“Yes.”
“Do you hate me?”
“What? No!”
“You should.”
“Evan.”
“I mean it!”
“I thought you were trying to get me back?”
“I’m just trying to make things right.”
“What do you think you just did?”
“I don’t know.”
I snorted.
“There aren’t any more videos, are there?”
“I’m honestly not sure. And if there are, they are not recent.”
“I’m sorry for not trusting you and not listening to you.”
“I wouldn’t have trusted me, either. You’re not at fault here, Anna.”
“We’ll get through it.” I leaned over and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. “High school doesn’t last forever.”
“Thank fucking God for that.”
“Amen.”
He laughed weakly, and I tugged on his hand. He stood, and I pulled him back down to sit in front of me. He slid his knees onto the platform, and he grabbed onto one of the bars.
“I want to try again with you,” he whispered, resting his head against the bar behind him. “If you’ll let me, I want to try again.”
“What do you think we’re doing right now?”
“Sitting here while I pour my pathetic heart out to you and beg you to take me back?”
I laughed and twisted our fingers together, bringing the back of his hand to my cheek. He trailed his knuckles down my cheek, and then dropped our hands to my lap.
“I’m going to make mistakes,” he said.
“So am I. And we’ll figure them out together, Evan. This isn’t something we have to be perfect at.”
“You’re so much smarter than I am,” he whispered, chuckling.
“Yeah, well . . .”
His mouth dropped open, and I laughed, throwing my head back and then shrieking when he tackled me. He hovered over me, a crooked smile on his face as he anchored his elbows on either side of my head.
“You said it!” I exclaimed.
“You weren’t supposed to agree to it.”
“I cannot tell a lie.”
“All right, George.”
I laughed and placed my hands on his chest, feeling his erratic heartbeat underneath my palm.
“You make that happen,” he whispered.
I met his eyes.
“What?”
“You’re the only one who could make my heart beat that fast.” He chuckled, looking away. “Whenever you’re around me . . .”
“Anna Radar?”
“Kyle,” he said, dropping his forehead to my shoulder.
I wrapped my hands around his shoulders and closed my eyes when he buried his nose in my neck.
“Can I ask you something?” I said cautiously.
“Anything.”
“Were you ever embarrassed to have me meet your family?” I waited anxiously, dreading his answer.
“When we first had to do this project, yes,” he said. “But the more we talked, and the more I got to know you . . . it just didn’t matter anymore.”
“And then I showed up on your driveway.”
“Something like that.”
“Was it Brittany and Grace that put the DVD on my doorstep?”
“Yes.”
I grunted, and he lifted his head.
“They’ve been taken care of.”
“You didn’t fracture their jaws too, did you?”
“No!” He laughed. “Ashley took care of it.”
“How?”
“Aside from Mrs. Gold, she’s yearbook advisor. She’s also very crafty when it comes to using Photoshop.”
“What would she—”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Alright.”
“What do you say, Anna?” he asked, gently nudging his nose against mine. “You want to be my girlfriend again?”
“I suppose so.” I sighed dramatically. He looked like I’d just kicked his puppy. “Joke, joking. Too soon? Crap. Sorry.”
I placed my hands on his cheeks, rubbing my thumbs underneath his eyes. “Really sorry.” He turned his head into my palm, pressing his lips to the center and raising his hand to cover mine.
I buried my other hand in his hair, silently counting the times he kissed my palm.
“Yes, by the way.”
He laughed, kissing my palm for like the eighteenth time before wrapping his fingers around my hand and looking back down at me.
“I’m different,” he said.
“I know.”
“So . . . can I kiss you whenever I want?”
“If you really want to.”
“I really want to.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
He smiled gently. “You.”
“I’m trapped underneath you. I’m clearly not going anywhere.”
“Do you want me to move?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then stop complaining.”
“Are you going to get to the kissing sometime tonight, or do I need to go home?”
“I’m not sure I’d like that.”
“Well then get to it!”
He leaned down, kissing me at last.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispered, pulling back from me slightly.
“I’ve heard.”
“Fucking Kyle.”
“Your mother.”
“What?”
“She said it at the game. You know, you talk a lot for someone who supposedly wanted to kiss me.”
“My mother told you that I missed you?”
“Yes.”
“Well hell.”
“Sherri said you were miserable.”
He groaned and buried his face back in my neck. I laughed and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, closing my eyes and turning my head to brush my nose against his cheek.
“Traitors.”
“Were they right?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t so great without you, either.”
He grinned. “That makes it a little better.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Think you’re a know-it-all.”
“Are you disagreeing?”
He pouted. “No.”
“All right then.”
“What time do you need to be home?”
“Midnight.”
He raised his arm, presumably looking at the watch I never realized he wore.
“Good,” he said brightly. “I’ve got half an hour to make out with you.”
I rolled with laughter until he silenced me with a kiss. So we spent the next half-hour making out on a merry-go-round at a children’s playground. Afterward, we walked to my car, holding hands as we talked about the science fair and what time we needed to be there to set up. Not that we had all that much to set up to begin with, but it would give us plenty of time to get the last minute details into place.
“Do you want me to pick you up?” he asked, opening my door for me.
“If you want to.”
“I do.”
“Then I guess, yes.”
“You’re going to make things difficult, huh?”
“I never said I was easy.”
He laughed and I groaned, pushing on his shoulder and climbed into my car. He yanked me back, wrapping his arms around my shoulders when I fell into him.
“I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
I smiled and leaned back into him.
Size fourteen be damned; I’d never felt more accepted and more hopeful than I was right now. And I wasn’t even scared. For once
