‘No.’ I turned to face him. ‘I don’t care why you did it. All I know is that you did. You humiliated me in front of everyone, Hayden! Yes, I accidentally hurt your lip and got you into trouble with your parents and so you’ve decided you don’t like me any more. But you know what? Just because you’ve changed your mind about us doesn’t give you the right to embarrass me. The things I did to you were accidents — I didn’t mean for them to happen. But what you did tonight wasn’t accidental at all — you knew exactly how much pain you’d cause me.’
‘It’s not like that.’ Hayden tried to take my hand and I snatched it away. ‘I didn’t want to hurt you, I never would —’
‘Then why didn’t you talk to me in private?’ I cut in. ‘I don’t understand. I’ve known you since we were six and yet, after what you did, I feel like I don’t know you at all.’
‘You need to hear me out, Aurora. The reason I —’
‘No.’ Just standing here watching Hayden try to come up with excuses was making my chest ache. He’d hurt me. That was all I could take. Excuses would only make me weaken and want him back, which would be pathetic as he obviously didn’t want me at all. ‘You had your chance to talk to me privately. You lost it when you made things public. The reason I pulled you away from everyone is so that I could have my say in private. And I’m telling you I don’t want anything to do with you any more.’
‘Aurora —’
‘Nothing. And if you respect me, you’ll accept it. In two minutes, when I walk away from you, it’ll be like none of this ever happened. The play, the friendship, the kiss, the secret-admirer thing — you’re off the hook, just like you wanted. I don’t need to talk to you or look at you, or wear this.’
I reached for the necklace at my throat and hurriedly unfastened it. I wanted to be able to finish this conversation without showing Hayden just how hurt I was. I pushed my hand towards him, motioning for him to take the necklace from it.
Hayden looked furious. ‘I’m not letting you give that back to me. Aurora, this is ridiculous. Do you really think so little of me that you believe what happened back there was me deliberately trying to hurt you?’
‘I told you, I don’t want to hear the reason. What happened happened.’ I grabbed Hayden’s hand, which was clenched at his side, and forced his palm open. ‘Take it.’ I dropped the necklace into his hand.
‘No.’ Hayden gripped the top of my wrist, leaving the necklace within our clasped hands.
‘You don’t want my kisses any more, so I don’t think it’s appropriate that I wear one of yours permanently.’
I wrenched my hand from his and we both watched as the tiny silver x tumbled to the ground.
Hayden dropped to his knees. ‘Aurora, give me the torch!’
‘What, so you can return it and get your money back?’ I knew it was a mean comment but I couldn’t help it.
‘So I can stop you from throwing away something precious!’
Hayden pulled me down to where he was crouched in the dirt and leaves, frantically scanning the ground for the necklace. I sighed. Obviously he wasn’t going to head back to camp without the necklace. Part of me wanted to march off as planned, but I couldn’t very well leave him in the dark. There were snakes out here. Much as I was furious, I wasn’t vengeful.
‘Fine. Here’s some light.’ I shone the torch on the area between our feet.
‘Thank god.’ Hayden spotted the necklace and scooped it up, wiping off the dust with his shirt. He moved to fasten it round my neck again, his eyes intensely focused on mine. I held his gaze. Looking down would make me seem weak.
‘I told you, I don’t want your kisses.’ I tried to push him away.
‘Because you think I don’t want yours,’ Hayden said.
He fastened the clasp, but his hands remained on the back of my neck.
‘Don’t patronise me,’ I shot back. ‘I don’t think, I know.’
‘You never like hearing this, but that overactive imagination of yours is both a blessing and a curse. And it’s frequently off base when it comes to me,’ Hayden said. ‘You won’t listen to what I’m trying to tell you so I’m going to have to prove your ridiculous assumption wrong some other way.’
What was he going to do — light a fire and communicate via smoke signals? I wasn’t indulging his whims any more.
‘I’m not sitting here waiting for you to prove some stupid point, Hayden. I’m going back to camp —’
My words were smothered as Hayden put his lips to mine, lightning fast. The ‘p’ of ‘camp’ became a puff of air exhaled from my mouth into his. I tried to pull away, but his hands at the back of my neck held me in position. His lips pressed mine with an urgency I’d never felt before, almost begging me to melt and meld into him.
