I jerk my gaze away. “I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Come on, Romeo.” He jingles his car keys and heads after the girls.
I roll my eyes, tucking Nova’s boots under my arm as I follow. If my Converse fit her this well... I can’t help but wonder how my shirt would look on her.
––––––––
-*?? . ??? ? ?.-*??
As I look for her house keys in her purse, Nova’s trying to do a handstand against the front door. “What do you think? Is it coming out okay?”
I glance up at her and burst into laughter. Max and Aurora dropped us off in front of her house ten minutes ago, and since then she hasn’t stopped prancing around the yard and running back and forth.
“You’re a real gymnast, Marshall,” I tease, still rummaging for the keys.
She cracks up and drops down from her handstand. Snatching the bag from my hands, she opens a pocket I hadn’t checked. “Looking for these?” She twirls her keys in front of my face.
I nod, reaching for them, ready to get her inside before her mother realizes she’s out this late, but she steps back.
“Come and get them if you want them so badly, Cooper,” she taunts, hiding the keys behind her back.
“Marshall...” I murmur, taking a step toward her.
She stands on tiptoe and stretches her arm as high as she can. At five feet tall, her hand barely reaches above my head. I grin—she’s adorable. If I wanted to, I could just snatch the keys, but I don’t.
Instead, I take another step forward while she takes a step back, ending up with her back pressed against the front door. Another step and she lowers her arms. The keys fall to the wooden porch with a soft thud.
Now we’re only inches apart, our breaths mingling, and I can feel her heartbeat racing.
A smile tugs at my lips when I notice the flush rising on her cheeks. I wait for her to push me away, for a flicker of hesitation in her expression—but all I find in her eyes’s excitement.
I brace one hand against the door beside her head, and her breath catches, while her trembling fingers wrap around my arm.
“Everything okay?” I whisper, close enough that my lips nearly brush hers.
Nova nods. I cradle her face with my free hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. My thumb traces the curve of her rosy lips. Her eyes flutter shut and she leans in. Her hand grips tighter at my arm, my leg slipping between hers as if to hold her up.
“Marshall?” I breathe.
“Hmh?”
She looks so beautiful I can’t stop smiling. “Can I—”
She nods before I can even finish asking, and just as I lean in to kiss her, her phone suddenly blastsTelephoneby Lady Gaga. We both jerk apart, laughing nervously, the almost-kiss hanging between us like static in the air.
“Holy shit, what was that?” I gasp, clutching my chest after nearly jumping out of my skin.
She giggles, pulling her phone from her dress pocket. “Oh, it’s my alarm.” She shows me the screen before switching it off.
I double over laughing, and she joins in. “Why did your alarm go off at eleven o’clock at night?”
“I set it wrong.”
Oh, amazing. Thank you, Lady Gaga. Truly. Couldn’t have ruined the best kiss of my life more perfectly if you tried.
We lean against each other, laughing. Then I pause, losing myself in her gaze. The beautiful thing about Nova’s eyes isthat when you look into them, it feels like they’re smiling at you, saying more than words ever could. Whenever I feel like I’m drowning in my thoughts, I look at her—and it’s like she’s throwing me a lifeline.
“What?” she asks, scrunching her nose. “Do I have chocolate on my face? That fountain was way too tempting.” She starts rubbing at her face, hunting for a nonexistent smear.
