Sixteen Kisses: A novella

by Kelly Oram

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 development, 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 co
nversation 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.”

  Jared stopped walking suddenly, and turned to me, holding the straps of his backpack. “So…if not Dominic, is there anyone in particular you’re hoping will kiss you?”

  I sucked in a breath. When had all the air left my lungs? And, why was it so freaking hot all of a sudden? Was the air conditioner busted? Oh, man. Jared’s eyes were so gorgeous. Had they always been such a beautiful shade?

  “Um…” Don’t look at his lips, Cassie. Don’t you dare look at his lips. “I don’t…”

  Crap! I’m looking at his lips!

  “Excuse me, uh, Cassie? Cassie Caldwell?”

  The interruption startled me so badly that I jumped sky-freaking-high and let out a squeak. The kid who’d tried to get my attention flinched. He was a short pudgy kid with a head of out of control curls and a ton of freckles. His pale skin was bright red in splotchy patches all the way up his neck into his face and to the tips of his ears. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  The poor kid looked so terrified, it was impossible not to take pity on him. “It’s okay. I just didn’t notice you walk up.” Because I’d been fantasizing about kissing Jared Clayton… “Yeah, I’m Cassie. What’s up? What can I do for you?”

  His face paled and he looked at his shoes. “Um…well…I’m sorry to bother you…it’s just…that guy over there stole my backpack, and said he’d lock me in the girl’s locker room in my underwear if I didn’t come tell you that he’ll only give my backpack to you for a kiss.”

  “What?” Unbelievable.

  “What guy?” Jared asked. “Where?”

  Shocked by the steel in Jared’s voice, my head whipped towards him. Jared’s so relaxed and easy-going all the time, but he sounded like he could murder someone right now. He looked it, too. His eyes were blazing with anger, and he was gripping the straps of his backpack with white knuckles.

  The kid swallowed audibly, and pointed toward the cafeteria. Following his gaze I was prepared to see some total creep. Instead I saw my friends. Eli, Dom, and Kolby were standing near the cafeteria doors watching me. Kolby was looking mighty proud of himself, dangling a backpack in the air.

  When Jared took a step Kolby’s direction, I grabbed his arm. “Don’t.” I gave him my best reassuring smile. “I’ve got this. I promise.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I can handle that idiot.”

  When Jared relaxed, I smiled at the poor freshman Kolby was torturing. “What’s your name?”

  “David Abrahams.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, David. I’m sorry that you got dragged into my drama. We’ll fix it. First of all, Kolby Sanderson is all talk. You understand? He’s more likely to get himself locked in the girl’s locker room than lock anyone else in there. And, if anyone ever tries anything like that to you—especially him—you come and find me. I’ll take care of them for you. K? I’ve got your back from now on.” As the kid’s eyes widened in disbelief, Jared threw his arm around my shoulder and said, “Me too.”

  He was as serious as me. I could see it in his eyes that he would watch out for the kid for the rest of the year. What a sweetheart.

  I shook my head to focus it. Now was not the time to swoon. “Second of all,” I said, “let’s go get your backpack.”

  I stomped over to my friends. Eli and Dominic were trying so hard not to laugh that their faces had to hurt from the effort. Kolby gave me a huge grin.

  “Douche move, Sanderson. Douche move.”

  “Oh, come on. I was just messing with the kid. It was all in good fun. I wouldn’t really do anything to him;
you know that. And he can have his bag back right now.” He shook David’s bag again. “All you have to do is kiss me. I’ll trade you the bag for kiss number six.”

  “No way. The bag, or I’ll kick you in the junk.”

  His eyes narrowed as he considered my threat. After a moment, he decided I wouldn’t do it and shook his head. “No, you won’t. Come on, Cassie. A kiss for the bag.” His smile turned smug, and he pointed at my new friend. “I’ll even give you a choice. Him or me.”

  He thought he had me because David wasn’t exactly a hottie, and Kolby was completely shallow like that. But he’d actually just given me the perfect out. “Fine.”

  I turned to David and pressed my lips firmly to his. Jared, Eli, and Dominic burst into roaring laughter, and I plucked the backpack from Kolby’s fingers. “Nice try, Sanderson. Maybe next time. And, if you torture anymore innocent people in pursuit of my lips, I won’t kick you in the junk, I’ll take it out with a paintball gun. Ask Ben what that’s like.”

  All the guys winced at the memory. “Be afraid, Sanderson,” Jared said. “Ben couldn’t walk for a week.”

  David was so red-faced now that I was pretty sure he’d stay that way for the rest of the day. “Sorry, again.” I handed him his bag.

  Despite the blush, David stared at me with a sense of hero worship. “T-thanks C-C-Cassie.”

  Aw, he was kind of a cutie. I grinned at him. “No, thank you. You saved me having to kiss that idiot.”

  His blush turned impossibly deeper. It was nearly purple. Unable to speak any longer, he nodded and scampered off down the hall, practically running to his next class.

  A heavy hand clamped down on my shoulder. “That was pretty cool of you, Cassie,” Dom said, as we watched David disappear around a corner. “The lucky little jerk.”

  Dom gave me a pointed look.

  “Oh, good grief!” I was getting tired of this game. “Fine! Kiss me if it’ll make you shut up already.”

  The words had barely escaped me when I was swept into his arms and dipped far back. He grinned down at me, enjoying my look of shock. “Don’t mind if I do,” he teased, and lowered his face to mine.

  I expected something close to the passionate display I’d gotten from Wyatt on stage earlier, but Dom surprised me, taking a softer approach. He was gentle with me, but firm as well. He kissed with confidence and, when he nudged my lips open, I followed his lead instinctively. Then I felt his tongue and the kiss reached a new level of intensity. My head swam, my arms wrapped around his neck, and he lifted me out of the dip, pulling me tight against him. I’ve never been a big fan of France, but I’ll never knock their kissing techniques. Dude. This one was every bit as good as Asher’s kiss.