‘How could you ever think I don’t want to kiss you?’ Hayden murmured, his words a vibration on my mouth.
‘Because you wouldn’t kiss me.’
What was wrong with him? One minute he didn’t want me, the next he did — it was completely unfair on my feelings. He was obviously one of those guys who was only interested in girls who weren’t interested in him. I was not kissing him. I tried to move my lips away from his, turning my head to the side, but his mouth moved with me.
‘Do you think I wanted them seeing this?’ Hayden said, and kissed me even more deeply, his hands moving from my neck to my hair, stroking it like I was something precious. I felt my resolve come close to melting.
‘What I’ve been daydreaming about for more than a fortnight?’ He pulled away and took in my sceptical look. ‘Yes, Princess. You might not believe me, for whatever crazy reason you’ve dreamt up since I gave you this necklace.’ He traced the x at my neck. ‘But I have. And I wasn’t going to let our classmates steal this moment from us with their whispers and whistles and stupid comments about lethal lips.’
‘That’s just it,’ I burst out. ‘They were lethal. Can you blame me for being totally freaked out that you might not give me a second chance once the stitches came out? For being worried that our kiss would be a one-off?’
Hayden shook his head. ‘Aurora, when are you going to get it?’ His voice was almost harsh with insistence. ‘It’s never going to be a one-off with you.’
He pulled me to him again and this time my lips matched his with equal urgency. My emotions were all over the place. Relief and confusion and overwhelming joy all leapt about in my heart and were expressed in the almost desperate kisses we exchanged in the moonlight.
‘What did you think that necklace means?’ Hayden kissed down my neck to the pendant. ‘You and me … this is anything but impermanent.’
His breath was hot against the hollow of my throat. I closed my eyes as he kissed his way back up to my mouth. I pulled him closer into my arms and in doing so, lost my balance. My knees, weak from squatting, gave way and I tumbled backwards onto the ground. Hayden quickly put his hands behind my head to soften the landing, keeping our lips locked seamlessly as he fell on top of me. Ironically, losing my balance and winding up lying flat on the earth seemed the only way to regain some equilibrium in a moment when everything seemed to be spinning.
Hayden traced a hand down my arm. ‘I’m going to keep kissing you until you’re fully convinced. How many kisses is it going to take? One hundred? One hundred thousand? I’m not shy about making my point, you know.’
‘Be quiet and kiss me.’
I was too giddy for maths or logic. I couldn’t string a sentence together when Hayden’s kisses kept stealing my breath from me. Not to mention that every time I opened my eyes I saw a sky that was bright with stars. The word ‘overwhelming’ wasn’t sufficient.
‘Someone’s changed their tune,’ Hayden teased.
‘I need lots of reassurance.’
As I said the words, I realised how true they were. Maybe it was because of my mother leaving, maybe it was because of the history that Hayden and I shared, but for whatever reason I was quick to doubt that anyone could really care for me.
‘I’ll give you every bit of reassurance you need, I promise.’
I looked up into Hayden’s eyes and noticed the gold flecks of his irises as they shimmered in the light of the torch, which was on the ground nearby. His eyes were a promise. He stroked my cheek with his left hand while his right clasped my waist. I closed my eyes again, feeling my mouth relax into a smile.
‘You just tell me anytime you’re unsure,’ he said, ‘and I’ll do this.’ His lips caught mine again.
The kiss deepened and I forgot everything. The ups and downs of the past few weeks, how angry I’d been at him, even the fact that sticks were jabbing into my back as we made out.
‘It’s so nice to be alone,’ I sighed as Hayden kissed my neck again.
‘Aurora?’ a voice said, and suddenly a flashlight was in my eyes.
OMG, we were not alone!
CHAPTER 22
The NAD was standing above us, wide-eyed with disbelief. I watched his gaze go from Hayden’s hand at my waist, to my arms round Hayden’s upper back, and then pause on my right shoulder. I looked down and saw that my off-the-shoulder T-shirt had become even more off the shoulder: my bra strap and almost the entire top half of my bra were exposed. Hayden realised this at the same time as I did and quickly pulled my top back up to cover me.
‘Mr Skye.’
