here. Pop wouldn’t let me borrow his car.” She rolled her big blue eyes, sighing. “He thinks I’m going to wreck it, I guess. I do have my license and haven’t had even a single accident. But everyone thinks I’m so irresponsible.” She frowned, crossing her arms.

  “My brother treats me the same way,” Rory said. “That’s why I drove my own car up here, because I knew he’d never let me borrow his.”

  “Ugh,” Paisley said. “Sounds just like my older brother. Constantly on my case about everything.”

  “Exactly. Sometimes I feel like no one thinks I can do anything right. It’s ridiculous,” Rory went on.

  I stood there silently, my gaze darting back and forth between the two of them as they talked. Rory had barely said two words to me in the last few hours, but now he chatted away with Paisley like they were the best of friends?

  “This song is awesome,” Paisley said, bobbing her head to the music. She began to dance, swaying her hips back and forth. She gestured toward Rory, smiling wide at him. “Come on. I know you can dance.” Rory laughed as Paisley took him by the hand, but he let her pull him into her dance. They laughed as they moved around each other.

  It didn’t take a genius to realize I had been forgotten.

  I wasn’t in the mood to watch the Paisley and Rory Show, so I stepped back into the crowd. Neither of them seemed to notice as I slipped away.

  I remembered everything my cousin Billy had told me about Paisley’s love life, how she moved from one boyfriend to the next so fast that no one could keep up. Apparently, she’d set her sights on Rory. And Rory—he’d almost kissed me twice, and now he was totally ignoring me? My feet felt like they were on fire as I made my way through the crowd, fuming until I bumped hard into someone’s back.

  “Oops,” I said, stepping back and trying to catch my balance. “Sorry!”

  The person turned and my stomach erupted into a swarm of butterflies. Miguel.

  “Hey,” he said. “We bump into each other again. Which is great for me, since you’ve been ignoring my calls and texts.” He beamed, but it slowly turned into a frown. “Are you … okay?”

  I nodded weakly. He could always see right through me. “Yeah, I just—” I paused, looking back toward where I had left Paisley and Rory dancing. “I just wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

  He gestured toward the people around us. “
Well, I got separated from my friends, so I was just looking for them but wasn’t having much luck. Seems my luck has changed though, since now I get to talk to you.”

  Having someone focus on me and say something sweet like that made my heart turn into a pile of goo. My mouth stretched into a grin so wide my cheeks almost cracked open.

  “I guess some things work out for the best then,” I teased. “Sorry I didn’t get to answer your call.”

  “No worries. Where’s your, uh … dancing partner?”

  “Dancing with someone else,” I said before thinking. “Want to sit down and actually catch up?”

  Weaving through the crowd with him, I remembered being at last year’s Shindig Under the Stars with Miguel, specifically one of the last moments we’d had before he left for college. We had spent the evening eating a ton of funnel cake and ice cream in the grass. I’d love to have an evening like that again rather than spend the night watching my cousin flirt with some guy I had a crush on.

  Had. Had a crush on.

  A group of girls in tight tank tops and snug skirts walked by, arms linked and laughing and talking, but Miguel didn’t even look their way. His brown eyes stayed completely focused on me. He had always been like that when we were together: focused, like I was the only girl in the world.

  “So how is your music going?” Miguel asked. “Whipped up any new hits lately?”

  “I’m trying,” I told him. “I still play around a lot.”

  Miguel shook his head as he took a sip of his drink. “You always were amazing with that music software. Is that what you’re doing in school?”

  My smile faded at Miguel’s question. I’d talked a lot with him about my dreams for the future during our late night texts.

  “Um,” I started, shifting from one foot to the other in the soft grass. “No. Actually, I’ve switched my major. I’m going out for this prestigious math scholarship. Full ride.”

  Miguel’s forehead scrunched in confusion as he looked at me. “Didn’t you tell me once that you’d rather busk for change on the street if it meant you didn’t have to become a miserable math teacher?”

  Wow, did this guy remember every word I’d ever said during our entire relationship? I could barely even remember what I’d said last week, much less what someone else said a year ago.