Dare seemed surprised but not in a bad way, his face equal parts stunned, curious and…pleased. I wondered if my face looked the same. My heart was still trying to escape my chest as I stared up at him.
And then I realized.
Oh my God.
Dare Frost had kissed me.
No, he'd branded me with his lips, stamping it into my memory, making sure I'd never forget him or this moment.
And I had one-hundred percent let him. Had kissed him back as if my life depended on it. My cheeks flared hot.
He read my expression and gave a slow smile.
"Does that answer your question?"
It took me a second to understand that he wasn't talking to me, but to Estelle, the only person left standing beside us. The other girls, including Whitney, had disappeared at some point. Exactly how long had we been kissing?
"Yeah," Estelle said, sounding as dazed as I felt. "It does—even though I didn't ask the question in the first place."
"Did they see?" Dare asked.
"Oh yeah, everyone saw."
"Good." Dare looked to me then ran a hand along the back of his neck. "You know, I'm actually going to catch a ride with one of my boys."
I could only blink. "Really?"
"Yeah," he said. "Sorry for making you stay after. See you later, flower."
It was like he couldn't get out of there fast enough.
"O-okay. See you," I said like an idiot as he jogged off.
But honestly, I was still struck dumb by that kiss.
"Well," Estelle said once Dare was far enough away. "You were right about your boyfriend being stupid hot. But I'm not sure if I should be jealous or pity you."
My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"For one, Dare is the number one bachelor in the school. I may be new but even I know that." Estelle laughed. "Word is every girl wants him, but no one's been able to catch him. You're basically dating a unicorn."
I actually wasn't, but I didn't correct her.
"And for two, when he kissed you, Whitney stormed out of here in a huff. According to Ingrid, she's had a crush on Dare since ninth grade."
"Oh. I didn't know," I said.
Estelle nodded as she started backing up. "But don't worry, girl. Maybe she'll get over it. At least your boyfriend will be able to console you if anything bad happens."
My eyes went round. "Do you think she'll do something?"
I asked the question but already knew the answer. Whitney was vindictive, mean down to her marrow. Plus, she already hated me. Of course, she'd do something terrible.
"Wouldn't be surprised," Estelle said, her tone thoughtful. "I've been to a lot of schools, and there's always a Whitney. I feel kind of bad for chicks like that. They're so petty and insecure—but it's also hard to feel bad for them because…well, they're jerks."
And that solidified it. I was officially an Estelle fan.
"You know, I think you were right," I said. "We should be friends."
"Well, duh!" she said. "Also, you should've seen the aura around you and Dare just now during that kiss. So much passion."
"You could see that?"
"Yeah, I'd be blind not to. Everyone saw."
At that, my eyes shot to the field—but it was empty.
"When you say everyone…?" I trailed off.
Estelle caught my meaning. "Just us four. The soccer team had already gone into the locker room, so they didn't see the fireworks you two created."
Thank goodness for small favors, I thought.
If my father saw me kissing Dare… I shivered. I didn't even want to think about the mayhem that would cause.
"Bye Viola," Estelle called over her shoulder as she walked away. "Let me know when you want to schedule that double date!"
I was left standing there alone, my mind reeling with thoughts of Whitney, what she might do and having to watch my back. But scattering them to the wind were even more thoughts of Dare and that kiss.
What the heck was that?
Why had he left so quickly?
And why were my lips still tingling?
CHAPTER 7
"What's on your mind?" Dad asked.
My eyes went to his. "Hmm? Oh, nothing," I said.
The lie spilled easily from my lips, and all thoughts of Dare evaporated.
"Nothing, huh?" My father sat back and crossed his arms. "Your mom was talking about doing a Harry Potter marathon this weekend, and you didn't even get excited."
Was she? With my thoughts so focused on a certain guy, everything else had become background noise. I hadn't heard a thing.
"Oh sorry, Mom," I said and gave her a smile. "Of course, I want to binge HP with you. Can we do it when I get home from the shelter?"
Mom nodded. "Absolutely, I'll get the popcorn, chocolate frogs and butterbeer ready. We'll even make your dad watch the deleted scenes with us."
Dad feigned a groan, making me and my mom laugh.
"Sounds good," I said.
"But seriously," Dad repeated, "what were you thinking of? You suddenly got this dreamy look on your face. Must've been something nice."
If he only knew, I thought.
"It was very nice," I said, "but not really important."
Mentally, I scoffed at that.
As if my first kiss was something insignificant.
And nice?
Lies, all lies.
But for a good purpose as I doubted very much that my parents wanted to hear about my kissing escapades. Honestly, the memory kept making me lose focus. After school, I'd went to work at the shelter where I was struck by images: Dare just before he'd kissed me, his eyes soft and his face so very close. (Kibble had gone everywhere as I overfilled the food bowls. The animals were happy though.) The feel of Dare as he'd kissed me…and after, when he'd
