In that moment, I know she’s right.
I jog up behind Blair and take his hand, stopping him. When he turns to me, and I reach up and take his face in my hands.
“Thank you, Blair. That was so brave.”
I lean forward on my tip toes and kiss him softly on the mouth. For a moment he’s totally still, but then he reaches his arms around me, closing me tightly in them as he kisses me in return.
The kiss grows deep and intense, and when he finally lets me go, we’re both breathless. He definitely has an overpowering effect on me.
He looks hard into my eyes. “I missed you so much, Bunny.”
I feel tears prick my eyes, and I smile at him. “I missed you too. And I’m the one who should be apologizing.”
“No.” He kisses me on the forehead. “It’s all behind us now. I just hope I get the chance to prove I’m not going anywhere ever again.”
He holds my face firm and kisses me even more urgently than before. It’s a long minute before he finally lets me go, leaving us both out of breath and heated with mutual fire.
I don’t notice it until that m
oment, but Ms. Mason is standing at the office door. She’s seen the whole thing. We’ve gotten detention for much less, but she just winks and smiles at me, and then turns and heads back to her desk with a totally satisfied look on her face.
I glance up at Blair and grin. This has been a long time coming.
We file a complaint with security and they assure us my old foster mother will never be allowed on the grounds again. Wills shows up halfway through, wild-eyed and half crazed, looking out the windows for any sign of my foster mother. She’s really lucky that she got out of here first, because I’m not sure Wills would be able to keep from actually hurting her.
I’m understandable shaken by the whole ordeal, so Blair announces we’re all going to skip class and get away from the crowds for a while. I’m about to protest, but then Dana wholeheartedly agrees and even offers to grab breakfast for all of us while the boys get me settled in somewhere quiet.
With Wills on one side and Blair on the other, we head out onto the quad. They pick a big, shady tree out of the way and each of them takes off his jacket and drapes it over my shaking shoulders. I try to explain that I’m not shaking from the cold, but neither of them listens.
The weather has turned cold enough that I can see my breath this early in the morning, so the extra warmth isn’t unappreciated.
“Are you guys sure you’re not going to freeze?” I ask, but both of them just shrug.
“We’re going to be fine, Bunny,” Blair says.
“All that matters is that you’re really okay,” Wills adds. “Besides, it’s good to shock your body every so often.” He flexes comically. “Really makes these puppies pop.”
“Oh god,” I say, covering my face as Dana appears at the end of the green heading back towards us. “Can you be any more embarrassing?”
“Oh, trust me,” Blair says, leaning in close to whisper hot breath into my ear. “We can.”
Dana hands each of us a hot chocolate and sets a bag of warm pastries in the middle of the little ring we’ve formed. “I barely got out of there alive,” she says, a sly grin on her face. “You should’ve seen the fit Victoria was throwing back there.”
As she jabs her thumb back towards the main hall, we spot her and Astor spilling out onto the lawn. She’s waving her arms wildly while he just follows several steps behind, looking miserable, his hands jammed deep into his pockets.
Wills chuckles, and Blair looks a little guilty. “Man, Astor’s really getting it.” He grabs one of the pastries and shoves the whole thing in his mouth in one go. “Just wait until Thursday, she’s really going to blow her top.”
I stop picking at my own croissant and look up. “What’s happening Thursday?”
Both Wills and Blair look at each other a second, and then slap their foreheads.
“I forgot to ask you before,” Wills says. “We’re going to Blair’s for Thanksgiving. His parents host this big old thing.”
“We?”
“Unless you have better plans,” Blair says, leaning closer and smudging the tip of my nose with chocolate from the pastry in his hand.
“You know,” I say. “I was really thinking of going back to the foster home … but I guess I’ll take it into consideration.”