I’d never seen Hayden look so guilty. He quickly stood up then reached down to give me help getting to my feet. I could only imagine how dishevelled I looked. I could feel the twigs and grass in my hair. A tiny part of me wished it had been Mr Quinten who’d found us — to be caught making out in the bush by my dad was a source of shame neither of us would ever forget.
‘You’d both better fix yourselves up quick smart.’ Dad’s voice was the sternest I’d ever heard it. Even worse than the time I’d accidentally burnt a hole in the lounge-room carpet with a hair straightener during a slumber party. He focused on Hayden. ‘I’m not having my daughter suspended from school because you’ve lured her away from camp to do who knows what.’
‘Dad, it’s not what it looks like!’ This was a thousand times worse than the YouTube video. There was no denying we’d been kissing, but for him to think we might have done anything else was ridiculous. ‘This is like the third time we’ve ever kissed. I know I used the term “snail’s pace”, and this kind of throws that description into doubt, but —’
‘Aurora, we’ll discuss this at home. Safe to say, I’m incredibly disappointed. I think I’m a pretty easygoing parent compared with most. All I ask of you is to be honest with me. We had a conversation about this very thing just over a week ago and you had the chance to be open about Hayden and yourself. Instead, I’m left to literally stumble on how serious this thing is.’
‘Mr Skye, you’re right in one sense,’ Hayden said. ‘Our relationship is serious in that Aurora’s my girlfriend …’
I’d been on the very point of protesting about the NAD’s assumptions, but instead I looked at Hayden in shock. He’d been thinking of me as his girlfriend? I really needed to start viewing my relationship from an unbiased standpoint. Maybe then I’d be a little less off base.
‘Or rather, that’s what I consider her to be.’ Hayden looked at me. ‘And I hope she thinks of me as her boyfriend. Therefore I would never disrespect her or try to make her do anything she’s uneasy with.’
If the NAD hadn’t been a six-foot-four thundercloud looming over us, I would have thrown my arms around Hayden. I was his girlfriend!
‘This is a discussion for me and my daughter,’ the NAD said. If Hayden had been hoping to improve the situation by professing his dedication to me, it hadn’t worked. ‘Now, we need to get back to camp.’
The NAD gestured for us to go first, back through the clearing and up the track to the campsite. Mr Quinten was waiting and gave us a stern look as we approached. I was relieved to notice that everyone else had retired to their tents.
‘Sorry, Mr Quinten, Aurora got a little lost coming back from the bathroom,’ the NAD explained. ‘Her torch died. Thankfully Hayden was making his way over there at the same time, so she wasn’t alone for long.’
‘Yes, well, this is why we have the buddy system,’ Mr Quinten said, looking displeased. ‘And I’d like to remind you that the buddies are meant to be same sex only. Boys and girls heading off into the dark together throws up all kinds of questions and I won’t have that. If this was anyone but Hayden I’d examine the incident more closely, but I trust that he’s upheld Jefferson standards.’
The NAD nodded firmly. ‘Of course. Both Hayden and Aurora understand that something like this mustn’t happen again, don’t you?’
‘Completely,’ I said in a rush as Hayden replied, ‘Of course, sir.’
‘Good,’ said Mr Quinten. ‘Now both of you, back to your tents.’
Hayden and I walked over to the tents with the NAD right on our heels. He obviously didn’t want me having one more moment alone in the dark with Hayden.
Hayden stopped outside his tent. ‘Goodnight, Aurora. Goodnight, Mr Skye.’
The NAD didn’t reply. Hayden blew me a kiss and I blew one back.
The NAD and I continued over to my tent. I’d never known him to be so silent. It was really unnerving.
‘I don’t want any more moments like this, Aurora,’ the NAD said in a low voice as we reached the tent. ‘It’s very stressful supervising this many teenagers. I never thought I’d find myself worried about you.’
‘Dad, I assure you, there’s nothing to worry —’
‘I’m putting my foot down,’ he said. ‘You are not to leave this tent until breakfast time.’
‘Of course!’
I hated being at odds with my dad. It was going to take me months to win back his trust. I had no idea how Hayden and I were going to repair this situation, but we’d have to discuss it in detail tomorrow.
