“Oh,” I said quietly. I felt awkward and looked at the pond, searching for the noisy bullfrog again. I could feel Wesley staring at me.
“Heh, this is depressing. Let’s change the subject,” he said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“I’m sorry.”
Wesley moved closer to me. “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it. But if you wanna cheer me up,” he said with a grin and turned my face toward him. I glanced at him and looked around at the ring of trees. “There’s no one around for miles. So relax.”
He rested his hand on my leg and kissed me, softly at first, then with a little more force. I felt nervous kissing Wesley—I didn’t want him to think I was a bad kisser—but it felt so good that I would sometimes forget to breathe.
We kissed for a while with nature as our witness and I wondered how I could keep this a secret from Mom. I didn’t want my mom to hate me, but I didn’t want to lose this exhilarating feeling that Wesley brought out in me.
“Well, I guess we should get going,” Wesley said, picking up a handful of cigarette butts from the log.
“Oh. Yeah,” I answered, standing up and stretching my arms over my head. Wesley poked the crease of white between my jeans and T-shirt and I hunched over instinctively. He laughed and told me I was cute.
“My mom’s been on my case about cleaning up the mess in the garage. It’s kinda why I wanted to ditch sixth hour, so I could see you for a little while before I had to go.”
I blushed and felt a little excitement that I was contributing to his delinquency. Wesley grinned and kissed me again before we walked back to his car. He drove me home and gave me a brief kiss in the parking lot before I could protest that people might see us. He apologized and said he would make up for it tomorrow. I watched him drive away, and I let my smile broaden when I got in my apartment. I really liked the way Wesley made me feel.
Chapter 6
WE GOT our exams back in Spanish class. I got a ninety-four and was a little disappointed. I got three questions wrong that I knew the answers to. I felt better when Wesley met me at my locker after class with a beaming smile.
“Check it out. I got an eighty-six,” he said, holding his test up. I looked at the lopsided smiley face in red ink.
“Good job,” I said, pulling my math book out.
“I made flashcards like you said and I think it really helped.” He folded the test in half the long way and stuck it in his back pocket. “What are you doing for lunch?”
“Nothing.”
“You wanna eat together?” I looked up and down the hall self-consciously, and Wesley noticed my blushing cheeks with his requisite grin. He looked at my math book and frowned. “Damn. You’ve got third lunch, don’t you?”
I nodded and the bell rang. I smiled shyly and shrugged. “I gotta get to class.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you in history then,” he said, patting my shoulder and waving at me.
I sighed and watched him walk toward the cafeteria. I still didn’t quite know how to act around Wesley at school. I liked that he paid attention to me, but I also worried that people might suspect something.
After history class, Wesley waited for me to get my book bag. We walked out together and I paused at the front of the school, looking down the sidewalk. Wesley stopped and followed my eyes.
“You don’t have to walk home, you know…. I’ll give you a ride from now on,” he said, walking toward the student lot.
“Did you get your garage cleaned up?” I asked, dropping my book bag on the floor between my feet.
“Mostly. It took for-damn-ever too,” he answered, starting the car. He drove to my apartment and parked in an open space. I didn’t even have to invite him in.
I gripped the straps of my book bag as I got out of the car. “I was thinking… we should probably get an outline together for the history project.”
“What? It’s Friday! The weekend! You shouldn’t even think about homework until Sunday. Night. Around eleven,” he said, stretching his arms over his head and waiting for me to catch up. I laughed and Wesley smiled warmly. “You’re cute when you smile,” he said, tilting his head and looking at me sideways. “So is your mom home?” he asked when we reached the third floor.
“No, she’s at work,” I answered, as my heart began to thump to a faster rhythm.
“I see,” he mumbled as I opened the door to the apartment. “And your sister promised me she wouldn’t be home till at least six.”
“Huh?”
“I ran into her between classes today. She’s pretty cool.”
“I’ll tell her you said that,” I said, feeling my heart in my throat. I set down my book bag at the door and looked over the messy living room. I looked around everywhere except at Wesley.
“Your sister’s really protective of you, you know? She told me that if I broke your heart, she’d cut my balls off. Then she laughed and said ‘see ya.’ It was pretty funny… and maybe a little scary now that I think about it.” Wesley stepped closer to me, smiled devilishly, and slid his hand around my waist. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about, though.” He walked me to the sofa, and I fell back onto it.
His kiss felt incredible, flowing through me like electricity, and I shyly pulled him closer. He kissed my neck and collarbones and his hands slid down my arms. He pushed my T-shirt up, and his kisses followed the trail blazed by his fingertips. I pushed my head back into the sofa; it felt amazing. Then his hands dropped, and he began
