Jesus, he was shaking. She was, too. His attention strayed to the side of her neck, where her pulse beat recklessly fast, a hummingbird flutter in the darkness.
None of this made any sense. But god, yes, of course he wanted to find out. He wanted it more than anything, ever. Some circuit clicked off in his brain, a whole bank of neurons going dark. Probably the ones responsible for self-discipline, or self-doubt, because when she tipped her chin up, he didn’t think. He just dipped his head and slanted his mouth across hers.
Her lips molded to his, and it was everything he’d wanted and more, a shot of liquid heaven, a lightning infusion tothe nervous system. Desperately, he wondered if he was doing it right, but the noises she whimpered into his mouth, her whisperedoh, thankgod, the way her fingers scrabbled at his chest—it intoxicated him. Emboldened him. Instead of pulling away, Aubrey pulled himcloser, and he couldn’t help but part her lips with his tongue. She tasted like honey and vanilla, like lip gloss, maybe, or some kind of fancy-ass toothpaste. Whatever the source, it made him feel drunker and dizzier than if he’d stumbled off a carnival ride after a thousand spins.
He tried going further, twining his tongue with hers.
She made a new noise, this one even more encouraging, and it exploded warmth into the pit of his stomach. Without consciously deciding to, he palmed the back of her head, his hips tilting against hers. She must have felt him pressed up against her belly, but she didn’t recoil, just kept clutching at him as if she wanted to meld her body with his.
He realized, then, that this whole thing was a dream. It had to be. But he didn’t want it to end. He just kept kissing her, kept abandoning himself to her softness and her hot wet tongue, and decided this wasn’t at all something a person needed to learn, just something they needed to surrender to, because some feral, ancient part of him knew exactly what to do. How to possess her mouth with his, and oh fuck, he wanted more, so much more, and if he woke up now it would crush him, just please don’t wake up, please don’t wake up, please don’t—
“Oh. Ahem. Whoops. Didn’t see you guys there.”
Nick lurched back, opening a foot of space. Off to the side stood a girl. He had a vague impression of pale hair, flat blue eyes, and combat boots, but aside from that, he couldn’t process. Nothing existed between his ears but a splatter of heat and color.
“Sorry,” the newcomer said. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“We weren’t kissing,” Nick said inanely.
“Oh.” The girl cocked her head. “Really? ’Cause it kinda looked like you had your tongues shoved down each other’s throats.”
Her frankness unnerved him, and he scrabbled for a rebuttal, some way to give Aubrey plausible deniability. She wouldn’t want to be seen with him, not when he’d made sure the whole school would—
“We were definitely kissing,” Aubrey said.
Nick looked to her wildly.
“Okay, cool, well. . .” The girl scuffed a sole against the asphalt. “Carry on, I guess.” She walked off.
He groped for something to fill the silence. “Who the hell was that?”
“Tansy Burroughs.”
He shook his head. Why had he even asked? He didn’t recognize the girl’s name any more than her face. “Okay. I don’t... She’s not going to tell anyone, is she?”
Aubrey’s brow knitted. “Um, probably. Is that going to bother you?”
“No, I just... Won’t it botheryou?”
She studied him. “No.”
“Oh.” He wondered where all his words had gone, how he could possibly boil over with them in private, yet not have the faintest clue of how to talk to her in person.
She cocked her head. “Why would you even think that?”
“Because.” Wasn’t it obvious? “You’re a cheerleader. Who likes math and safety and lives in a mansion. And I’m. . .”
When he didn’t continue, her expression softened into quiet understanding. “You’re... what?”
“No one. Just a guy who likes words.”
Silence pulsed between them. At last, she blew out a breath. “Can I tell you a secret? Since you’ve told me so many of yours?”
He couldn’t help it. He drifted closer.
“I’m just a girl.” She held his eyes. “Who likes numbers.Andyou.”
His mental gears ground. “Me?”
