“Okay.” I pick up my pencil, braving a look at him. “Thanks, Oliver.”
His eyes flick to mine before dropping to his work. “Yeah, no problem.”
“Just don’t yell at me.”
“Who’s yelling?” He taps the page with the eraser. “This section isn’t that hard. I’ll break it down—oh, look. Here’s an easy one.”
Huh, he’s in a good mood today. No grouchiness in sight. Did I temporarily transport myself to a parallel universe where this Oliver is nice? Unlikely.
However, maybe this is my opportunity to tell him everything. No more secrets, no more lies. It’s time to clear the air about the subway kiss bet. If I do, I’ll have an easier time focusing. Really, it’s for the benefit of my own mental health—and grade point average.
“So you multiply here—”
“Hold on, wait.”
Oliver blinks at me. “You’re already stuck? That was only step one.”
Ouch. Definitely not a parallel universe.
“No, uh.” I take a deep breath, uneasy. “I wanted to talk about something.”
He studies me from behind his glasses, one brow arched. Then he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.
How do I even begin?
“Uh, well. I—um.”
He’s staring at me, waiting for me to go on. I feel myself turning red. Surely he’s noticed too.
“About the other night—atthesubway.” The last part comes out in a rush, as if it’s all one word.
Oliver glances down the hallway. “Uh, what night? I’ve never taken the subway.”
But his neck is flushed, and now he won’t meet my gaze. Sure, maybe he can see right through me, but I canalsosee right through whatever this act is. So I narrow my eyes, summon all my bravery, and take a deep breath.
“Cut it out, okay? I know you remember me.”
Oliver drops his eyes to my homework. “Yeah, well. I guess it’s hard to forget a random stranger coming up to you and asking to kiss you out of nowhere.”
Then his eyes flick up to meet mine. Even though my heart is rollicking inside my chest, I don’t chicken out and look away. This is my moment. I’m not going to leave anything else unsaid.
“Okay, I get it. The whole situation was weird, but I have a perfectly reasonable explanation,” I say. “You know my friend Patrick?”
“Unfortunately,” he intones. “Were you trying to make him jealous or something?”
“What? No. Let me finish.” I smooth my palms over my jeans. “Gosh, you’re sure chatty tonight. Anyway—Patrick. Well, I’ve never—ugh. I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
He waits, silent. What do I have to lose, really? He already called me a weirdo in the subway. What’s he going to do now, say it again?
Okay, here goes nothing.
“I’ve never kissed anyone before, so Patrick dared me to go kiss you—a random stranger—so I could get it over with. And I know it was stupid to agree. Obviously, a first kiss should be special, right? But I wanted to prove I was, like,brave. Next thing I know, I’m suddenly marching up to you and asking—agh.”
It’s mortifying reliving this out loud, so I jump to the apology bit.
“I’m so sorry, Oliver. I shouldn’t have, because now you think I’m a total weirdo. Which is fine. I guess.”
Oliver places his forearms on the table and inches closer to me. “Okay, fine. Let’s do this, then.”
