“I thought you’d probably kissed a million girls by now. Like Julie Smith.”
He made an impatient sound in the back of his throat. “She went around telling everyone that, and it wasn’t true. I don’t know why people do that.”
“Tell lies?”
“Yeah. Like what did she get out of it?”
I thought for second. How did someone like Cole Paisley understand what it was like to want something you didn’t ever think you could have so you invented your own truth? “She wanted it to be true. Maybe she thought it would get your attention.”
“It did, but not in a good way.” He turned his head to look at me. “Mostly, I hoped you didn’t think it was true.”
“Oh, well, I wasn’t sure.” I’d burned with envy when I’d heard the rumor about Cole and Julie. The gossip had started after a party down at the river. Kids like me weren’t invited to parties like that. Not that my father would have let me go anyway. “I can’t go to those kinds of parties.”
“I know. Don’t feel like you’re missing anything. It’s usually a bunch of idiots drinking too much and acting even more idiotic than usual.”
“Why do you go to them?”
“I don’t know. Something to do, I guess.” He wrapped the hand that wasn’t holding mine around the metal bar. “Gets us out of the house when my dad’s having one of his nights.”
“Nights?”
“You know. Whiskey and fists.”
My stomach clenched. “Cole, is it bad?” My mother had been right. I’d overheard her tell my father she thought Mr. Paisley was abusive.
He nodded. “Luke gets the worst of it. Any time my dad’s going after one of us or our mom, Luke always steps in. He won’t ever back down. Gets right in Dad’s face. Takes the blows for the rest of us.”
“I can’t picture him that way.” Luke was such a gentle guy. Even on the football field, he seemed more like a dancer than a quarterback. My chest ached thinking of any of them being on the other side of Mr. Paisley’s rage.
“Yeah, well, it’s true.” He turned back to me. “Do you ever wonder how some people are so good and some are so bad?”
“I always think most people are good, but sometimes I’ve been wrong.”
“Do you ever worry about which one you are?”
“No. I know I’m good. Even though sometimes I have mean thoughts about other people. Mostly because I’m jealous of what they have.”
“Who are you jealous of?”
“Sometimes I’m jealous of my sister. Even though I love her to pieces.”
“What’re you jealous about?”
“She’s so pretty and popular. I could never be a cheerleader,” I said.
“Who cares about that? And she’s not prettier than you. No one is. Not in this town or maybe the whole world.”
“Right.” I poked his chest. “You’re just saying that.”
“I’m not. I swear.” He looked into my eyes. “Wearing glasses didn’t make you any less pretty, if that’s what you think.”
“Tell that to everyone who’s called me ‘four-eyes.’”
“I’ve beaten up a few of those jerks. Made sure they’d never call you names again.”
“What? You have? Not really?”
“Heck yeah,” he said in a soft growl. “I’ll keep doing it, too.”
“I was jealous of Julie Smith.” I said this lightly, as if I hadn’t cried into my pillow until I fell asleep.
He chuckled. “You didn’t need to be.”
“Jealousy is so ugly. I hate myself for it sometimes.”
He let go of my hand to twirl a bit of my hair around his finger. “It’s only you, Carlie. I’ve loved you forever. I always will.”
“I’ve loved you forever too.” I drew close enough that I could feel his breath on my cheek. “If you still want to, I’d like to be kissed now.”
“Okay, here it goes. If you don’t like it, just tell me and I’ll stop.”
I nodded, too afraid to jinx the moment with words.
I held my breath as he leaned close. Then, his mouth was on mine. His lips were warm and soft. Softer than I’d expected. In the romance novels, the hero always crushed her mouth with his. But this was like the flutter of a bird’s feather. Too soon, it was over. He drew back to look at me. “Okay?”
“Better than okay. Do it again, please.”
This time he appeared to have more confidence. He tilted his head to the left, and our lips came together as if they were made to do so.
The carriage jerked, and we fell apart. Then the wheel began to turn. My heart sank. “I don’t want it to be over.”
“The ride or the kiss?”
“Both.”
“What if I promise to kiss you in every location in Logan County?”
I laughed. “Then it wouldn’t seem so bad.”
“I promise to kiss you in every location in Logan County.” To seal his promise, he kissed me again as we made one more loop.
I wished the night would have gone on forever, but an hour later, having used all our ride tickets and stuffed ourselves with cotton candy, we headed out to the parking lot. Cole hadn’t let go of my hand since we exited the wheel.
He and I slipped into the back seat while Luke and Drew took the front. The old lime-green Pinto made a choking sound before firing up.
I was tired in the best way and rested my head against Cole’s shoulder as we drove out of the dusty parking lot. Stars sparkled down on us from an inky sky. If only that car ride could have gone on forever. We’d have remained innocent, instead of what waited for us at the end of the drive.
“Carlie, do you think Beth’s seeing someone else?” Luke asked.
I jerked upright. “What? No way. Why do you ask that?”
“She’s been weird this summer. Distracted.” Luke caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “Do you think she was truly sick tonight?”
“Yeah. She didn’t look good,” I said, hoping to reassure him. “If anything were going on, she would tell me.” This wasn’t totally true. This summer she’d changed, grown secretive and quiet. Sometimes I