The NAD stood waiting like a prison guard until I lifted the tarp and climbed inside the tent.
‘Aurora?’ Cassie whispered.
I peered through the dark and saw that she, Jelena and Lindsay were all sitting up on Jelena’s mattress. Sara was sound asleep on her air sofa. I carefully stepped over her.
‘Shhh.’ I put a finger to my lips as I listened to the NAD’s footsteps fade away. ‘Why aren’t you guys asleep?’
‘Because it’s like trying to sleep in a sauna.’ Jelena switched on her torch and I saw that she was holding her water bottle to the back of her neck trying to cool down.
‘Aurora, you have a stick in your hair.’ Cassie pulled a long twig from the side of my head.
She, Jelena and Lindsay stared at me with ‘what happened?’ written all over their faces.
‘Ew! There’s dirt on the back of your T-shirt!’ Jelena whisper-shrieked. ‘Step no closer! This mattress is a germ-free zone.’
Lindsay and Cass sighed. I was sensing Jelena had forced them to prove their cleanliness before they’d been allowed on the bed.
‘Okay, okay.’ I got out my wet wipes and stripped down, bagging my T-shirt and shorts. Looking at the state of them, it was a miracle Mr Quinten hadn’t hauled Hayden and me in for questioning. Thank god for Hayden’s squeaky-clean rep.
‘What happened to you?’ Lindsay asked. ‘We saw you leave with Hayden, but we didn’t want to tell anyone, as we knew Mr Quinten would go berserk and launch a search party. You didn’t get into a fight, did you?’ She looked like she believed I’d wrestled Hayden down to the ground.
‘Not exactly.’ I relayed the details to the girls as I quickly wiped myself down.
‘Girlfriend!!!’ Cassie crawled over and high-fived me. ‘And you guys didn’t have to have the talk or anything!’
Jelena shook her head. ‘Hayden had better not mess things up again. He’s got to learn how to communicate better. How were you to know he was all PDA shy when it came to round three?’
‘I’ve got to learn to stop jumping to conclusions,’ I admitted.
‘I can’t believe your dad
caught you,’ Lindsay said. ‘You know, Tyler’s too terrified to even give me a peck in front of my dad? Hand-holding and a cuddle on the couch are all he’ll attempt. He knows Dad would have him hung, drawn and quartered if he ever caught us making out. Is your dad grounding you for a million years?’
‘He doesn’t really believe in traditional parental punishment systems.’
I didn’t know what would happen once we got home, but the weight of the NAD’s disappointment was already weighing on me.
‘Ladies.’ We all froze as Mr Quinten’s voice came from outside our tent. ‘Time to quieten down now.’
I crawled onto Jelena’s mattress. There was no need for sleeping bags; the air itself was like a blanket. I lay there listening to my friends’ breathing become slow sighs of sleep, and relived the moments with Hayden in the moonlight. Every time the NAD appeared on the scene I rewound back to the beginning. Nothing could kill my buzz right now. I’d successfully navigated my way through some very passionate kisses. I was Lethal Lips no more. I was officially Hayden Paris’s girlfriend! With that exquisite thought, I drifted off into dreamland.
I was on a date with Hayden. We’d been at the movies, but suddenly the cinema filled with water and our cinema seats became a raft. We bobbed up and down on our makeshift craft and tried to paddle our way to the exit. Water was dripping onto my hair. I covered my head but it didn’t stop the drops from trickling down my face.
I woke up suddenly, realising that water was dripping for real onto my head. Rain was thundering down onto our tarp, which was obviously leaking under the pressure. The unrelenting heat had finally been broken by a storm.
Jelena, who’d been sleeping next to me, woke up suddenly. Her shout jolted the others into alert mode. ‘Sara! It’s bucketing down. Is the waterproofing on properly? You were responsible for it.’
‘Yes,’ Sara groaned from her air sofa.
‘Then why am I virtually floating on a raft?’ Jelena switched on her flashlight and motioned at the water lapping at the sides of the mattress.
Oh my god. Now that I could see properly, I realised the water was about ten centimetres high. No wonder I’d been dreaming of bobbing up and down! I looked at my watch. It was 5.30 am.
How to Convince a Boy to Kiss You Page 28