“Does TJ know about it? The fact that you have to see someone else?”
“Yeah. In fact, just last night he told me that Tasha came out and watched him sing with Grunge Town in Jessie’s garage, and they were sparking up some stupid plan to, you know, see each other while you and I were together on the off nights.”
“I should have kissed you,” he spat.
I was pretty sure my heart stopped beating altogether. Tingly heat danced circles around the failing vessel. “Excuse me?”
“We should’ve given those idiots a taste of their own medicine, not just skulked off like a couple of losers.”
Skulk?
“And you know, Tasha, she banks on me being the tame one, right? She’s thinking, ‘Oh, Jett’s too much of a gentleman to do anything to Harper in public.’But what I should have done is back you against that tree and giventhemsomething to talk about.”
A million receptors were scurrying throughout my entire body at the image he’d painted in my head. I was trying to have a pity party for myself but how could I when the kid I’d had a not-so-secret crush on since kindergarten was talking about backing me against trees and giving my cheating boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend something to talk about?
“I mean, is this his way of saying we’re, like, officially seeing other people or what?” I blurted. “And did you see howdisgustingthat kiss looked?” I couldn’t believe I was actually going there, but I was, and there was no stopping me.
I shifted in the seat and faced Jett’s shadowed profile as I continued. “I was trying to be nice the other night when I was acting like I enjoyed TJ’s kiss, but the truth is, he is the sloppiest, anxious…est, grossest kisser on the planet.” I rode on the high that came from bashing TJ and his stupid cheating self.
I waited for Jett to step up and do the same, but he only gripped the wheel and shook his head. His jaw was clenched tight; perhaps he was holding back the words.
“Tasha didn’t look like the world’s best kisser either,” I said, gearing him in the right direction. Heck, we were practically experts on the subject right?Wewere the ones studying the chemistry of a kiss.
“Tasha’s not bad. She was probably just adjusting to his kissing style. They say that’s what’s best so you can, you know, get into a good groove.”
I sat there, lips parted, poised to say something, but for the life of me I couldn’t think of what. I felt miffed. Just what made Jett the expert? “Sounds like someone’s been doing a little research without me,” I suggested.
Jett chuckled under his breath and glanced over. “Truth? I have twin sisters who subscribe to chick magazines. When I was dating Becky Wilson during freshman year, I noticed a few of the articles were about kissing. What to do. Whatnotto do. How to train clueless guys to settle down a little.” He shrugged. “I studied up.”
Lucky Becky.And just what in the world was Jett trying to do to me anyway?
It remained quiet as he drove straight to the Sweet Water Church. I glanced up at the illuminated chapel, raising a brow as he pulled into the vacant lot.
“Free wifi,” Jett explained. He shut off the engine, cracked open his door, and climbed out. I watched as he proceeded to retrieve a blanket from the back cab, and then his backpack. “I’ve got a jacket for you, if you’d like.”
He held it up, reminding me of the letterman jacket I had hanging on my bedpost. (Don’t judge.) I managed a nod, and Jett handed it over before tossing the blanket into the flatbed.
I unlatched my seatbelt and helped out by grabbing the goods from the Burger Bar. Like the gentleman he was, Jett helped me into the bed of the truck. We finished our shakes while watching a few videos about kissing on his laptop. I offered to take notes in Jett’s notebook since I hadn’t brought my own, and that’s what I did. It was more of a robotic action, of course, since my mind was scattered in a million directions. I basically just wrote repeats of things I heard on the video word for word.
Physical changes that take place as we anticipate a kiss.Pupils dilate. Cheeks and face flush with heat. Pulse races. Nostrils flare slightly.
The next video spoke more about recognizing signs that your date wants to kiss. I jotted those down as well.Holds eye contact. Gets closer. Looks at lips. Draws attention to own lips.
I inwardly knew I wasn’t great company, but Jett didn’t seem to mind. In fact, I realized as we packed up and prepared to leave that he was stuck in his head too. It wasn’t until he pulled into my driveway that he hinted to the thoughts that were keeping him.
“Maybe we should give them a taste of their own medicine.”
I tore my gaze off our flickering porch light (I’d have to replace that) and turned to Jett.
He shifted in his seat. “Come to my locker tomorrow morning and we’ll give Tasha a show of her own.” A spark of determination lit those brown eyes of his, visible even in the low light.
I was pretty sure fireworks were going off somewhere in my chest at the mere suggestion. A HUGE part of me liked what he was saying. Really liked it. But there was another part of me, somewhere, trying desperately to speak up about the fact that…that Jett might still really like Tasha. It was a stupid thing to get stuck on at a moment like this. After all, I had TJ, didn’t I? OrdidI?
“I don’t know,” I finally said. “This is starting to get messy. I just…I’m genuinely trying to be a good girlfriend here. I honestly thought I could just let my study dates with you count, make my momandTJ happy, and then he had to go and mess it all up.”
Jett stared at me for a blink, then he nodded. “Just think about it.” He unlatched his seatbelt then and climbed out of the truck. I watched as he circled the thing and opened my door as well. He offered me his hand next.
I took it, trying to ignore the tingles at his touch, and climbed down. I freed my hand once my feet hit the ground, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I appreciated the fact that Jett was willing to walk me to the door, evident by the way he started heading down the walkway with me, but I was too anxious to get inside and work through the mess in my mind. Plus, if Jett’s lips tempted me even one more time before I could sort out this whole thing with TJ, I’d feel even worse.
