AVERY MOORE
“You haveway more detailed notes than I do,” I say, looking over Ivy’s printed-out notes for Spanish. She’s highlighted a bunch of key topics for me, and I could just kiss her for that.
We’re sitting on my bed, working on our latest Spanish assignment. A month of school and several assignments later and they don’t get any easier.
She’s still in her work clothes—black pants and black shirt—and she smells like buttermilk pancakes and syrup from the diner. When she walked through the door smelling like food, my stomach growled, but she revealed a take-home box full of pancakes and bacon, and we immediately dug in before getting to the homework.
“That’s because you make goo-goo eyes with Reid the entire time.”
“I do not make goo-goo eyes,” I say under my breath.
She takes the notes from my hand. “Then what do you call it?”
I raise my gaze to hers after attempting to get the notes back and failing. “Friendly conversation.”
She laughs. Tips her head back and belts out a laugh so loud it booms off my walls.
“So not funny,” I say when she calms down and passes the notes back.
“So then tell me what happened when you two went to the bathroom at Sicily.”
“I already told you. Nothing happened.”
She slaps my thigh, and I hiss from the sting. “You two were gone for a long time. Longer than it takes to take a tinkle. I know he went there for you. Tell me what happened.”
“No.”
She grabs hold of my arm and tugs it to her chest. “Please?” she begs.
I rub my eyes and set my notes down. “He kissed me.”
Gasping, she releases my arm and puts her hand over her heart. “How romantic.”
Biting on the corner of my lip, I say, “Yeah, it kind of was.” Every time I think of how he cornered me, my heart flutters. Neil never did anything like that.
“This has to be fun for you guys.”
“What?”
She waves her hand in the air. “Sneaking around. The secrecy. The forbidden nature of the entire thing.”
“We arenotsneaking around. Nothing is happening between us,” I lie.
She laughs again. “You so are and there so is. So did he just kiss you, or did you talk?”
I shrug a little and stack the papers on my knee. “We talked a little.”
“So does this mean you’re coming around to him?”
I shrug again. “I don’t want to.”
Her grin is broad. “But you are. God, you two. My heart can’t take it.”
“Don’t get too excited. I won’t even give him my number.”
Her smile is replaced by a frown. “Why not?”
I sigh and flop back onto my pillow. “I’m just not there yet.”
