“What?!” I said, lightly slapping him on the chest. “You’ve seen it?”
“Of course! It’s epic!” He shook his head and chuckled, then quoted: “‘Why would you want to marry me for, anyhow?’”
“‘So I can kiss you anytime I want,’” I quickly quoted back.
“Well.” Nick grinned. “Now that we have that settled…” He leaned close again.
“Wait.” I untangled myself from his arms. “Wait, I have something…” I unzipped my backpack. “I got these…”
Nick didn’t say anything when I handed him the jar of maraschino cherries, so at first I thought he didn’t get it. “Remember?” I nudged him. “The other day?”
He nodded, but still didn’t speak—he just looked at the jar, stared at the label. “What was up with that?” he asked eventually. “Why didn’t you want me to stay?”
My heart twisted.
No!I’d texted him, so he wouldn’t take Charlie’s chair.Say no! Just leave!
“I mean, yeah, we’re in stealth mode,” Nick went on. “But we’re still friends.”
“No, I know,” I replied, swallowing hard. “I know we’re friends.”
But ever since Nick and I had started hooking up, being his friend on campus had become more complicated.
We were both silent for a minute.
“So who won?” he wondered. “Who’s the best kisser?”
“Oh,” I said. “Um, Val.”
“Ah,” he said, hand finding mine. “Well, good for Charlie, I guess.”
I squeezed his fingers, not having the heart to tell him the truth—that Val hadn’t won the contest, that we hadn’t even attempted it. We’d talked about Nick instead.Gossiped, more like. “Okay, what’s his deal?” Val had asked me. “Tell us, why isn’t he with anyone?”
And for whatever reason, I’d tried to channel my nervousness into coyness: “Who says he’s not?”
“Emma!” Nina exclaimed once the guessing had begun. “I bet it’s Emma.”
“Right?” Val grinned. “I think this is their year!”
I’d laughed and nodded along while strangling my hairband under the table. It was the worst-kept secret on campus that Emma Brisbane been doodling Nick’s name in her notebook since freshman year. They always did partner projects together, and she’d even baked him cupcakes for his birthday last fall. She was exactly the type of girlfriend I knew Nick had always imagined. One who would hold his hand while walking to class,one who would fix his tie before the homecoming dance. The one I couldn’t be right now.
Someday, but not now.
My heart flipped when Nick finally twisted the lid off the jar. The moon had disappeared behind some clouds, so I switched on my iPhone flashlight for us to see. “Should we make a wager?” he asked once we’d chewed and swallowed our cherries, now left with stems.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “Loser has to eat the whole jar.”
“Deal.” Nick tugged my ponytail. “Ready?”
Five seconds later, I knew I wasn’t going to win. The stem kept sliding all over the place and nearly went down my throat. My hands were balled into fists, trying to concentrate. At the ten-second mark, I could tell Nick was frustrated too—openly whining. I almost choked with giggles, so I spit the stem out and flicked it at him. “Okay, stop. This is ridiculous.”
Nick threw back his head and laughed. I glanced around, worried that someone would hear us, but then relaxed and felt myself melt into a grin. I loved Nick’s laugh, so full yet boyish. “Maybe,” he said. “But how will we ever know now?”
“Easy,” I replied, already climbing onto his lap. “Theold-fashionedway.” I felt his fingers running along my waist as I dramatically cupped his face with my hands. His jaw was strong, his cheeks warm. “I’ll kiss you, Nicholas.”
“Yeah, okay,” he whispered, so gently his voice rippled through me. “You can kiss me anytime you want, Morgan.”
“Is that new?” I asked later, as Nick tugged his crewneck back on. Nothing had happened beyond pulling off our shirts. “Oh, sorry, I’m sorry,” Nick had stammered when I’d stopped him from unclasping my bra. “No, no, it’s fine,” I’d whispered, my lips on his neck. “It’s just…”
