A burst of laughter in the hall, muted through the door, had us stopping and backing away from each other faster than the kiss had started.
Jack heaved in air, wiped the corner of his lips with the back of his hand, and shot daggers my way, like this was allmyfault.
“Jack—”
“Shh,” he snapped and glanced at the door. It remained closed. Whoever was out there only passed by. When he turned to me again, the blank stare he normally wore hadn’t fallen into place. His cheeks were rosy, his lips were damp, and his eyes glittered. I must’ve reached for his hair at some point too, because it stuck out on one side.
In those seconds as we caught our breath, me lost in the haze of what had just happened and its abrupt ending, I saw Jack for the first time all over again. I saw Jack in a new light, a new frame of mind.
And I liked it.
I didn’t give a shit about what it meant for my sexuality. I’d never been so attracted to another person in my life. It wasn’t even shocking because of how complete it was. There was no room for anything other than certainty. Jack did it for me, like, in every way. Hot as fuck. Exciting as fuck. Tempting as fuck. Surprising as fuck.
“Jack,” I tried again.
“Nope.”
He leaned toward the mirror and ran a hand through his hair, fixing what I’d messed up, then straightened his shoulders and glanced at me.
“Nothing to fucking talk about. Remember?”
He didn’t wait for an answer that I was too slow to give anyway, just stormed out of the room.
I stared at the door long after it closed. Sweat prickled all over my skin and had me shaking from the chill he left behind, the chill of his parting words. What the fuck? What the actual fuck? When my sputtering mind kicked into gear, it begged me to go after him. Yes, there was plenty to fucking talk about, and yes, he was still very pissed I’d said there wasn’t.
The bell rang for the next class. I was officially late. Dammit. I smacked my head against the wall, trying to clear it and force my erection down with a pain I didn’t particularly like.
My legs were a bit unsteady as they carried me to class. The teacher asked why I was late, to which I had no answer and sort of muttered something that couldn’t have been English. He finally waved me to my seat.
Class was a blur. I didn’t take any notes and hoped I could find out from someone if we had any homework assigned. I was more confused than ever, overloaded, and until my heart rate settled, everything else just had to fucking wait a second.
What was all that?
Seriously.
With all the shit we’d done to each other, I could totally believe he was fucking with me, but this was a bit extreme, yeah? One hot-as-fuck kiss, sure, I could see it as a game, something to call me out on, but he hadn’t.
The second hot-as-fuck kiss? No. No way.
Practice was muscle memory, but I couldn’t zone out completely. My mind still floated in the hallways, searching for my lost sanity.
Jack’s house hadn’t changed at all when I drove past that afternoon, and I didn’t know why I expected it should’ve. Maybe because within its walls was my obsession. He hadn’t left my mind for one second. Was I on his? Did he kiss guys and walk away like that often? Maybe he had a boyfriend or several of them. Was he out right now on a date with some dude, some fucking guy? Okay, I didn’t like this shit, not at all.
Sleep wasn’t the release I hoped for either. I lay in bed all night, thinking of Jack. Even when I crashed from exhaustion, one second he’d been on my mind, and then I blinked with my alarm and he was back again.
Tuesday morning, I stood at my locker getting shit out for the day, Jack front and center in my thoughts. I turned and froze. One hand on my locker, I gripped the strap on my backpack with the other while the world tilted, everything but the center of my attention, who remained in stark focus as he approached.
Ty talked animatedly as always, and Jack listened intently. He had his head down but cocked toward his twin. Twenty feet separated us, and all I could do was stare. School melted like hotwax. No walls, no floors, no students, no teachers, no town, no Alabama, and no torments. There was only Jack and me.
Every step brought his flame closer. Every half second increased my awareness of him. Shiny brown hair brushed his straight eyebrows. A few freckles dotted his nose and under his eyes. His jaw was smooth, and I craned my neck, sniffing the air to find his aftershave even from this distance. He had on a blue button-down with one side recklessly tucked into black jeans. I itched to tug it loose, to run my hands over his abs, to scrape my nails down the ridges that had teased me yesterday.
Just before we were even in the hall, he raised his eyes, and the fucker smirked.
Oh, God, what was he doing to me? He had me burning for him. Did he know? Would he care?
I closed my eyes as the world around us rushed in. I forced myself not to turn and watch his back as he continued. At some point today, I had to get him alone, had to talk to him, or at least arrange a moment to talk to him.
Nothing to talk about? It had never been nothing. Since the first time our eyes met, it had always beensomething. I just hadn’t known it then.
